The International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) is a research program that studies the phenomenon of Global Change. It seeks to:
• Analyze the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes that define Earth System dynamics
• The changes that are occurring in these dynamics
• The role of human activities on these changes
Created by ICSU in 1987, it is funded at about US$!.5 million per year with current participation of 37 countries.
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Ireland has moved from a scientific backwater of Europe to develop a vibrant effort to innovate industrially based on advances in the life sciences. In this special supplement of TheScientist.com (July 2008), the process of this transformation is reviewed and the current situation is described. The supplement has a number of articles by Irish experts, divided into three sections: Policy, Industry, and Research. Given the number of developing nations that seek to learn from the Irish success, thi more...
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by Ben Block on July 11, 2008 - Martin Vosseler wakes each morning and walks towards the rising sun.
For seven months and counting, the retired Swiss doctor has crossed the United States to discuss the merits of solar power and other forms of renewable energy with whomever he meets. He has refused to accept car rides or travel via public transportation. Instead he chooses to walk all the way from Los Angeles to Boston.
'When people see me on the highway, sometimes on the freeway, thousand more...
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By Joel Kotkin*
15 May 2008: Ever since his election in 2005, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been portrayed as a politician with a future that possibly included the governorship. As soon as he entered office, he launched an impressive succession of ‘bold’ initiatives — among them, to make the Los Angeles Police Department a 10,000-cop force, to ‘green’ the port of Los Angeles, to improve the academic scores of some of LA Unified's worst-performing schools. Until the re more...
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By Tokihiro Nakamura, Mayor of Matsuyama
10 May 2008: The tourism hotspot of Matsuyama in southern Japan has forged a reputation as an early adopter of optical capabilities in local industry and town planning, earning it the designation IT Business Model District by the central government.
Located in Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Matsuyama City is the nucleus municipality in the prefecture with a population of some 513,000. The metropolitan area is highly accessible as it takes more...
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London, 16 July 2008: An inquiry set up by London mayor Boris Johnson to examine the spending regime of his predecessor has failed to find any evidence of corruption or wrong-doing on the part of former mayor Ken Livingstone or any of his advisers. The final report of the forensic audit panel established to examine the finances of the London Development Agency (LDA) did however claim that 'tens of millions' had been wasted during Livingstone's two terms, a charge the former mayor refutes.
'In more...
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From CityMayors.com
New York City, 16 July 2008: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called America’s system of measuring urban poverty as outdated and claimed it seriously under-estimated poverty in his city. In a speech prepared for the annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the mayor introduced a new poverty gauge. “'If we are serious about fighting poverty, we also have to start getting serious about accurately measuring poverty, more...
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