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"Our core ecological problem is not climate change. It is overshoot, of which global warming is a symptom. Overshoot is a systemic issue. Over the past century-and-a-half, enormous amounts of cheap energy from fossil fuels enabled the rapid growth of resource extraction, manufacturing, and consumption; and these in turn led to population increase, pollution, and loss of natural habitat and hence biodiversity. The human system expanded dramatically, overshooting Earth's long-term carrying capacity for humans while upsetting the ecological systems we depend on for our survival. Until we understand and address this systemic imbalance, symptomatic treatment (doing what we can to reverse pollution dilemmas like climate change, trying to save threatened species, and hoping to feed a burgeoning population with genetically modified crops) will constitute an endlessly frustrating round of stopgap measures that are ultimately destined to fail."

"Abstract Many people believe renewable energy sources to be capable of substituting fossil or nuclear energy. However there exist very few scientifically sound studies, which apply due diligence to substantiating this impression. In the present paper, the case of photovoltaic power sources in regions of moderate insolation is analysed critically by using the concept of Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI, also called EROI). But the methodology for calculating the ERoEI differs greatly from author-to-author. The main differences between solar PV Systems are between the current ERoEI and what is called the extended ERoEI (ERoEI EXT). The current methodology recommended by the International Energy Agency is not strictly applicable for comparing photovoltaic (PV) power generation with other systems. The main reasons are due to the fact that on one hand, solar electricity is very material-intensive, labour-intensive and capital-intensive and on the other hand the solar radiation exhibits a rather low power density."

"25+ Applications to turn Webcam into Home Security System"

"... In addition to serving as a great explanatory example of the potential danger of AI, I have realized that paperclip maximizer is also a perfect allegory for capitalism. Where the artificial intelligence sought to maximize paperclips, the capital maximizer seeks to maximize capital. ... While this story of the capital maximizer might strike some as the anti-capitalist rantings of socialist idealism, it is not meant as such. Capitalism is the most powerful machine that humans have ever created. It can realize the benefits of technological progress and leverage them to improving the human condition better than any other economic system yet devised. The problem is in viewing the growth of capital as an ends and not a means. If we do not demand that our systems maximize the well-being of humans and the environment which sustains us, then all is lost."

Caltech researchers have found evidence of a giant planet in the outer solar system

"EdX is a nonprofit online initiative created by founding partners Harvard and MIT and composed of dozens of leading global institutions, the xConsortium. EdX offers interactive online courses and MOOCs from the world's best universities and institutions. Open edX is the open source platform that powers edX courses. Through our commitment to the open source vision, edX code is freely available to the community. Institutions can host their own instances of Open edX and offer their own classes. Educators can extend the platform to build learning tools that precisely meet their needs. And developers can contribute new features to the Open edX platform. Our goal is to build a thriving worldwide community of educators and technologists who share innovative solutions to benefit students everywhere. We invite you to explore Open edX and participate in our growing movement. Frequently Asked Questions What is Open edX? The Open edX platform is a free--and open source--course management system (CMS) that was originally developed by edX. The Open edX platform is used all over the world to host Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as well as smaller classes and training modules."

"Se calcula que nuestro Sistema Solar tiene una edad de en torno a 4.600 millones de años. Este juego llamado Super Planet Crash nos reta a que diseñemos nuestro propio sistema de planetas. El objetivo es que dure al menos 500 años. Parece poco tiempo, pero no es una tarea nada fácil. El juego es un simulador basado en las condiciones astrofísicas reales de los planetas y las estrellas. Su creador es Stefano Meschiari un estudiante del Observatorio McDonald, en la Universidad de Texas. El proyecto de Meschiari se llama Systemic Console y es precisamente una aplicación que gestiona los datos reales provenientes del observatorio. Super Planet Crash deja al jugador elegir entre 12 tipos diferentes de objetos astronómicos. Cuantos más planetas y estrellas metamos, más puntos da el juego, pero más posibilidades hay también de que nuestro sistema se colapse o de que las órbitas de unos objetos afecten a otros y se destruyan con el tiempo. Podéis jugar a este entretenido simulador astronómico aquí. [Super Planet Crash]"

"This article analyzes teacher strikes in Argentina during 2006-2012. It stands out how teacher strikes prevail over claims from other unions, and are shown to be relevant events for education policy just for some provinces and only for public schools. We found that none of the policy measures implemented over the last decade has proven to be effective in reducing conflict. Analyzing a dataset on labour unrest, this study builds an index of teacher labour conflict to better understand the evolution of teacher strikes over time and under the various provincial governments that integrate the Argentinian federal education system. The article shows no correlation between teacher labour unrest and the growth of private enrolment. However, we note that despite the lack of statistical correlation, teacher strikes should not be ruled out as an explanatory variable of the increase in private education in Argentina."

Connected Learning (education system needs an update)

The Atlantic covers consequential news and ideas in politics, business, entertainment, technology, health, education, and global affairs.

"Las ilustraciones del sistema solar nunca evidencian a las claras su tamaño. Parece una cuestión cuántica: o los planetas están a escala o lo están las distancias, pero nunca ambos. Sería imposible. Por ello un grupo de seis amigos se dirigieron hacia el desierto de Navada, en Estados Unidos y contruyeron el primer modelo del sistema solar, con sus órbitas y a escala. En él la Tierra es una canica y el diámetro del conjunto completo es de unos 10 kilómetros. Aunque está en inglés, el vídeo se entiende perfectamente y destaca por dos factores: cada planeta está iluminado y se ve su órbota por la noche en time-lapse y al amanecer, el modelo del Sol, tiene el mismo tamaño que el astro rey que se alza por el universo. Un ejemplo de escala perfecto. On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in the universe. A film by Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh"

"Besides focusing on production, sustainable food systems need to address waste, crop-grass-livestock interdependencies and human consumption. None of the corresponding strategies needs full implementation and their combined partial implementation delivers a more sustainable food future."

"The transition from unicellular to multicellular life was one of a few major events in the history of life that created new opportunities for more complex biological systems to evolve. Predation is hypothesized as one selective pressure that may have driven the evolution of multicellularity. Here we show that de novo origins of simple multicellularity can evolve in response to predation. We subjected outcrossed populations of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to selection by the filter-feeding predator Paramecium tetraurelia. Two of five experimental populations evolved multicellular structures not observed in unselected control populations within ~750 asexual generations. Considerable variation exists in the evolved multicellular life cycles, with both cell number and propagule size varying among isolates. Survival assays show that evolved multicellular traits provide effective protection against predation. These results support the hypothesis that selection imposed by predators may have played a role in some origins of multicellularity."

"The Chinese government blocked 17.5 million would-be plane passengers from buying tickets last year as a punishment for offences including the failure to pay fines, it emerged. Some 5.5 million people were also barred from travelling by train under a controversial "social credit" system which the ruling Communist Party claims will improve public behaviour. The penalties are part of efforts by president Xi Jinping's government to use data-processing and other technology to tighten control on society."

"Industrial Ecology: Some Directions for Research May 1997 - Pre Publication Draft Prepared by: Iddo K. Wernick and Jesse H. Ausubel Program for the Human Environment, The Rockefeller University with the Vishnu Group for the Office of Energy and Environmental Systems, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"

"¿Cuánto tardará en llegar el colapso del sistema capitalista actual? Hay un libro muy potente titulado Failing States, Collapsing System, de Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, que habla sobre Oriente Medio y sobre las cosas alarmantes que allí están sucediendo. Todos los países productores de petróleo están sufriendo varios problemas: el agotamiento de los recursos petrolíferos y, con ello, el incremento del precio para poder extraerlo; el disparado crecimiento de la población… En los últimos 30 años solo se han preocupado de hacerse cada vez más ricos y no en mejorar las condiciones de vida de las familias. Ahora lo que tienen es una gran escasez de agua e importan la mayoría de la comida. Esto implica que el coste de los bienes se multiplica. La cantidad de petróleo que necesitan para abastecer a la gente está aumentando y el número de servicios y subsidios que proporcionan los estados se está reduciendo. La cantidad de petróleo que pueden exportar también se está reduciendo. De acuerdo con las gráficas que presenta el autor, quedan 10 años hasta que los recursos desciendan de manera dramática. Pensamos que en la actualidad tenemos un problema con los refugiados pero, cuando lo único que puedan exportar las personas que viven en estas regiones del mundo sea arena, la situación será dramática. Hay muchos análisis en la actualidad que van en esta dirección. Hablan de una crisis multifactorial, no solo por el petróleo y no solo en Oriente Medio. Es el cambio climático también, el colapso de la pesca… Cada vez se hace más difícil extraer minerales y los costes de hacerlo cada vez son más elevados. Se deteriora la productividad de la economía. El sistema financiero quebrará. Todas estas cosas van a peor en muy poco tiempo. Antes del 2030 golperarán al mundo de tal manera que todo va a explotar y quebrarse. Las respuestas a las preguntas son múltiples pero todas están enfocadas hacia una misma dirección, y es que el crecimiento infin

"Imagine you could use any kind of small head difference in a river or canal. The power those drops contain might surprise you. We created a technology that can make use of all these small waterfalls or rapids in a way that's safe for the environment. Gone are the days that communities had to choose between having power or fish to eat. Our robust and fish friendly vortex turbiness will generate energy 24/7 at an incredibly low cost of energy. That way you can have a project with high return on investment that improves the world just that little bit. Now, if you look at a river or canal, you'll notice that it's full of these small cascades, that's how nature builds rivers. We have created a distributed turbine system that can combines a large amount of turbines into one big virtual hydropower powerplant. These virtual hydropower plants can be as large as 10MW in power output. That's the power production of a small city! We can do this because our civil structures are designed to be easy to install, and the electronics and robust power take-offs are designed to keep working with minimal maintenance. The energy produced can be directly connected to your appliances or machinery, and at the same time connected to the national distribution grid, so you can inject the unused power to it, maximizing the revenue through a net billing connection."

¿Infografía? detallando diferentes misiones de investigación a puntos clave del sistema solar y sus objetivos

"Hardly anyone seems to have noticed that the newest climate science suggests we are about to pass the point of no return, to unstoppable, catastrophic global warming. This short animation explains the positive feedback mechanisms that mean the Earth's climate system has a tipping point, followed by a brief glimpse into the crystal ball of horrors that will almost certainly come to pass if we cross it. Finally, the film explores how we got into the mess we're in, and the possibilities still open to us to prevent the worst natural and humanitarian disaster in human history, and the very real possibility of the end of civilization, and of life as we know it."