WWI and WWII transformed Europe and the U.S. to high-tech societies and since that time the world accelerated steadily and gradually in a global track of developments. The emergence of modern societies became more and more dependent on knowledge and technology with clear divergence into two tracks with growing gaps between them. These tracks generated what is currently known as the developed and developing countries with enormous and huge imparities on all levels and scales. 

It is a misconception that poverty is the lack of economy to feed population, it is rather a symptom of poor societies and the real proble is under-nutrition in knowledge which is the only instrument for development, technology and sustainable developments. 

The root of poverty is the absence of knowledge and all of us know the value of education especially higher education, e.g. undergraduate university education, where specific and practical merits of relevance to the market and life quality are given. Research which typically starts on graduate and post-graduate levels, is a universal instrument for extending higher education in whatever is needed for turning the unknowns to knowns and thereby extending and inlarging the market and improving life quality and life standards on all levels and scales. History shows that modern welfare societies with diversified markets, high living-quality and living-standards, enjoy high quality of education, innovation and technology where people can define, formulate and practice their knowledge to serve and get served with high-quality and high-standard in focus. 

The core problems in the world is the ever accelerating competition between the developed countries to further secure and improve their economies which continuously generate larger and larger gaps between the developed and developing countries. The huge rates of poverty in the developing countries is further enhanced by enormous outflow of people from the developing countries to fill technology and market gaps in the developed countries, either permanently or occasionally/temporary. Furthermore, the interactions and dynamics between higher education systems in the developed and developing countries do not involve synergies to promote coupling of science and technology to society, market and population needs in the developing countries. Such interactions and dynamics are merely designed for the conditional promotion of science and technology in the developed countries. Careful examination of promotion systems in higher education sectors around the world, for example, shows that education and research in science and technology in the developing countries do not generate the necessary labor to solve local and regional needs. On the contrary higher-education- promotion systems in the developing countries are counterproductive on many levels with severe negative and destructive impacts for the national and regional socio-economic developments.

Much of the focus in the developing countries is on low-quality children education which indeed is not enough to eradice poverty even with best economic aid-resources from UN, international foreign aid-organizations and foundations, e.g. Bill Gates. These organizations follow the same inherited pattern and policies “business as usual” that are conducted again and again by the failing higher education systems around the world. 

If change is going to happen in eradicating poverty we need first to modernize our education systems. We can not afford having the majority of the world population being blind-consumers of world natural resources. Let us start-with providing future generation better chances and possibilities for a future which will never look the same as today (http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/education; http://saveourschoolsnz.com/tag/child-poverty/).

Policy-makers in Europe and the U.S. have addressed major concerns about the failure of integration of immigrants brought into their labor-markets after the rapid industrial and technology transfer post WWII, e.g. for more information visit the following websites (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/legal-migration/general/docs/final_report_on_using_eu_indicators_of_immigrant_integration_june_2013_en.pdf) and (http://m.immigrationpolicy.org/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.immigrationpolicy.org%2Fissues%2Fcitizenship&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.se%2F#2887).

With these experiences in mind and the fact that Europe and the U.S. passed through a wide-scale of urbanization and modernization especially after WWII, we can already expect similar negative consequences and impacts in the developing countries because of the ongoing fast urbanization, in particular Africa. With the exception that the negative consequences and impacts in Europe and the U.S. were/are relatively very much smaller than the observed trends and the expected future changes in the developing countries. Currently, there is already gradual and intensive internal migration due to the enormous urbanization process that is taking place in many developing countries around the world. This process is certainly resulting from the severe failure of integration of rural and urban regions and the core reason for the expansion of poor communities around major/mega cities. This indeed, has two major future impacts: (1) gradual degradation of the basic public and private infra-structures of newly urbanized regions; and (2) shortage of the relatively experienced local and native labor in rural regions on many levels in general and collapse of the agriculture, in particular, with associated negative impacts on food and agro-industries.

This is a very ignored issue in Africa though many severe impacts are already observed in big and mega cities in Africa, e.g. Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Bamako……

IMMIgration is an integral part of human experience and always existed throughout human history. In a dynamic world of continuous changes and unlimited needs for successful globalization IMMIgration would always exist. However, the motivations, dynamics and mechanisms are never the same. In this context, there are many critical questions that need to be answered not only at individual levels but also on the larger socio-economic landscape.

Shortly after WW-II immigration was very popular, and people and countries around the world benefited from the unlimited needs and diverse market possibilities that existed at that time. However, the current global situation what regards IMMIgration and INTEgtation is very much different than what it used to be after WW-II. Why the INTEgration of IMMIgarnts did not take a sustainable path, as it was wished, is among most important global political and socio-economic issues (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/legal-migration/general/docs/final_report_on_using_eu_indicators_of_immigrant_integration_june_2013_en.pdf).

Full integration of immigrants in the U.S. is still an issue and most immigrants want to be Americans and fully participate in social and civic life. We can expect naturalization and integration programs to be an important part of comprehensive immigration reform. Immigrant integration has benefits for everyone because it enables immigrants to realize their full potential, contribute more in economy and develop deeper community ties. While the United States encourages legal permanent residents to become citizens, there is no national strategy for facilitating integration with sufficient infrastructures to smooth transition from immigrant to citizen. Failure to address this problem in the context of comprehensive immigration reform could lead to endless delays for the millions who currently seek services from USCIS and the millions more who will become part of the applicant pool following legalization.

Another important issue is the internal migration in many countries due the enormous urbanization process that is currently taking place around the world. This process is certainly resulting from the severe failure of integration of rural and urban regions and the core reason for the expansion of poor communities around major/mega cities. This indeed, has two major impacts: (1) gradual degradation of the basic public and private infra-structures of urbanized regions; and (2) shortage of labor in rural regions on many levels in general and collapse of the agriculture, in particular, with associated negative impacts on food and agro-industries.

http://m.immigrationpolicy.org/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.immigrationpolicy.org%2Fissues%2Fcitizenship&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.se%2F#2887

We leaned in our daily life experiences that “no fire without smoke”. Indeed, many of us started to lose confidence in food quality and have observed on many occasions disappointing situations. That doesn’t come without reasons or surprises as we are already familiar about many environmental abuses on several levels. In additions to this, violations of rules and quality guide-lines are existing worldwide as economic terms in production and services have sometimes higher priorities than quality standards. 

Here are some few examples why our food quality can be questioned. I personally have experienced number of violations even in best shops in Europe (in this case very few) where bread and cheese can be suspected for exposure to rat droppings, see for example (http://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/rat-droppings.html). 

In developing countries sanitation and poor water quality can pose additional threats in food production as the risk of exposure of food to insets and certain dwelling animals, e.g. rats,  can be high. 

Here are some warnings about existing problems in processed food even through legally accepted quality guide-lines (http://youtu.be/T75ULFUgEPk).

Social media are web-based instruments, virtually opened for everyone with no exceptions to produce, exchange and share information. As understood by the public and agreed upon they are supposed to connect people and promote social relationships between them. We all assume that they are based on truthful, real and true facts that deserve respect. In sustainable societies using modern technologies, ICT “Information Communication Technology” as any other technology is part of complex socio-economic infrastructures that should have balanced interactions to constructively increase and enrich prosperity. The role of ICT is not to create, support or accelerate social conflicts and segregation where true and civilized communication get exchanged for network-bullying, hatred, falsehood and slander.

Everything happens online on the web have consequences for our societies at large especially the social relations between people and the interaction among citizens, family, education, technology, government, and the market in general. How these relations and interactions are dealt with and regulated is basic element of public security, safety and stability in any society. Clear rules and fair laws should exist to prevent the increased abuse of social media where everything illegal can very easily spread and strengthened. Social media has evolved tremendously to become the main source of information and knowledge where “freedom of opinion” needs not to be abused, misused and exploited to increase hate, instabilities and call for crime in modern ICT-based societies.

http://broblogger.blogspot.se/2013_02_01_archive.html?m=1

Sociala medier är till att främja sociala relationer mellan människor och borde baseras på fakta och respekt. I ett hållbart samhälle borde modern teknologi såsom ICT “Information Communication Technology” utnyttjas konstruktivt för att öka välfärden och inte skapa segregation där sann och civiliserad kommunikation bytts mot nät-mobbning, hat, lögn och förtal. Allt som händer på nätet har konsekvenser för samhället i stort särskilt sociala relationer mellan människor och samspelet mellan medborgare, familj, utbildning, teknologi, myndigheter och marknaden i allmänhet.

Tydliga regler och lagar borde finns för att hindra ökad missbruk av sociala medier där allt olaglig hat kan spridas och förstärkas. Sociala medier har utvecklats enormt för att bli den främsta källan till information och kunskap där “yttrande frihet” kan missbrukas och utnyttjas för ökad kriminalitet i samhället.

Idag föll domen i nätmobbningsmålet, det så kallade instagrammålet. Samhället har sagt sitt: Det är inte okej att förtala, mobba och sprida hat på nätet.
http://www.apg29.nu/index.php?artid=11798

YouTube is becoming more and more an inevitable global alternative of written books, magazines, journals and above all powerful marketing instrument. The voice of humans “YouTube” can be very easily embedded with other visual and texted information to show and illustrate very complex phenomena and behavior of humans, e.g. this unusual video (http://youtu.be/BTxuQwiY7eE).

Spela in föreläsningar? Lägga ut material på nätet? Använda YouTube i undervisningen? Upphovsrätt, integritet och offentlighet.
Kursutbudet är stort och omfattande, men om ni ändå inte hittar just det ni söker kan den rätta kursen för er arrangeras.

Mer information: http://www.fakultetskurser.se

Spela in föreläsningar? Lägga ut material på nätet? Använda YouTube i undervisningen? Upphovsrätt, integritet och offentlighet.

Kursutbudet är stort och omfattande, men om ni ändå inte hittar just det ni söker kan den rätta kursen för er arrangeras.

Mer information: http://www.fakultetskurser.se

IWA Water and Industry conference will take place at Västerås, Sweden, June 7-10, 2015. The registration opens at 8.00 on June 8 in the Mälardalen University main entrance. The conference will focus on latest developments in energy-efficient & sustainable wastewater, gas and solid waste treatment in 21st century industry. Environmentalists and chemical engineers, microbiologists, chemists and policy makers will present the most recent technological and scientific breakthroughs in the areas of management, characterization, minimization, abatement of industrial waste & wastewater. For further information visit: http://www.idt.mdh.se/IWA2015/index.php?choice=main

Sustain-Earth.Com will expand on issues of relevance for the accelerating importance ofICT “Information Communication Technology and Green Materials. Sustainability in global urbanization requires using wide-range of “Sensors for Automation and Control” both within city-systems, e.g. Individual buildings and city-services, and between internal and external city-systems, i.e. on regional, national and global levels.

Here is an example of early implementation of the building automation systems (BAS) into the development of the construction documents results in a highly functional “systems” approach. BAS requirements are continually changing as building owners expect more from their systems in the areas of energy management, safety, security, interoperability, lighting, and maintenance. BAS specialists ensure that each building automation delivers optimum performance and operation at a competitive price.

More examples and solutions will be given in the future where local and regional weather and climate as well as environment and social-economic conditions will require an increasing complexity of sensor systems and ICT-solutions especially what regards coupling rural and urbane regions.

(http://www.aeieng.com/services/instrumentation_and_controls/building_automation.php)

With the increasing role of ICT and modern building techniques, e.g. 3D-printing comes increasing needs for sustainable building materials and a great number of sensors for automation and control. Here is one example: (http://www.kmccontrols.com/products/Understanding_Building_Automation_and_Control_Systems.aspx)

In all human civilizations building and constructions were central components in human life with continuous struggle for sustainable comfort living in harmony with nature. As the concept of sustainability did not exist in the same way as we know it today, ancient solutions were based on practical use of naturally available materials in combination with the sun as source of heat and thermal energy. Climate/weather conditions played major rules in building and construction and people adapted living to their environment.

The Egyptian Pyramids, temples and living rooms were built more than 4500 years ago with zero energy consumption, zero carbon dioxide emissions and no toxic waste. How the Pyramids and those buildings were built is still matter of speculation and debate. According to historical data ancient Egyptians built the Giza Pyramids; Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure in a span of 85 years in the 26th century BC. How such sustainable technology was mastered is still a mystery what regards saving energy, water and environment.
Most of current problems today are related to implementation and use of technologies whether or not suitable for the environments. Because of this, the conform of modern technology comes with very high price in terms of economy, environment and above all an enormous loss of cultural and locally based building codes that developed throughout several generations. Only, in few cases where enough resources and investments exist there are successful examples, however it remains to see how such solution can be expanded on larger scales. The “world’s first carbon neutral zero-waste city” is slowly becoming a reality of epic proportions. The prototypical sustainable city, Masdar, is currently under construction twenty miles outside of Abu Dhabi. When finished, the city will be powered entirely by renewable energy, making it one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments. The city has its own sustainability-driven research center, which is devoted to the development of alternative energy (http://youtu.be/FyghLnbp20U).

Among most recent advances in building material is a new type of cement that is based on Pozzolan, which can be found in nature from volcanic deposits. Also, industrial waste from iron and power plans can be recycled and used in producing green cement. Green cements, as compared to OPC “ordinary Portland cement”, are very energy and water saving, environmentally much more friendly with no waste remains and no emissions of GHG. Also, have enormous advantages especially what regards production cost, mechanical properties, duration and maintainance. Modern technology can produce sustainable building materials, green cement, for erection of complicated structures that have excellent durability but in much much faster time as compared to ancient civilizations. Currently, the best possible sustainable building materials can bring about energy saving of more that 90% with very near zero carbon dioxide emission and zero waste remains.

To understand the importance of Pozzolan in modern technologies for production of green cement one has to back 2000 years ago. The Romans at that time started making concrete but it wasn’t quite like today’s concrete. They had a different formula that resulted in not as strong as our modern concrete. Yet structures like the Pantheon and the Colosseum have survived for centuries, often with little to no maintenance. Geologists, archaeologists and engineers have arrived a key component in the Roman’s concrete: volcanic ash. Usually,  three parts volcanic ash were mixed to one part lime, according to Vitruvius, first-century B.C. architect and engineer. Modern research shows that the very secret of durability of the buildings of the Roman Empire was due to the chemical composition of concretes made with Pozzolan, i.e. the ash’s unique mix of minerals appears to have helped concrete to withstand chemical decay and damage. For information (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-secrets-of-ancient-romes-buildings-234992/).

In all human civilizations building and constructions were central components in human life with continuous struggle for sustainable comfort living in harmony with nature. We give here only some few examples. As the concept of sustainability did not exist in the same way as we know it today, ancient solutions were based on practical use of naturally available materials in combination with the sun as source of heat, the wind as source of mechanical and thermal energy. Climate/weather conditions played major rules in building and construction and people adapted their living to the environment.

The Egyptian Pyramids, temples and living rooms were built more than 4500 years ago with zero energy consumption, zero carbon dioxide emissions and no toxic waste. How the Pyramids and those buildings were built is still matter of speculation and debate. According to historical data ancient Egyptians built the Giza Pyramids; Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure in a span of 85 years in the 26th century BC. How such sustainable technology was mastered is still a mystery what regards saving energy, water and environment.

Traditionally other cultures have always adapted sustainable and eco-friendly methods, e.g. Indian architecture, designing and planning, in constructions. Living in harmony with nature has been an integral part of Indian culture, e.g. what regards waste disposal, light and temperature control, use of local materials, kitchen gardens and low carbon print.

Environmentally conscious buildings have been around for much longer than the public debut of our modern environmental crisis. Since the early 19th century, residents of Yazd, Iran, have been using wind as an alternative energy source to cool their homes on warm summer days. A ‘windcatcher’ is an ancient Persian architectural element used in various central and southeastern towns and cities in Iran, where the majority of the ecological fabric are made up of deserts. In deserts, the temperature varies greatly between day and night, with windcatchers becoming essential for keeping homes at a consistently comfortable temperature. Also, for the region located in northeast Iran at the foot of Mount Sahand, the mound-like homes are carved from volcanic rock, meaning that most of the materials needed to construct them were already located on site. Technically, the dwellings aren’t true underground homes since a portion of them sits above ground, but since much of the living space is buried, inhabitants can expect cooler temperatures during the day without having to jack up the air conditioning (and saving a lot of energy). Similar volcanic structures with carved homes/villages exist also in Turkey.

In certain parts of the world, wood was always a popular building material, e.g. in Scadinavia. Yet the use of wood is seldom seen amongst the modern or classic constructions. Due to a series of destructive fires in the 15th century, the use of timber as an architectural material was banned for sometime. Danish non-profit organization Realdania Byg commissioned Vandkunsten architecture studio to design a holiday house that combines the most up-to-date construction techniques with local traditional materials. The architects designed and built a traditional house clad in seaweed—a material that was once used in hundreds of homes on then Danish island of Læsø, of which only 20 remain today.

Most of current problems today is that people implement and use technologies whether or not suitable for their environments. Because of this the conform of modern technology comes with very high price in terms of economy, environment and above the enormous loss of cultural and locally based building codes that developed throughout several generations. Only, in few cases where enough resources and investments exist there are successful examples, however it remains to see how such solutions can be expanded on larger scales. The “world’s first carbon neutral zero-waste city” is slowly becoming a reality of epic proportions. The prototypical sustainable city, Masdar, is currently under construction twenty miles outside of Abu Dhabi. When finished, the city will be powered entirely by renewable energy, making it one of the world’s most sustainable urban developments. The city has its own sustainability-driven research center, which is devoted to the development of alternative energy (http://youtu.be/FyghLnbp20U).

Among most recent advances in building material is a new type of cement that is based on Pozzolan, which can be found in nature from volcanic deposits. Also, industrial waste from iron and power plans can be recycled and used in producing green cement. Green cements, as compared to OPC “ordinary Portland cement”, are very energy and water saving, environmentally much more friendly with no waste remains and no emissions of GHG. Also, have enormous advantages especially what regards production cost, mechanical properties, duration and maintainance. Modern technology can produce sustainable building materials for erection of complicated structures that have excellent durability but in much much faster time as compared to ancient civilizations. Currently, the best possible sustainable building materials can bring about energy saving of more that 90% with very near zero carbon dioxide emission and zero waste remians.

Additional new comers in green cement era is effective production and construction through automation and 3D Printing technologies (http://inhabitat.com/3d-printed-quake-column-draws-on-ancient-incan-building-techniques-to-withstand-earthquakes/). Architecture is tapping into 3D printing technology in a major way through the production of building elements and structural components. Recent developments have also begun to work on creating seismically resistant structures. California-based architecture firm Emerging Objects has developed a design called the Quake Column, which draws on the ancient Incan building technique known as “ashlar” and merges it with modern technology.

GCC countries (Gulf Cooperation Council) are moving faster to SuperGreen solutions in building and construction projects.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the Emirates Green Building Council are strengthening cooperation for supporting a green economy in Dubai and the sustainable development of the Emirate. All future trends support the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Follow the news:

http://www.albawaba.com/print/business/pr/dewa-and-emirates-green-building-council-discuss-promoting-green-economy-695944