In This Issue:
* World Population to Hit 7 Billion
* Future of the Internet Economy
* A Business Guide to Climate Change
* Feeling Fat vs. Being Fat
* Click of the Month: How You Lead

WORLD POPULATION TO HIT 7 BILLION

Four years from now the world population will reach 7 billion, just 13 years after passing the 6 billion milestone, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections.

The Census Bureau's International Data Base covers 226 countries and other selected geographies and incorporates data on net migration, HIV/AIDS and other factors affecting population-growth projections.

Globally, population growth will slow from 1.2% annually at present to 0.5% by 2050. "However, this growth will be concentrated in less-developed countries," the bureau notes.

By 2050, the proportion of the population over the age of 80 will increase from 1.5% to 5%. In developed countries, that figure will be 10%.

"In order to better project countries with increasing numbers of people in the oldest ages, we are in the process of converting our projections to be done by single years of age up to 100 years and over," the Bureau reports.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

FUTURE OF THE INTERNET ECONOMY

New policies to promote innovation, enhance security, and improve communications infrastructure globally were among the chief priorities outlined at the recent OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet, held in Seoul and hosted by the Korea Communications Commission.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders in the Internet's future, all with urgent agendas: The technical community called for policies to promote open standards and protocols; civil society urged protections for freedom of expression; and business called for policies that encourage investment.

This confluence of stakeholders enabled the meeting to uncover key new issue areas that will affect future policy making:

* New communications platforms based on new technologies such as fiber optics that may fundamentally change market dynamics and user behavior.

* The accelerating shift from immobile (PC-based) to mobile access.

* The advent of sensor-based networks that not only require massive new infrastructure capacity, but also raise new privacy and security issues.

SOURCE: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

A BUSINESS GUIDE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Businesses can make money, reduce their long-term risks, and discover new opportunities by dealing with climate change issues, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA has partnered with a wide range of industry groups to prepare a newly released resource guide for businesses.

Among the partnership programs featured in the guide are:

* Best Workplaces for Commuters, which provides technical assistance and certifies employers based on traffic-reducing and productivity-improving employee benefits.

* Combined Heat and Power Partnership, which assists businesses in establishing cogeneration systems.

* Waste Wise, which helps companies set goals and implement plans to reduce solid municipal waste.

Dozens of other partnerships may be searched by sector, including agriculture, transportation, product labeling, energy, waste, pollution prevention, water, technology, regulation, and more.

SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Partnership Programs

FEELING FAT VS. BEING FAT

Adolescents who believe themselves to be overweight--whether or not they are--are likely to have a lower quality of life than those who feel their weight is just right--whether or not it is.

According to a study in the German medical journal DEUTSCHES AERZTEBLATT, the proportion of adolescents who think they are overweight has been increasing more rapidly than the proportion of those who really are overweight.

Society puts pressure on youngsters to be thin, and those who believe they do not meet that ideal unnecessarily forfeit a great deal of quality of life, according to the researchers. But those who are in fact obese and do not see themselves as such may not be susceptible to weight-reduction interventions that would improve their health.

"A realistic body image on the part of obese adolescents is a prerequisite for their acceptance of interventions," the researchers conclude. "The marked deterioration in quality of life resulting from perceived obesity, even for young people of normal weight, illustrates the complexity of the struggle against obesity."

SOURCE: "Perceived or True Obesity: Which Causes More Suffering in Adolescents?"

CLICK OF THE MONTH: HOW YOU LEAD: http://www.howyoulead.org/
HOW YOU LEAD:

The Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government teamed with the Ken Blanchard Companies in May to identify the key questions we should be asking those who wish to lead us.

Though the questions are specifically geared toward the U.S. presidential candidates, the issues are appropriate for anyone seeking to become a leader or to improve his or her leadership abilities. Among the leadership-probing questions suggested:

* What are your five core values, and how will they shape how you lead?

* What experiences have helped you deeply understand the mind-set and values of other cultures?

* Can you share some examples of when you were a catalyst who brought groups with polarized opinions together so that all voices were at the table?

* Tell us about a time when your judgment was tested in crisis. What do you want us to appreciate about your judgment?

* How will you create an environment for innovation within your leadership team?

The site also invites visitors to contribute their own leadership questions.