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BUSINESS SEES CARBON AS RISK AND OPPORTUNITY Three-fourths of companies surveyed now see measuring their operations' direct and indirect carbon production as an active priority, according to The Conference Board. More than half of the companies surveyed have appointed a senior executive to coordinate company actions for managing greenhouse gas emissions. Approaches include reductions in energy use, carbon-sequestration projects, green power initiatives, and carbon trading. A "carbon-concerned future" is both a risk and an opportunity for businesses, according to 95% of the companies surveyed, and greenhouse gas management is increasingly seen as an integral part of business strategy. DETAILS: The Conference Board, http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=2985 DESIGNING BETTER BABIES Better-educated parents are more favorable than less-well-educated parents toward using reproductive technologies to give their future children an advantage. What is deemed desirable in these designed offspring varies by the gender, age, and socioeconomic class of respondents in a study by the University of East Anglia's School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies. While most prospective parents desired healthy children, older women were significantly more willing to "improve" the physical, social, and intellectual characteristics of their prospective children. Better-educated parents of both genders were prepared to go further to improve children's IQ. DETAILS: University of East Anglia http://comm.uea.ac.uk/press/release.asp?id=672 ********************************************* http://hr.richmond.edu/forms/FacultyApplicationforEmployment.pdf ********************************************* WETTER WINTERS COMING IN NORTHWEST U.S. By the end of the century, western Washington and Oregon will be getting 10% more rainfall in November, December, and January, while coastal Alaska and British Columbia will be 15% soggier, predicts a team of atmospheric researchers at the University of Washington. The reason: Climate change will churn up more precipitation-producing energy in the atmosphere, resulting in not only warmer but wetter winters in the Pacific Northwest, explains lead researcher Eric Salath of the university's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans. The next focus of the study is to examine the potential of extreme winter storms. "The seasonal mean is made up of four or five big storms and then mostly drizzle," says Salath. "It's the big storms that are important for flooding or the scouring of fish habitat. If the mean is shifting, then you would expect that the extremes are shifting, too." DETAILS: University of Washington, http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/. FTC LAUNCHES TECHNOLOGY BLOG The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is hosting a blog on new technologies in conjunction with its hearings in November on "Protecting Consumers in the Next Tech-ade." The blog features articles on the impacts of new technologies on consumers and businesses, including interviews with experts from government, technology, academia, law enforcement, and consumer advocacy. One of the participating experts is WFS board member William E. Halal, professor of science, technology, and innovation at George Washington University, whose report on "Technology's Promise" was published in the November-December 2006 issue of THE FUTURIST. DETAILS: Federal Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/10/techadeblog.htm or http://ftcchat.us/blog/.*********************************** HOPE AND VISION AT 2007 CONFERENCE https://www.wfs.org/2007regform.htm SUBMIT SESSION PROPOSAL (deadline October 31) OR LEARN MORE: http://www.wfs.org/2007main.htm
*********************************** CLICK OF THE MONTH: GOODSEARCH http://www.goodsearch.com A search engine that supports a variety of charities allows you to do good while searching well. GoodSearch's database currently includes about 20,000 nonprofit organizations dedicated to finding cures, helping kids, protecting the environment, providing disaster relief, and other noble endeavors. Enter your charity's name in the "Who do you GoodSearch for?" window, then enter key words in the search window, powered by Yahoo!Search. To see how your good searching has rewarded your selected charity, click on "Amount Raised." And if your favorite charity is not listed, you may submit its information to the GoodSearch roster. Internet search engines generate billions of dollars a year in revenues from sponsored links and other advertising. GoodSearch's goal is to direct 50% of its total revenues, or about a penny per search, to the charities designated by its users. NEWS FROM THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY
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