Googlemaps hits the Isle of Man! yay!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.630055,87.1875&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=41.890062,12.492549&panoid=07gbqMWIg_HId5m7W94qHg&cbp=12,301.45,,0,-4.23&ll=41.889579,12.49307&spn=0.002692,0.005322&z=18&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=et&utm_source=en-et-na-us-gns-svn

Want to check out the impacts of climate change near where you live?

Cool new interactive map shows it's not just floods, fires and the like we have to cope with - there're more insidious, and sometimes invisible, collateral effects. They range from food shortages to - get this - super poison ivy (I'm not sure whether to be more impressed or scared).

The interactive map from the Union of Concerned Scientists (what wouldn't you give for an invitation to their annual shindig!?) attempts to show all the potential/already occurring consequences of climate change, as identified by peer-reviewed studies. The map covers the effects of climate change in five areas: oceans, ecosystems, temperatures, people [ie public health, food supplies and the economy], and freshwater.

The results are, frankly, pretty unsettling. If you have a dekko for health effects in Europe, for example, you'll see that "Cities in the Netherlands and throughout Europe suffered through an unprecedented and deadly heat wave in the summer of 2003...a similar heat wave could hit Europe every other year by the end of this century, on average."

http://www.climatehotmap.org/

Bless Bank of America (not....)

Bank of America says it'll make amends for destroying the US economy, and precipitating global financial meltdown, by...er....paying billions to other banks. Oh glory.
http://gawker.com/5816726/bank-of-america-will-make-amends-for-destroying-economy-by-paying-billions-to-other-banks

OMG OMG OMG I can't wait! You thought Sarah Palin was a goldmine for snark enthusiasts? Palin is downright complex by comparison.

This will be like shooting fish in a Finding Nemo fanfiction forum. Check out this article from the ever-entertaining Grist, on mad-as-a-sackful of Cats Michelle Bachman.

http://www.grist.org/election-2012/2011-06-29-bringin-crazy-bach

Think I'm being unfairly cruel? Think again...what can you say of a woman who suggests that a new oil pipeline could lead to "an enhancement of wildlife expansion because of the warmth of the pipeline. ... The [existing Alaska pipeline] has now become a meeting ground and ‘coffee klatch' for the caribou."

Just.....WTF, WTF, WTF...?

What the Cat's Dragged In: The Real Price of Gold - with thanks to Janet and ...

What the Cat's Dragged In: The Real Price of Gold - with thanks to Janet and ...: "Thanks to my lovely pal Janet Lees for sending me an excerpt from Channel 4's excellent documentary on Dispatches - 'The Real Price of Gold'..."

The Real Price of Gold - with thanks to Janet and C4!

Thanks to my lovely pal Janet Lees for sending me an excerpt from Channel 4's excellent documentary on Dispatches - 'The Real Price of Gold'.

Airing yesterday evening, it highlighted the truly shocking conditions  in which workers - many of them children - toil to produce gold in some of the world's smaller mining businesses. It also draws attention to the environmental impact open-cast mining can have, and the health problems that arise for the local communities and, of course, the workforces.

If you're a consumer who buys jewellery, you can do much to help prevent these problems and improve conditions for the workers, by asking questions and ensuring the provenance of any jewellery or other gold items you buy.

After all, what more romantic gesture than to ensure that the ring you buy your loved-one - a symbol of your hopes for the future -  is sourced in a way that doesn't damage the planet, or the people who live on it?  check it out....

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/the-real-price-of-gold-video-clip

Game on!

Treehugger asks:    What if solving the climate crisis were as simple as playing a video game? If you could make all the strategic decisions yourself? How would you beat it then?
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/06/climate-change-video-game-beat-it.php

The Happiness Dividend - news from Action for Happiness

https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.hbr.org%2Fcs%2F2011%2F06%2Fthe_happiness_dividend.html&h=799a9

The cost of coke.....

The Economist charts the cost of a gram of cocaine in a variety of countries, sheds light on why the problem's getting worse in Europe http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/uns-world-drug-report

Frack Me!

Kids! Are you worried about natural gas companies pumping mysterious chemicals into the rocks near your house, leaking methane gas, poisoning cattle, and making your water flammable? Well, don't be! A coloring book from Talisman Energy says everything will be fine, and afterwards there will be deer and rainbows.
So that's alright then.....thanks to the lovely Grist (http://www.grist.org/)  for posting this up.....
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11170/1154547-28.stm

P2P - because it's time education was rethunk.

I've been very engaged by some conversations going on around how education as a whole needs to evolve, to equip us for the world as it'll be in a decade or less. In particular, there's a growing feeling that:
- we need to lose the outdated infrastructure for education that puts the teacher in an unneccessarily  domininant role
- the traditional competitive, metrics-driven measurements of 'educational success' are no longer standing us in good stead, and indeed create un-necessary damage to learners' self-esteem
- education shouldn't be about 'delivering' set chunks of 'technical' knowledge. Ideally,. we'd move to a world where learners gain the skills of rigorous enquiry, and acquire the behaviours that will allow them to construct the knowledge and skills they need, in a manner that accommodates their individual learning styles.
But of course, it's important that people have a clear idea of their required learning outcomes, and what 'success looks like' in each case - otherwise we descend into chaos.
In this regard, I'm very excited about having gotten involved with P2P! collaborative learning, without the unhelpful competitive drag of traditional learning environments - fan-flipping-tastic!
http://new.p2pu.org/en/groups/

What the Cat's Dragged In - 1. The Get-go.

OK, so here's the thing.  There's a lot I need to get off my chest at present - and I'm loving sharing it all in a variety of forums, with a variety of people.  But I suspect there're some common themes emerging, and I thought I'd shake the whole shebang together in one spot, and see what drops out of the bottom. Mindless drivel? Entirely possible - but let's give it half a chance.