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"A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables"

Look what's happening with solar power in CA

Interesting new development. It seems that the US and NATO have been pursuing peace much more seriously than previously thought. Also, the Taliban denies that any peace talks have been taking place.

This recent development is a clear indicator of the difference between Bush-era foreign policy and that of the Obama administration. It remains unclear whether this new approach to Middle East peace will prove effective, but given the failures of the last administration, it will be interesting to see where such discussions with the enemy, who we have long considered to be a terrorist group, will lead. President Obama has made significant strides in terms of the conflicts in the Middle East, withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, but the effectiveness of these actions have yet to be proven; what distinguishes this strategy, and perhaps leads to the optimism surrounding it, is that a renewed effort to negotiate peace and draw down American presence in the Middle East is so radically different than before: different, yes; effective, maybe; we will have to wait and see.

I think its interesting that piracy is increasing throughout the world. Personally, I feel that its good that other countries are working to counter this threat.

I found it interesting that American-made American flags are lower quality than those made in China. It struck me as very similar to the situation faced by the speaker who came to talk to us about her bag business: how she had to outsource because she couldn't find a quality producer in the U.S. Something that bothered me is that many of the flags are synthetic; if the government is going to hand our hundreds of free flags that might just get thrown away, it seems as though it would be better to at least make them out of renewable materials like wood and cotton. However, I suppose that may be more expensive... Also, I visited the Jinteng factory website because I was curious if they specialized in a certain type of flag or not. It turns out that they make all different types of flags depending on the order, just as the jeans we saw in China Blue varied order by order. I suspect that although some workers feel frustrated making other countries' flags, their catalog indicates that they make flags for many countries, not just one, so any anger would perhaps be less likely to be directed toward a specific country due to constantly producing their flag.

I thought that it is sad (and ironic) that, as Matthew said, our symbols of freedom and patriotism are being paid for with people's rights (in China). I had never considered how 9/11 would have caused a drastic increase in demand for American flags, and though it shouldn't have, it surprised me that the low price of American flags from retailers such as Wal-Mart does not cover the production costs of the flags. Like Larkin, I found the juxtaposition of the symbols of the flag and where it is actually made notable. I also had the same question as Alison about whether any flags are actually made in the United States. I thought that Matthew did a nice job pointing out the odd juxtaposition and talking about the production cycle of the flag.

The lack of infrastructure in the developing world is both a liability and a potential asset. We are already witnessing a surge of activity in the introduction of solar, wind and other renewable energy technologies that will boost the development trajectories of countries with enormous potential.

I predicted that there would be a war of attrition along the Ukrainian front, and this is what it is shaping to be. The Russians are retreating because they have lost substantial amounts of manpower and supplies, which caused them to falter amid renewed Ukrainian counteroffensives. All they can hope to do is retreat and consolidate their power into the remaining territory, and hope that it is enough to hold out. Not that Russia is on the run, what will happen to the international community's committment to Ukraine's soverignty? Will the West provide the means to rebuild the nation and consolidate the liberated territory? Also, how will Russia respond in the end? During every conflict that has seen the loss of territory, particularly the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, The Soviet Union devoted itself to a scorched earth policy and razed entire cities to the ground to stop them from falling into the hands of the enemy. This could lead to a major humanitarian crisis, something that the West will need to help Ukraine recover from.

Three main goals: mitigation, adaptation, climate finance. Very interesting section about the effect of the war in Ukraine on climate efforts- increase in inflation and supply chain crisis. Lots of countries cannot do everything they committed to

I wonder how many countries have actually decreased greenhouse gas emmissions given the pressure that economic growth has on the energy sector and how renewables have not really matured until recently.

The arrest of an Indian climate activist, Ajit Rajagopal (an architect and activist from Kerala in south India), by Egyptian security forces has renewed alarm about the regime's dire human rights record as it prepares to host the Cop27. About 60,000 political prisoners including human rights and environmental activists have been locked up on bogus charges and tortured in the past decade.