A new BLOG about applied global sustainability is available now. We will be gradually working with developing, interacting and promoting all issues relevant to applied global sustainabilty. With the NEW YEAR of 2014, you are kindly invited to visit, share and contribute in this BLOG.
Scientific discoveries and production of new knowledge involve a long chain of systematic steps where publication of science work in top-tier journals is becoming an essential step. Randy Schekman, a US biologist and Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine 2013, is warning the scientific community about the role of leading academic journals in distorting the scientific process. There have been long-standing debates about assessment of scientific publication especially in terms of originality, quality and credit. Scientific journals have grown in number dramatically in the past decades. However, only few journals, e.g. Nature, Cell and Science, have kept very high reputation through their restricted referee and publication policies, in particular the number of papers they accept. This, however, has promoted high “impact factor” for these well-established journals. “Impact factor” is very widespread for judging the quality, originality and credit of scientific publications, also, in the process of judging the quality/standard of scientific applications for funding. Randy Schekman, and many others, are very critical about the existing rules for judging science as the “impact factor”, which is used for marketing top-tier journals and for ranking scientific applications for funding, can not be regarded as an absolute indicators and a fair instrument in these aspects.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/09/nobel-winner-boycott-science-journals
Poverty did not develop over-night. It is a non-sustainable pile-up of inequalities
in a history driven by fear to become poor and managed by the rich for the rich.
http://docunow.blogspot.se/2013/06/poor-us-animated-history-of-poverty.html?m=1
At the onset of the ancient Egyptian civilization the world population was somewhat more than 15 million people, i.e. the current population of the Netherlands only or fifth of the current of population of Egypt today. Ancient Egyptians had therefore enough natural resources to create a civilization on their own and within their boundaries. So, peak population had passed very long time ago!
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/history/world-population-growth.htm
When the waste on our planet keeps piling up, in air, water and land, the only choice left is to breath it, drink it and eat it up. We can’t run away from it! http://m.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/09/worst-polluted-playgrounds-world/3395/
Everywhere on our planet, waste management is of major concern. Life quality is very much related to successful waste-management policies. Reducing, Collecting, Sorting, Processing and Re-cycling of human and industrial waste is becoming a major industry. But do we have proper scientific and technology approaches for such vital and important industry. Waste problems have costed humanity decades, if not centuries, to understand the enormous threats of waste and pollutions that have degraded all forms of life qualities of earth.
http://theferkel.co.uk/2012/05/30/worst-examples-of-pollution/chinese-migrant-workers-sort-through-industrial-and-household-waste-at-a-recycling-centre-in-beijing-china/
Unusual weather conditions have maximized the suffering of civilians in Syria and millions of refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and elsewhere. The severe conditions of war and weather combined with minimal humanitarian help changed the region to a new Death Valley.
http://www.trust.org/item/20131211164138-6ux4m/
Water conservation is of global concern and water issues are not only about water scarcity. Quality is essential and without public awareness and the consumer’s responsibility one would expect many new additional threats for the environment, the ecosphere and for humans.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=en&n=344B115B-1#why
In many situations household can build simple systems for water “purification” through improving and developing the existing knowledge. These systems can be of interest for people that have limited access to public services, in remote areas and in cases of water scarcity where re-use of water becomes a necessity. http://www.clearchoicescleanwater.org/septics/septic-impacts/
Technology combined with imagination and innovation can provide multiple solutions.
http://www.readnrock.com/?p=43
Ghana, the gate to Africa and a model of success! Unbelievable fast progress within many sectors of activities, energy, education, health, ICT, agriculture, tourism, … . An amazing safe and peaceful society with a high-level of democratization brought about by international trade, cultural exchange and expansion of small and medium enterprises.
http://www.theafricareport.com/component/option,com_videoflow/id,72/sl,play/task,play/
Coming Soon “Sustain-Earth.com”. An interactive BLOG with a global overview of the past, present and future progress of the concept of “Sustainability”. The evolution of “Sustainability from the very individual, narrow and fragmented understanding to a holistic and applied global prospective. Wandering of humans in the “Sustainability” landscape for secured living for themselves confronted with the very fundamental life processes on earth and resulted in major threats for survival of the earth-systems. The BLOG is organised in explanatory “Categories” for different society sectors and it will provide “Services” and “Noteboards” to Stakeholders.
Holistic assessment approaches for developing and implementing sustainability strategies for shaping strategic policies are needed on all levels of different public and private sectors. Such approaches would require Key Performance Indicators for quality assessment analysis of the three main pillars of sustainability, i.e. social, environmental and economic. How would such approaches and indicators look like?
See, this example on a partial approach
http://reliabilityweb.com/index.php/articles/measuring_sustainable_change/
To transform the whole planet with its seven billion people to a sustainable path needs your help. What would you be able to do?
Currently, sustainability is generally treated in a theoretical manner with demonstrations of the negative impacts of over-consumption and the miss-management of natural resources. However, in a world with increasing population we can hardly continue with “business as usual”. We need to go over to practical solutions, i.e. “Applied Sustainability”. Transformation to more sustainable approaches worldwide and in all society sectors will not take place over-night.
You may have felt poor up-dating of the Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” and major interruptions in the activities. The wide-range of interests within the Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” made it necessary to up-date the layout and construction of the Blog. Also, to have own domain with representative name that reflects the content and extent. The new “Sustain-Earth.com” will also allow us to fulfill our wish to improve the communication with the visitors and readers and to provide new services. It will, also, provide platform for professionals and expertise within society sectors to share knowledge and contribute in topic discussions.
This Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” will get a new address “sustain-earth.com”.
The change to the new address will take place within one week.
We have a new layout and construction of the Blog to make it easier to follow the Posts and the content much easier as well as to contribute in discussions as well.
The new construction will involve a number of new interactive functions where guest Bloggers, expertise and professional will contribute as well as interacts with the media to discuss and answer their questions. The Categories of the Blog are kept wide enough to deliver solutions and approaches in all society sectors.
Even if we can ignore the reality, we can never ignore its consequences. Economic models and scientific discoveries have promoted an ever accelerating consumption of the earth’s natural resources with little consideration to population growth and the associated damage of all forms of life on the Earth. Depletion of important resources, the increasing waste and pollution combined with an accelerating population have caused poverty, disease, malnutrion and above all the definite fact of an approaching total annihilation of life on the whole planet. Survival of humans and newcomers has continuously forced impoverised people to destroy their environment. It is the very nature of humans, no one can go hungry without commiting a “crime” to fill the stomach!
But what is Sustainability and can we really achieve it, when we are regularly presented with a range of the so-called “sustainable” products and “green or organic” cleaning supplies to carbon offsets. With micro-economic markets keep supplying us with so much labeled as sustainable, the term has grown to become essentially a “bubble of sustainability”, at best indicating a practice or product slightly less damaging than the conventional alternative.
Sustainability can not be achieved by un-sustainable policies that are left over to the market without having appropriate instruments on all levels and sectors to strictly define, measure and control how sustainable is sustainable. How else can we can we achieve a goal that is not well-defined and regulated!
The MENA region is facing major challenges to meet the growing pressures on its WE “Water and Energy” resources. This would require major transformation for shaping new policies to meet the accelerating demands not only on energy but also on water. Other drivers what regards energy are high insolation rates, young and empowered workforce. Among other drivers for achieving sustainable WE-policies are increasing awareness of cost, quality, market diversity and public services.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/research/report/mena-solar-market-outlook-2013-2017
The World Top Ten: longest rivers, largest lakes, largest countries, deepest oceans and seas, countries with most airports.
http://oneclickfun.blogspot.se/2012/02/top-ten-of.html?m=1