Feb 17
This coming June, the UN will have an important conference on Sustainable development, Rio+20. As my fellow intern Katherine has indicated in a recent post, the objective of the conference is to renew political commitment of UN’s member states to secure sustainable development, and it will focus on two key issues: promoting a green economy …
Feb 15
Green, green, green. It’s the new black. It’s everywhere we turn. From LEED certified buildings to electric vehicles, efforts to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient seem to be sprouting up everywhere. “Going green” has become so popular that it’s now trendy. Celebrities cruise around in their hybrid vehicles, supermarket shoppers carry around their …
Feb 13
The UN Secretary General chose a 22 member panel in 2010 to create a new blueprint for global sustainable development. At the end of last month the report, “Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing,” was released to the public. Focus areas of the panel include the conservation of our planet, global equity, lessening …
Feb 13
Education has been an issue that I have touched upon time and time again, and many times I have mentioned the ill reputed No Child Left Behind law. The law, which was revamped under former President George W. Bush’s term, has left a bitter mark on teachers and schools across the nation. Thousands of teachers, …
Feb 10
Most of you probably don’t know that back when I first started writing for the SISGI Group about 9 months ago one of my first blog posts was about an ecotourism initiative in India. Now, I like to think that my writing has improved a bit since then, but it was still a fairly good …
Feb 10
I noticed an interesting phenomenon the other day. As I sat down to watch my favorite show on television, I started closely observing the commercials. A few car commercials passed and then a commercial for Pretzel M&M’s, a few more commercials were played and then a McDonald’s commercial. I also saw a commercial for Snickers …
Feb 09
For many young people, listening to music while walking down the street has become a pretty common practice. Thousands of students on college campuses, as well as high school and middle school students, can be seen bopping about to their iPods or mp3 players. However, there is a major issue coming out of this new …
Feb 09
Yesterday I walked into one of my favorite restaurants, Chipotle. I usually order the exact same thing, a burrito bowl with chicken. However, this time I was in the mood for something new. I glanced up at the menu above the register to make my choice. As I panned across the menu I noticed what …
Feb 08
The education system in Cambodia used to be the envy of most other Asian countries. Going as far back as the thirteenth century, Cambodians have valued knowledge and schooling and the power that they bring with them. In pre-revolutionary times, six levels of grade school existed, followed by four years of what would be the …
Feb 06
Most people think of women when the words “honor killing” are brought up. As I wrote in a previous post, women around the world are being murdered, typically by their relatives, due to the fact that they have somehow brought shame upon their family. In this post, though, I want to talk about victims of …
