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Total number of posts: 23655
“You can’t garden nature”
Protecting ecosystems from non-native species stems from a “biological bias,” says biologist Mark Davis. Instead of dividing the world into native and non-native environments, scientists ought to judge species based on what they do, he says, not where they come from. Sam Rosenzweig | Read More...
The future of predictions
Why it’s so hard to make predictions—and how we can get better at it. Marco Visscher | December 2011 Issue Paul Ehrlich looked at the numbers and started to worry. At the turn of the 19th century, there were a billion people on Earth. In 1927, there were 2 billion. In 1960, 3 billion. The next Read More...
Learning to speak body language
Ode to dance4life Veerle Corstens | December 2011 Issue Dancing is a universal language. That’s why dance4life uses it in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Each year, the organization celebrates its successes with a dance event. Dance4life was founded by Dennis Karpes and Ilco van der Linde, Dutch Read More...
The future is behind us
To predict what is to come, we need eyes in the backs of our heads. Lisette Thooft | December 2011 Issue For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be able to see into the future, to know what lies ahead, what fate has in store. As a child, my favorite books featured characters with magical Read More...
Who needs banks anyway?
In the new age of austerity, communities are coming together to finance and run their own projects and services. Loren Berlin | December 2011 Issue With reporting by Karin Wesselink in Beneden-Leeuwen, the Netherlands The organic therapeutic farm Henricus Hoeve in the Dutch town of Beneden-Leeuwen Read More...
Courage in action
Ode to Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International Robin Fasano | December 2011 Issue On a bright morning in Baghdad, Iraq, teacups clank as 20 women in head scarves sit in a circle on a carpeted floor inside a small, white building. They are intently discussing daily life in their Read More...
Homeward bound
How telecommuting increases productivity, improves job satisfaction and enhances work-life balance. Adam Smith | December 2011 Issue Like many new mothers, Pamela Ferrill prefers not to be far from her baby. And like many parents, she has to balance that instinct with her responsibilities. Happily Read More...
Christmas trees are not just for Christmas
Diane Daniel | December 2011 Issue Fair-trade holiday gifts might include coffee, chocolate and handmade crafts. But what about the Christmas tree? Danish tree farmer Marianne Bols made an unpleasant discovery when she and her husband, Lars, started the Bols Planteskole nursery and began to grow Read More...
The flip side of getting
Giving is what you do when you realize just how much you’re taking. Rabbi Rami | December 2011 Issue One way to understand the nature of giving is to talk with those whose lives are devoted to asking. Panhandlers and charity fundraisers will tell you it’s all about guilt. Prosperity preachers Read More...
The helper’s high
Why it feels so good to give. Sander van der Linden | December 2011 Issue For a significant part of human history, giving to those less fortunate has been regarded as a desirable behavior. One obvious reason, of course, is that even a small sacrifice may make a world of difference to someone else. Read More...