<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16LE"?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Bio-Distress</title> <link>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Bio-Distress.aspx</link> <description>&lt;p&gt;Threats to our biological, ecological, and built environments drain resources and demand coordinated responses.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Climate Change &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Chronic Illness &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Food Insecurity &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Toxic Materials &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Urbanization &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Pandemics &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Pollution &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;Such threats pose complex challenges for schools and communities. The primary and secondary effects of climate change are disrupting the basic systems we rely upon. Unsustainable development and industrial processing are harming our bodies. Rising chronic illness requires new management strategies. Altogether, these forces are creating a feral environment.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Join a group for advocating children's health or environmental safety in schools, such as the &lt;a href="http://www.healthyschools.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Healthy Schools Network&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn about how &lt;a href="http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/me_iran0128_05_13.asp" target="_blank"&gt;Ug99&lt;/a&gt; is killing wheat plants across the world &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Explore ten &lt;a href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/education/exemplars.html" target="_blank"&gt;key strategies &lt;/a&gt;to prevent obesity at schools &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt; &lt;/p&gt; </description> <name>Bio-Distress</name> <atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Bio-Distress" /><feedburner:info uri="bio-distress" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><item> <title>Altered Bodies (Driver of Change)</title> <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Experimenting at the intersection of environment and performance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Advances in neuroscience are revealing new understanding of the brain, its plasticity, and its responsiveness to the environment. Emerging notions of neuro-diversity and physical  disability will challenge standards of what is  normal and will spark innovations that help mainstream populations. At the same time, greater threats to human and environmental health from climate change, pollution, war, extreme urbanization, and other natural and human-made disasters will in the next decade create new stresses on minds and bodies. These stresses will converge in schools, some of which will seek to instill a sense of stewardship for self and environment in their students. With their mission to educate all students, these schools will become key sites for interventions to overcome the various challenges of disability and bio-distress and their impacts on learning.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;How can experimenting and designing for  special learners create innovations for all?  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;How can school communities become centers for protection and rejuvenation in a bio-distressed world? &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;More on This Topic&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; In the next decade, &lt;strong&gt;the body will be at the center of many debates&lt;/strong&gt; regarding human performance, bio-distress, environmental health, and their impact on learning.  We will see more experimentation focused on adapting to the threats of bio-distress, but also on expanding our conceptions of cognition, human performance, and standards of normalcy.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Advances in neuroscience&lt;/strong&gt; are revealing new understanding of the brain, its plasticity (i.e., its ability to change) and its responsiveness to the environment.  This is opening up a spectrum of cognitive performance, revealing the strengths of different cognitive abilities rather than their weaknesses.  &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Emerging notions of neuro-diversity and physical  disability &lt;/strong&gt; will challenge standards of what is "normal" and will spark innovations that help mainstream populations. &lt;a href="/signal/Oscar-Pistorius.aspx"&gt;Oscar Pistorius&lt;/a&gt;, an elite athlete with two prosthetic legs called Cheetah Flexfeet, is demonstrating that physical enhancement can create better than normal performance. As we understand more about neuro-diversity, innovations in teaching and learning that are targeted for  disabled marginal populations may provide insight and benefit for mainstream learners. Expect to see more differentiation in teaching styles, approaches, and tools based on personal cognitive profiles.  Tools, exercises and services (an early example is &lt;a href="/signal/Sharp-Brains.aspx"&gt;SharpBrains&lt;/a&gt;) that support brain fitness and training will become integrated into learning plans and school curricula.  &lt;a href="/trend/Cognitive-Modification.aspx"&gt;Cognitive modification &lt;/a&gt;will raise issues about standards of performance, conceptions of normalcy, and how individual learners are effectively and equitably evaluated.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;At the same time, &lt;strong&gt;greater threats to human and environmental health&lt;/strong&gt; from climate change, pollution, war, extreme urbanization, and other natural and human-made disasters will in the next decade create new stresses on minds and bodies.  A new understanding of the brain will help discern the connection between these stresses and learning. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; These stresses will converge in schools, some of which seek to instill a sense of stewardship for self and environment in their students. With their mission to educate all students, these &lt;strong&gt;schools will become key sites for interventions&lt;/strong&gt; to overcome the various challenges of disability and bio-distress and their impacts on learning.  &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Implications for Learning&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;The school campus, and other locations of learning, will be a rich place for experimentation in the next decade: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;School leaders need to &lt;strong&gt;look broadly to edge populations and communities&lt;/strong&gt; for insights and innovative solutions.  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;New knowledge about brain health, disability, environment, and learning will help support new &lt;strong&gt;kinds of models for the places where learning happens&lt;/strong&gt;, whether that is a school or community garden, and art or dance studio, or even a community center or neighborhood.  &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;This is an opportunity for school leaders to &lt;strong&gt;engage with other community leaders&lt;/strong&gt; around shared issues, such as the consequences of food deserts and learning deserts (geographical areas with little or no access to fresh food or learning resources) on communities.   &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Educators need to learn how to &lt;strong&gt;use social media and new civic literacies&lt;/strong&gt; to embed education and learning imperatives in the context of other important community issues. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5 Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Improve your brain's health by spending ten minutes per day on the &lt;a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/" target="_blank"&gt;SharpBrains&lt;/a&gt; website &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Join a group for advocating children's health or environmental safety in schools, such as the &lt;a href="http://www.healthyschools.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Healthy Schools Network &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Add articles from &lt;a href="http://www.brains.org" target="_blank"&gt;www.brains.org&lt;/a&gt; to your PTA or school newsletter &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Consider what it means for students to be &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall#Performance-enhancing_use" target="_blank"&gt;using Adderall to study longer&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Find out how to make your school more sustainable at the &lt;a href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Center for Ecoliteracy&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/JoTyA8aEvlU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/JoTyA8aEvlU/Altered-Bodies.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/driver/Altered-Bodies.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Open Leadership and Sociability (Trend)</title> <description>Open collaborative platforms enable networked teams to self-organize and support ad hoc leaders. New connectivity tools support flexible, self-organizing networks. This new mode of collaboration sociability is best facilitated by building open platforms for leadership, which allow different team members to contribute when they deem most appropriate and effective. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Involve students in your professional learning community &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Join or form a professional learning community, such as &lt;a href="http://www.classroom20.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Classroom 2.0&lt;/a&gt;, to pursue ongoing professional development, support other educators, and organize with colleagues &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Follow colleagues' activites and locations at &lt;a href="http://plazes.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Plazes&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.jaiku.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Jaiku&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Contribute to or create a "citizen reporter" newspaper such as &lt;a href="http://english.ohmynews.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;OhMyNews&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Host an &lt;a href="https://www.collaborationjam.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Innovation Jam&lt;/a&gt; to engage students and teachers in developing new ideas for learning &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chuck House, executive director of Media X, Stanford University's membership research program on media and technology, talks about the new skills needed for 21st century jobs.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qSFuZDc-7yw&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/DqKiQ_2NMBs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/DqKiQ_2NMBs/Open-Leadership-and-Sociability.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Open-Leadership-and-Sociability.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Collective Sensemaking (Trend)</title> <description>Diverse and abundant data streams increase the need for organizations to tap collective intelligence. New tools and platforms can mobilize collective intelligence for gathering information, sorting through data streams, and aggregating input and interpretation. Knowledge and insights grow from collective contributions. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use data-driven decision-making to assess student learning as well as the effectiveness of learning agents in supporting them &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Contribute to the ranking of stories on &lt;a href="http://www.digg.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Digg&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://www.reddit.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Reddit&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Install the &lt;a href="http://del.icio.us/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Del.ico.us&lt;/a&gt; toolbar and start tagging articles and other work for your students or organization &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Improve collaboration and innovation through multiplayer online games with &lt;a href="http://www.seriosity.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Seriosity&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/VflYjsLd69Y" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/VflYjsLd69Y/Collective-Sensemaking.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Collective-Sensemaking.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Personal Metrics (Trend)</title> <description>Personal data trails about preferences, attributes, and performance shape an evidence-based culture. A multitude of sensors will generate and aggregate massive amounts of data about the self. These data trails will drive a deeply quantitative understanding of our selves  and new strategies for using complex quantitative data for modifying behavior. The wide array of data types will inspire people to navigate their own paths, focusing on data they deem personally relevant. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Find out what impacts your actions and food intake have on your body using &lt;a href="http://www.bodybugg.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;BodyBugg&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Track and understand your baby's patterns using &lt;a href="http://www.trixietracker.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Trixie Tracker&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Share travel plans with colleagues and friends using &lt;a href="http://www.dopplr.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Dopplr&lt;/a&gt; and meet up when you're in the same place &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/jBwJuTCIuFc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/jBwJuTCIuFc/Personal-Metrics.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Personal-Metrics.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Games as Practice (Trend)</title> <description>Gaming platforms become critical training areas for work, problem-solving, and learning. A genre of  serious games  aimed at education, professional training, cultural immersion, cognitive fitness, and exploring ideas is expanding the practice of gaming beyond entertainment for youth. Games are not solely digital many emerging games utilize hand-held mobile technologies to supplement and encourage face-to-face interactions. Blending play, research, and collaboration, games will become a medium and literacy in many facets of life. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;Explore how the forecast for 3D web technoogies, applications, and markets impact your organization at &lt;a href="http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Metaverse Roadmap&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;Use social impact and education games with your students at &lt;a href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Games for Change&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;Participate in the world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game, &lt;a href="http://www.superstructgame.org/" target="_blank"&gt;SuperStruct&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;Stay up to date on the use of games in health, education, training, and public policy at &lt;a href="http://www.seriousgames.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;SeriousGames&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;div class="watch-video-desc description"&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;Jane McGonigal, Director of Game Research and Development at Institute for the Future, talks the differences in the increased level of engagement and optimism students have with games over the classroom.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href="&lt;object width=" height="364"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OrZiWqGILKs&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/N-mSWCPoIaw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/N-mSWCPoIaw/Games-as-Practice.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Games-as-Practice.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Smart Localism (Trend)</title> <description>Smart networking, data transparency, and bottom-up monitoring enable responsive, open decision-making. New local monitoring tools, information sharing platforms, and networking practices support smart intra-community coordination. Camera phones, wikis, meet-ups, map mash-ups all are enabling new strategies for dealing with complex challenges that play out at local levels. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Use data-driven decision-making to assess student learning as well as the effectiveness of learning agents in supporting them &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Form a group in your community to respond to the challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change through &lt;a href="http://www.transitiontowns.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Transition Towns&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn about how the &lt;a href="http://www.dangerousground.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Dangerous Ground&lt;/a&gt; project tracks landmines &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Read this blog post on a &lt;a href="http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/12/06/the-personal-outsourcing-olympics-bangalore-butler-or-american-assistant/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;four hour workweek&lt;/a&gt; and outsource your personal chores &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Start a &lt;a href="http://www.thegroupery.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Groupery&lt;/a&gt; site for your local PTA, after-school club, or other group to get organized and raise money &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jessica Margolin, Director of Communities at The Groupery, speaks about efficient ways PTA's and other communities can organize and fundraise, and the impact these services have on education and getting the for-profit and non-profit sectors to work together.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hfFQxhC8cJM&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Rgv_PlWNOro" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Rgv_PlWNOro/Smart-Localism.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Smart-Localism.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Cognitive Modification (Trend)</title> <description>The brain becomes a site for alteration and maintenance. An array of services, products, and programs aimed at cognitive enhancements has already hit the market. Advances in the study of neuroscience and neuroplasticity (the brain s ability to create new neural connections throughout life) will inspire further developments. Students are experimenting with off-label uses of Adderall, and more such drugs will follow. Haptic feedback devices (using the sense of touch) and neural feedback interfaces (using direct communication between a person s brain and a computer) are just on the horizon. These will combine to make the brain a battleground in learning. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Add articles from &lt;a href="http://www.brains.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;www.brains.org&lt;/a&gt; to your PTA or school newsletter &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Improve your brain's health by spending ten minutes per day on the &lt;a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;SharpBrains&lt;/a&gt; website &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn how Adderall is &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall#Performance-enhancing_use" target="_blank"&gt;helping students study longer &lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/5Xwwk6dXVUU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/5Xwwk6dXVUU/Cognitive-Modification.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Cognitive-Modification.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Enabled Innovation (Trend)</title> <description>Neurodiversity, physical enhancements, and disability communities converge, turning marginalized populations into mainstream innovators. People with disabilities are quickly becoming lead users and innovators of sophisticated physical and cognitive enhancements, ones that will make people  better than normal. Neurodiversity, which considers a-typical neural behavior such as autism not as a disability but as a natural human difference, is empowering many marginalized populations to embrace and explore their unique cognitive functioning not &lt;i&gt;dis&lt;/i&gt;abled, but &lt;i&gt;en&lt;/i&gt;abled. Many of these developments will be rapidly adopted back into mainstream use, meanwhile challenging our notions of performance,  normal, and what it means to be human. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn why some think a double-leg amputee like &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius" class="active_link" target="_blank"&gt;Oscar Pistorius&lt;/a&gt; has an unfair advantage in racing&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;View the parody site &lt;a href="http://isnt.autistics.org/archived.html" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Institute for the Neurologically Typical&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;See how the Asperger's Syndrome community is banding together at &lt;a href="http://www.wrongplanet.net/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;WrongPlanet.net&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/UOAqDroUIc8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/UOAqDroUIc8/Enabled-Innovation.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Enabled-Innovation.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Eco-Schools (Trend)</title> <description>&lt;p&gt;Eco-schools become a nexus for health, environment, community, and learning. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Many schools operate in a complicated community arena in which a variety of issues come together food nutrition and safety, children s public health, community involvement, environmental safety, rising energy costs all in addition to learning and education. Schools can become centers for these connected issues, creating safer environments for children and fostering environmental stewards of tomorrow.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Join a group for advocating children's health or environmental safety in schools, such as the &lt;a href="http://www.healthyschools.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Healthy Schools Network&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Find out how to make your school more sustainable at the &lt;a href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Center for Ecoliteracy&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Connect your school with the nearest &lt;a href="http://www.farmtoschool.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Farm-To-School&lt;/a&gt; program, or start one in your area &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Support the &lt;a href="http://www.greenschools.net/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Green Schools Initiative&lt;/a&gt; and find resources to create a healthy school &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Zenobia Barlow, cofounder of the Center for Ecoliteracy, says schools are not just buildings, but networks of relationships.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tfCJTfLNyFM&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Kd3H5q-h6SU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Kd3H5q-h6SU/Eco-Schools.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/Eco-Schools.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>New Civic Literacies (Trend)</title> <description>Participatory media and digital natives bring transparency and collective action to the civic sphere. People who are accustomed to the world of participatory media, user-generated content, and smart networking bring a powerful voice to the civic sphere. Using new tools, people will act collectively, whether joining in  netroot (i.e. Internet enabled grassroots) political campaigns, working together to solve social issues, or forcing transparency into civic processes. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Ways to Start Taking Action&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;ol&gt; &lt;li&gt;Learn from &lt;a href="http://www.futuremelbourne.com.au/wiki/view/FMPlan" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;FutureMelbourne&lt;/a&gt; and how citizens there are preparing their city for the future &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Check up on politicians or legislation with one of the projects run by the &lt;a href="http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;Sunlight Foundation&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Explore how &lt;a href="http://www.microsociety.org/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;MicroSociety&lt;/a&gt; brings real life to learning &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Search the &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/" class="jive-link-external-small" target="_blank"&gt;twitterstream&lt;/a&gt; for conversations about a current events &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ol&gt; &lt;strong&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt;David Nordfors, who runs the innovation journalism program at Stanford, stays studens are moving towards a journalisatic method of learning - finding knowledge, assesing it, and then connecting the dots to build a story.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/strong&gt; &lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0in"&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uoE-tCurDNY&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp&amp;showinfo=0;rel=0&amp;amp;border=1" width="445" height="364" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" /&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/6n6zuZUfW9c" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/6n6zuZUfW9c/New-Civic-Literacies.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/trend/New-Civic-Literacies.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Youth Food Movement (Signal)</title> <description>The Youth Food Movement is a network of young farmers, cooks, artisans, activists and students who are actively changing the future of food and farming.  Affiliated with Slow Food, it organizes the international Terra Madre Youth Network; a collection of university-based convivia that students can join to address the social and environmental causes associated with food issues; and a Pangaea: Ark of Knowledge apprenticeship project that offers mentorship in sustainable, artisanal production and cultivation methods to help prepare young people to create alternatives to the industrialization of our food system.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/DL9pBq5W6oM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/DL9pBq5W6oM/Youth-Food-Movement.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Youth-Food-Movement.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Bio Dream Machine (Signal)</title> <description>Bio Dream Machine is a site for K-12 teachers and students looking for ways to use nature as an inspiration and guide for problem-solving. Whatever you want to call it, bio-inspired design, biomimicry, or biomimetics, it is a fascinating subject... and it is rich in solutions to some of our planet's most pressing problems.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/FCULvBG5LRk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/FCULvBG5LRk/Bio-Dream-Machine.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Bio-Dream-Machine.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>We're Fed Up (Signal)</title> <description>We re Fed Up is a group that was created by 40 youth leaders from South Los Angeles and Baldwin Park. These students have partnered up with the Department of Public Health in LA County, The California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and The Accelerated School in South Los Angeles to create positive environment within their communities to encourage fitness, promote healthy eating choices, and combat obesity. The We re Fed Up Network now has 438 members.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/8kS0vCSKYy4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/8kS0vCSKYy4/Were-Fed-Up.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Were-Fed-Up.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Peat Swamps and Industrial Forests (Signal)</title> <description>The potential new climate treaty is an attempt to create a coordinated response to climate change. Its terms and interpretations will address many complex issues beyond those in the headlines. This article addresses whether nations will receive carbon credits for industrial tree operations that they have created after deforestation of natural forests. Too often, such deforestation involves the destruction of peat bogs, which store huge amounts of carbon dioxide. A company in Indonesia has created a ring of trees around a peat bog along along with a system of canals, so the further issue is how the treaty will address that solution.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/jYycgG4JWpw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/jYycgG4JWpw/Peat-Swamps-and-Industrial-Forests.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Peat-Swamps-and-Industrial-Forests.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Schools and Colleges Need H1N1 Plans (Signal)</title> <description>Ohio officials are urging schools and colleges to prepare for H1N1. The State Superintendent stressed the need to make plans for "continuity of educational services in the event of long school closures."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/sdcfiaRhCdQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/sdcfiaRhCdQ/Schools-and-Colleges-Need-H1N1-Plans.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Schools-and-Colleges-Need-H1N1-Plans.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Tough to Find AIDS Vaccine (Signal)</title> <description>A clinical test in Thailand of an early AIDS vaccine reduced the rate of infection with HIV in a vaccinated group compared to a control group. Still, expected reductions in the degree of infection did not materialize, demonstrating how difficult it is to develop "new management strategies" for this disease.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/tyMpFX08-gA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/tyMpFX08-gA/Tough-to-Find-AIDS-Vaccine.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Tough-to-Find-AIDS-Vaccine.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>AIDS Vaccine Clinical Trial (Signal)</title> <description>A clinical test in Thailand of an early AIDS vaccine reduced the rate of infection with HIV in a vaccinated group compared to a control group. Still, expected reductions in the degree of infection did not materialize, demonstrating how difficult it is to develop "new management strategies" for this disease.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/wDtpGl9jWwQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/wDtpGl9jWwQ/AIDS-Vaccine-Clinical-Trial.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/AIDS-Vaccine-Clinical-Trial.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Slow Progress on AIDS Vaccine (Signal)</title> <description>A clinical test of an early AIDS vaccine reduced the rate of infection with HIV in a vaccinated group compared to a control group. Still, expected reductions in the degree of infection did not materialize, demonstrating how difficult it is to develop "new management strategies" for this disease.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/-3goZcQLaBs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/-3goZcQLaBs/Slow-Progress-on-AIDS-Vaccine.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Slow-Progress-on-AIDS-Vaccine.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Michigan Electric Battery Factory (Signal)</title> <description>Michigan is supporting through tax credits the creation of an alternative energy - i.e., electric battery - factory in an old Ford Motor plant.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Q1XBXH5oUAQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Q1XBXH5oUAQ/Michigan-Electric-Battery-Factory.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Michigan-Electric-Battery-Factory.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Pandemics: Influenza A(H1N1) (Signal)</title> <description>Special "Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response" website set up by World Health Organization to provide information to the world about the H1N1 flu outbreak.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/u-fG1BgHqZE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/u-fG1BgHqZE/Pandemics-Influenza-A(H1N1).aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Pandemics-Influenza-A(H1N1).aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Pandemics: About 300 U.S. Schools Shut Down to Prevent Spread of Swine Flu (Signal)</title> <description>Many U.S. schools closed on April 29th out of concern for student health as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed there 109 U.S swine flu infections and state authorities reported dozens more probable cases. "School closings will probably not themselves stop a pandemic," said Dr. Frank Esper, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Cleveland's Rainbow Babies &amp; Children's Hospital. "But they slow down the spread of the virus and give us extra time to study it and figure out how to treat it."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/lkcaD_jpfGk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/lkcaD_jpfGk/Pandemics-About-300-US-Schools-Shut-Down-to-Prevent-Spread-of-Swine-Flu.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Pandemics-About-300-US-Schools-Shut-Down-to-Prevent-Spread-of-Swine-Flu.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Hunger Insecurity: Voices from the Recession (Signal)</title> <description>Video stories depicts the economic downturn's impact in the D.C. area. Scroll over the photo and click on caption  Food Line. Then click on the words  Play video .&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/TglxPizjkA0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/TglxPizjkA0/Hunger-Insecurity-Voices-from-the-Recession.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Hunger-Insecurity-Voices-from-the-Recession.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Search for Post-Kyoto Emissions Scheme (Signal)</title> <description>About 200 countries are negotiating on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol climate pact, as its first phase will expire in 2012. Many are pushing for a new emissions trading scheme that will commit Chinese industries to reduce their energy use. The U.N.'s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) lets developed nations comply with carbon reduction targets by investing in clean energy projects for poorer nations, which are then granted tradable "certified emission reductions" (CERs). Still, the system is not flexible enough to encourage high-energy consuming industries to cut back on waste. Currently, only 15% of China's registered CDM projects involve energy efficiency, but many of these involve waste heat recovery from industrial processes.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/SKjd9jkIj-4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/SKjd9jkIj-4/Search-for-Post-Kyoto-Emissions-Scheme.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Search-for-Post-Kyoto-Emissions-Scheme.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>University of Toledo ponders Scott Park as site for alternative energy studies (Signal)</title> <description>If its request for federal stimulus money is approved, the University of Toledo s (UT), Scott Park campus may be transformed into a hub dedicated to alternative energy with a solar field lining the eastern edge, wind turbines along Parkside Blvd., and solar panels on the roof of an energy-focused lab and classroom spaces. It may take $50 million to transform the campus into a Center for Energy Innovation (CEI), plus funds for hardware.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/JXF9IgITEvA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/JXF9IgITEvA/University-of-Toledo-ponders-Scott-Park-as-site-for-alternative-energy-studies.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/University-of-Toledo-ponders-Scott-Park-as-site-for-alternative-energy-studies.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Wal-Mart Commits to Wind Power for 360 Sites in Texas (Signal)</title> <description>Wal-Mart has signed a contract to help power hundreds of its stores using wind energy, one of the largest investments in the field by a U.S. retailer. The 4-year agreement with Duke Energy is expected to provide up to 226 million kilowatt-hours of power each year to about 360 stores and distribution centers in Texas, about 15% of the total electricity used. The company said the purchase will result in the reduction of about 139,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of what 25,000 cars would emit.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/KrsHRisJQ9Y" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/KrsHRisJQ9Y/Wal-Mart-Commits-to-Wind-Power-for-360-Sites-in-Texas-.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Wal-Mart-Commits-to-Wind-Power-for-360-Sites-in-Texas-.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Probable Carcinogens Found in Baby Toiletries (Signal)</title> <description>More than half the baby shampoo, lotion, and other infant care products analyzed by a health advocacy group were found to contain trace amounts of two chemicals that are believed to cause cancer.  &lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/-yVehsh8ru8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/-yVehsh8ru8/Probable-Carcinogens-Found-in-Baby-Toiletries-.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Probable-Carcinogens-Found-in-Baby-Toiletries-.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Federal Funding Opportunity Restored for Stem Cell Research (Signal)</title> <description>President Obama issued an order lifting limits on federal funding for stem cell research,  raising the prospect that taxpayer money could be used for a much broader, more controversial array of studies than many scientists, officials, and activists anticipated. Many scientists think that research on embryonic stem cells may lead to cures for a host of diseases because of the cells' ability to morph into any type of cell in the body.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/87HZKhqu7zs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/87HZKhqu7zs/Federal-Funding-Opportunity-Restored-for-Stem-Cell-Research.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Federal-Funding-Opportunity-Restored-for-Stem-Cell-Research.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Obesity Visualization (Signal)</title> <description>The Centers for Disease Control released this visualization of obesity over time in the US.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/JrEiR0S0Rp0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/JrEiR0S0Rp0/Obesity-Visualization.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Obesity-Visualization.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Madrid Air Quality (Signal)</title> <description>This  mash-up combines data sets on the particles, gases, pollens, and diseases in the air in Madrid, then visualizes the invisible particles, demonstrating their effect on the air-quality in this major city.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/aHzh-fNajkw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/aHzh-fNajkw/Madrid-Air-Quality.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Madrid-Air-Quality.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Healthy Greens Initiative (Signal)</title> <description>Students in Maine raise money to build hoop-style green houses to support year-around gardening to support their Healthy Greens initiative as part of their Garden Project.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/FOIMQeBBRcs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/FOIMQeBBRcs/Healthy-Greens-Initiative.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Healthy-Greens-Initiative.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Solastalgia (Signal)</title> <description>Researchers at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health at the University of Newcastle in Australia have discovered a new phenomenon that links feelings of disruption, which is when people experience negative changes to their local environment.  Solastalgia is a term connecting the experience of ecosystem loss to mental health problems.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/XMX2FJTpC0M" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/XMX2FJTpC0M/Solastalgia.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Solastalgia.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Youth Obesity Rates (Signal)</title> <description>Youth obesity has drastically increased in recent decades, creating new challenges for schools and communities.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Up9bA5U_h8I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Up9bA5U_h8I/Youth-Obesity-Rates.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/Youth-Obesity-Rates.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>UG-99 (Signal)</title> <description>A wheat blight threatens to migrate into vulnerable global wheat reserves.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/xjd9pKQGSk0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/xjd9pKQGSk0/UG-99.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/signal/UG-99.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Community Intelligence Cartographer (Learning Agent)</title> <description>Community intelligence cartographers will tap the collective intelligence of their local communities. They will leverage social networking strategies to develop swarms and smart mobs in order to identify emerging learning opportunities in the community, organize community members, and locate community resources.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/-c-rsEzSIPI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/-c-rsEzSIPI/Community-Intelligence-Cartographer.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/learningagent/Community-Intelligence-Cartographer.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Learning Fitness Instructor (Learning Agent)</title> <description>Learning fitness instructors will help learners build and strengthen the basic cognitive, emotional, and social abilities essential to learning by using simulations, biofeedback, and hands-on activities to reduce stress, hone mental capabilities, and learn brain-friendly nutrition.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/2QFvzPiVC9A" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/2QFvzPiVC9A/Learning-Fitness-Instructor.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/learningagent/Learning-Fitness-Instructor.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>F As In Fat 2009: Trust For America's Health (Resource)</title> <description>A recent report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation details America's continuing obesity epidemic, and recommends action steps: Key report recommendations for addressing obesity within health reform include: Ensuring every adult and child has access to coverage for preventive medical services, including nutrition and obesity counseling and screening for obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes; Increasing the number of programs available in communities, schools, and childcare settings that help make nutritious foods more affordable and accessible and provide safe and healthy places for people to engage in physical activity; and Reducing Medicare expenditures by promoting proven programs that improve nutrition and increase physical activity among adults ages 55 to 64. The report also calls for a National Strategy to Combat Obesity that would define roles and responsibilities for federal, state and local governments and promote collaboration among businesses, communities, schools and families. It would seek to advance policies that Provide healthy foods and beverages to students at schools; Increase the availability of affordable healthy foods in all communities; Increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity at school; Improve access to safe and healthy places to live, work, learn, and play; Limit screen time; and Encourage employers to provide workplace wellness programs.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/aqVKa5yI6pU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/aqVKa5yI6pU/F-As-In-Fat-2009-Trust-For-Americas-Health.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/F-As-In-Fat-2009-Trust-For-Americas-Health.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Climate Leadership For America (Resource)</title> <description>This report contains the commitment by signatory colleges and universities to address climate change through specific actions by their institutions. It outlines their climate impact, and a resilient, coordinated response.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/9TOaQuHtZSk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/9TOaQuHtZSk/Climate-Leadership-For-America.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Climate-Leadership-For-America.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Teens Undertreated for Substance Abuse (Resource)</title> <description>Only about 10% of the 1.4 million American teens with substance abuse problems receive treatment, according to a new study. Less than one-third of addiction programs in the U.S. have a specialized program for adolescents, the study's author said. She also found wide variations in quality among the randomly selected 154 addiction treatment programs for teens that were studied.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/_TGpepeQYZ8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/_TGpepeQYZ8/Teens-Undertreated-for-Substance-Abuse.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Teens-Undertreated-for-Substance-Abuse.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>EPA: Air Tests Near School a Priority (Resource)</title> <description>In an unprecedented step aimed at protecting children from toxic chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce plans Monday to determine whether industrial pollution taints the air outside schools across the nation. The EPA plan, promised by new administrator Lisa Jackson during her Senate confirmation hearings in January, calls for regulators to identify 50 to 100 schools where pollution might pose significant health risks. At many of those locations, the agency will work with state and local regulators to monitor the air for a variety of toxic chemicals.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/7VKBs_3zwvs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/7VKBs_3zwvs/EPA-Air-Tests-Near-School-a-Priority.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/EPA-Air-Tests-Near-School-a-Priority.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Lawmakers Aim to Reduce Child Obesity (Resource)</title> <description>Lawmakers and health advocates announced Tuesday a multipronged approach to fighting childhood obesity that aims better to inform restaurant-goers about food on the menu and to reinstate gym class as a part of the school day. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that obesity has become a nationwide epidemic in recent decades, rising nearly 100 percent and tripling among teens in 20 years.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/7pz63STahII" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/7pz63STahII/Lawmakers-Aim-to-Reduce-Child-Obesity.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Lawmakers-Aim-to-Reduce-Child-Obesity.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Zenobia Barlow talks about the dilemma schools face in feeling isolated in their work (Resource)</title> <description>Zenobia, cofounder of the Center for Ecoliteracy, says schools are not just buildings, but networks of relationships.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ExHHrcawy7g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ExHHrcawy7g/Zenobia-Barlow-talks-about-the-dilemma-schools-face-in-feeling-isolated-in-their-work.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Zenobia-Barlow-talks-about-the-dilemma-schools-face-in-feeling-isolated-in-their-work.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Future of Education Community (Resource)</title> <description>This community is devoted to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas with others. It's a place for thoughtful discussion on an incredibly important topic.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/WTx4ZblAkvw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/WTx4ZblAkvw/Future-of-Education-Community.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Future-of-Education-Community.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>How Increasing Chronic Illness Threatens Education (Resource)</title> <description>Dr. Monica Martinez authored this article for McREL&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/xAZOz43mYZc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/xAZOz43mYZc/How-Increasing-Chronic-Illness-Threatens-Education.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/How-Increasing-Chronic-Illness-Threatens-Education.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Chiropractic Care May Help with Learning Disorders (Resource)</title> <description>Chiropractic care may have help to correct neurological problems contributing to learning disabilities and dyslexia. In the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, Dr. Yannick Pauli, says methodological weaknesses of recent studies preclude definitive conclusions, so the results are considered preliminary. Evidence on the causes of learning disabilities and dyslexia and the role of the cerebellum suggest that spinal misalignment may be involved in central nervous system problems related to learning difficulties. Theories hold that vertebral misalignments interfere with messages from the peripheral to the central nervous system or that disorganization within the central nervous system is a factor. Pauli looked at 4 anecdotal reports and 4 before-and-after studies in which chiropractors specializing in applied kinesiology helped people with learning disorders. Pauli calls for chiropractors to publish better quality research on use of the practice for learning disabilities. He asks chiropractors not to see the treatment as a "pretended cure" for learning problems, but as an approach to improve or correct nervous system dysfunctions that may contribute to these problems.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/MaOgvYyqmhk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/MaOgvYyqmhk/Chiropractic-Care-May-Help-with-Learning-Disorders.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Chiropractic-Care-May-Help-with-Learning-Disorders.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>VUCA Digital Story (Resource)</title> <description>Urban locales that face compromised environmental conditions, declining measures of health, uncharted social challenges, and few shared norms to guide action will be looking for ways to pioneer security, safety and sustainability.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/K0PoBMkyXHw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/K0PoBMkyXHw/VUCA-Digital-Story.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/VUCA-Digital-Story.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Mobile Phones More Dangerous Than Smoking (Resource)</title> <description>Mobile phones could kill more people than smoking or asbestos, according to a study by neurosurgeon and cancer expert, Dr. Vini Khurana. He warns that people should avoid using cell phones wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation. The study draws on growing evidence that use for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. The French government has followed Great Britain in warning against the use of mobile phones, especially for children. Germany advises its citizens to minimize handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced. Dr. Khurana fears that the incidence of malignant brain tumors and associated death rate may rise globally within a decade from now, when it will be too late to intervene medically. Recommended steps to take in order of greatest protection: (1) Not use a cell phone. (2) Not carry a cell phone on or near your body when not in use. (3) Use air tube headsets -- not the Bluetooth or wire headsets with your phones which conduct greater radiation to the head. (4) Purchase a BIOPRO cell chip and place it on the cell phone to reduce response to the radiation from the phone. In a recent discussion on the  Larry King Live television show, Dr. Khurana recommended using the  speaker feature instead of putting the cell-phone near one s head.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/86pL27cY7NY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/86pL27cY7NY/Mobile-Phones-More-Dangerous-Than-Smoking.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Mobile-Phones-More-Dangerous-Than-Smoking.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Drug Companies: No cold Medicines for Kids under 4 (Resource)</title> <description>In a concession to pediatricians who doubt the drugs do much good and worry about risk, drug companies recently said children under 4 should not be given over-the-counter cough and cold remedies. The voluntary change in advice to parents comes less than a week after federal health officials said they also saw little evidence that the drugs work. Government officials were afraid that taking the medicines off store shelves might prompt parents to give their children adult medicines. The drug makers said they will also add a warning that parents should not give antihistamines to children to make them sleepy. These are allergy-relief medications often found in medicines that combine several ingredients to treat a variety of symptoms. The new measures "reflect industry's overall commitment to the continued safe and appropriate use of children's oral OTC cough and cold medicines," Linda Suydam, president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, said on behalf of the companies. Problems with OTC cough and cold medicines send over 7,000 children to hospital emergency rooms each year, with hives, drowsiness, or unsteady walking. Many kids overdose on medicines when their parents aren't looking. Since a majority of the problems involve 2- to 3-year-olds, the industry's new instructions, if followed by parents, should help. Pediatricians still support recalling the medicines for children under 6, and the Food and Drug Administration is studying their effectiveness for children under 12. But federal health officials say it could take them a year or more to make a final decision and order changes. Leading cough and cold brands include Dimetapp, Pediacare, Robitussin, Triaminic, Little Colds and versions of Tylenol that have ingredients to treat cold symptoms.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/OlnzH6Pu0Ao" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/OlnzH6Pu0Ao/Drug-Companies-No-cold-Medicines-for-Kids-under-4.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Drug-Companies-No-cold-Medicines-for-Kids-under-4.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Ten things you need to know about pandemic influen (Resource)</title> <description>The World Health Organization offers ten facts about pandemic influenza, its inevitable spread, economic and social disruption that it will cause, and a web link to a pdf document about recommended strategic actions.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Pve-DtYVWkg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Pve-DtYVWkg/Ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-pandemic-influen.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-pandemic-influen.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Community Value Networks (Resource)</title> <description>In Colorado, known for natural gas and oil drilling, wind and solar power are taking prominence. Wind capacity has quadrupled in 18 months, and Xcel Energy is the largest provider of wind power in the U.S. Oil and gas companies are spending to prevent the repeal of $300 million in annual tax breaks that would shift investments to renewables. New regulations are being designed to protect wildlife and public health from the vast expansion in drilling. Economic benefits came with new research and manufacturing jobs for alternative power. Though the renewables industry is challenged by a desire for tax credits, and a need for a stronger transmission grid to make power portable, Colorado s future lies in building wind farms in wheat fields.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/GbvaqVMmRv0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/GbvaqVMmRv0/Community-Value-Networks.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Community-Value-Networks.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Study Finds Brain Problems, Vaccines Not Linked (Resource)</title> <description>A large federal study, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes that a mercury-based preservative  thimerosal -- once used in many vaccines, does not raise the risk of neurological problems in children ages 7 to 10. However, the study did not examine its effects on autism. A separate study due out in a year will look at that issue. Thimerosal is still found in some flu vaccine.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/q0Ys_AbHHgE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/q0Ys_AbHHgE/Study-Finds-Brain-Problems2c-Vaccines-Not-Linked.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Study-Finds-Brain-Problems2c-Vaccines-Not-Linked.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Seas Yield Surprising Catch of Unknown Genes (Resource)</title> <description>It took some mighty fine nets, but scientists who spent two years trowling the world's oceans for bacteria and viruses have completed the most thorough census ever of marine microbial life, revealing an astonishingly diverse and bizarre microscopic menagerie. Countering a long-held assumption that ocean waters are not rich with microbial life, the new report, released yesterday, reveals an otherworldly world of organismal ferment, including thousands of novel life forms that could help speed the development of new antibiotics and alternative energy sources and clarify the ocean's role in climate change.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/tmSh0pi8Pzs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/tmSh0pi8Pzs/Seas-Yield-Surprising-Catch-of-Unknown-Genes.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Seas-Yield-Surprising-Catch-of-Unknown-Genes.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>School Lunches Depend on Faux-Junk Food (Resource)</title> <description>In schools across the state of West Virginia, fat and calories are being cut by furtively supplementing hamburgers with soy and subbing applesauce for shortening in cake. "We get a lot of criticism for serving pizza so often, but the cheese is low fat and the crust is whole grain," said Richard Goff, director of the state Department of Education's Office of Child Nutrition. "Nutritionally modified junk food is big right now, and it is helpful," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for Center for Science in the Public Interest. "When companies improve the nutritional quality of foods they know kids will like, it does make it easier for parents and schools to feed children healthfully," she said. "It can be part of the solution, but it can't be the whole solution." While the faux-junk food movement may be an appropriate stepping stone to healthy eating, some nutritionists say it could establish bad habits.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/QNZ83_znZ4I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/QNZ83_znZ4I/School-Lunches-Depend-on-Faux-Junk-Food.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/School-Lunches-Depend-on-Faux-Junk-Food.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>New Yorkers Feel Right at Home With House Calls (Resource)</title> <description>This is the Manhattan house call. It is part retro trend, harking back to days when doctors had personal relationships with patients and dispensed care in the home. But it is also a technology-based New York convenience in a city where people expect laundry, DVDs and late-night sushi brought to their doors. In fact, the house call is on the rise nationwide, mostly because of an aging population, increasingly portable medical devices and lab tests, and changes in Medicare in the late 1990s that allowed for higher reimbursement rates for doctors' visits to homes.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/079xuOgRFt4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/079xuOgRFt4/New-Yorkers-Feel-Right-at-Home-With-House-Calls.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/New-Yorkers-Feel-Right-at-Home-With-House-Calls.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Gore, U.N. Body Win Nobel Peace Prize (Resource)</title> <description>For their work educating the world about global warming and advocating for political action to control it, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Former vice president Al Gore and a United Nations panel that monitors climate change. The Norwegian Nobel Committee characterized Gore as "the single individual who has done most" to convince world governments and leaders that climate change is real, is caused by human activity and poses a grave threat. Gore has focused on the issue through books, promotional events and his Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Mz_FdNkrMIs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Mz_FdNkrMIs/Gore2c-UN-Body-Win-Nobel-Peace-Prize.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Gore2c-UN-Body-Win-Nobel-Peace-Prize.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice (Resource)</title> <description>Few consequences of global warming pose as severe a threat to human society as sea-level rise. But scientists have yet to figure out how to predict it. And not knowing what to expect, policymakers and others are hamstrung in considering how to try to prevent it or prepare for it. To calculate sea-level rise, the key thing researchers need to understand is the behavior of the major ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. The disintegration of one would dramatically raise the ocean. While computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior. In its executive summary report for policymakers in February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, composed of hundreds of leading climate scientists, barely hazarded a guess on sea level, predicting that it would rise between 7.8 inches and two feet by the end of the century. However, the United Nations-sponsored panel -- which operated under the assumption that, by 2100, the Greenland ice sheet would lose some mass but that the Antarctic ice sheet would gain some -- did not venture a best estimate or an upper limit for possible sea-level rise,&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/rPbsPP0-P6w" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/rPbsPP0-P6w/Clues-to-Rising-Seas-Are-Hidden-in-Polar-Ice.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Clues-to-Rising-Seas-Are-Hidden-in-Polar-Ice.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Bio-techs Race for New Vaccine; Government Bid Cal (Resource)</title> <description>PharmAthene of Annapolis and Emergent BioSolutions of Rockville have spent millions of dollars to develop and supply a better anthrax vaccine, a genetically modified version producing robust immunity in fewer shots with fewer side effects. With newer vaccine technology, the government wants to replace BioThrax, currently the only anthrax vaccine, licensed in 1970 and owned by Emergent. In 2004, the Bush administration invested $5.6 billion Project BioShield, to stockpile an emergency reserve of critical drugs to protect Americans from bioterrorism. The next-generation vaccine contract is subject to available BioShield funds, and the new contract could be valued at $350 million to $600 million. Both Emergent and PharmAthene made substantial investments in developing a new anthrax vaccine as part of their arsenals of biodefense products. If anthrax spores enter the blood stream, they release 3 substances: protective antigen, lethal factor and edema factor. Protective antigen binds with the 2 factors to release 2 fatal toxins. BioThrax contains a protective antigen to induce antibodies to combat anthrax toxins, but there are also small traces of other proteins. Side effects associated with BioThrax -- swollen arms, muscle pain, flu-like symptoms, nausea  may be caused by extra proteins. A genetically modified, version such as rPA 102 or SparVax might strip away proteins that don't help produce immunity. Engineered cells would produce only the protective antigen, resulting in a purer and stronger vaccine, and require shortened dosages. Theoretically, recombinant manufacturing may quickly produce high volumes of consistent vaccine.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/sHxG7bNoCA4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/sHxG7bNoCA4/Bio-techs-Race-for-New-Vaccine3b-Government-Bid-Cal.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Bio-techs-Race-for-New-Vaccine3b-Government-Bid-Cal.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>A Tactical Turn to Green for Marriott (Resource)</title> <description>Seeing the consumer demand for environmentally sound products, Marriott International recently announced a strategy to reduce its impact on the environment. Marriott will reduce fuel and water consumption, and furnish its rooms with Bic pens made from pre-consumer recycled plastic. It will also try to protect 1.4 million acres of endangered rain forest in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Along with the $2 million that Marriott has committed to help pay for a rain forest protection plan, the company will also help guests offset their hotel stays with contributions of as little as $1 to the same fund. With more than 539,000 rooms, environmentalists say if only a small portion of guests contribute, the company's impact could be profound.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/f3zxnHhL4sA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/f3zxnHhL4sA/A-Tactical-Turn-to-Green-for-Marriott.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/A-Tactical-Turn-to-Green-for-Marriott.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Celebrity Commencement Speeches (Resource)</title> <description>Many of this year's college commencement speeches featured themes of saving the world and the power of grassroots activism.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/X5x33IKUG9M" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/X5x33IKUG9M/Celebrity-Commencement-Speeches.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Celebrity-Commencement-Speeches.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>How Many American Kids Live in Poverty? (Resource)</title> <description>13 million American youngsters, below age 18 are impoverished. A new report by the Census Bureau says the 2007 kids-in-poverty figure comes to 13.3 million, or 18% of the population in the age group.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/adm7mQteXT8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/adm7mQteXT8/How-Many-American-Kids-Live-in-Poverty.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/How-Many-American-Kids-Live-in-Poverty.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>U.S. Chamber and Siemens Honor 3 Sustainable Commu (Resource)</title> <description>The U.S. Chamber and Siemens Foundation honored Albuquerque, NM; The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, NC; and Kingsport, TN, as winners of the inaugural Siemens Sustainable Community Awards for outstanding local public-private efforts to build and grow sustainability. The winners were announced at a National Conference on Corporate Community Investment in Anaheim, CA. The winning communities are models for engaging the local business, civic, and government sectors in managing 21st century challenges. The City of Albuquerque won in the Large Community category for Albuquerque Green, a comprehensive sustainability plan that provides vision and tools for energy conservation, clean energy production, and conservation technologies. In the Mid-Size Community category, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce was awarded for creating the Foundation for a Sustainable Community, investing in business and community resources to promote and advance environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic prosperity. As the Small Community category winner, the City of Kingsport won for a decade of work to revitalize the town through a training/workforce development, entrepreneurism, and diversification of the economic base. The award recognizes communities that exhibited exceptional leadership in improving the quality of life both today and tomorrow.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/UJfK7iiPAgE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/UJfK7iiPAgE/US-Chamber-and-Siemens-Honor-3-Sustainable-Commu.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/US-Chamber-and-Siemens-Honor-3-Sustainable-Commu.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>GAO Report: Schools Need More Training on Handling (Resource)</title> <description>Many of the nation's public schools are short on both the equipment and expertise they would need in case of a full-scale terrorist attack, natural disaster or biohazard emergency, a government report says. In many cases, schools have never trained alongside local emergency response teams, and in a few districts, school officials won't even be able to use their walkie-talkies to communicate with first responders during an emergency, says the new 50-state study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The findings are part of testimony delivered May 17, 2007 before the House Homeland Security Committee, which is looking into school preparedness and emergency responses. The GAO, Congress' watchdog agency, surveyed school districts nationwide and found that:&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/euIHAVq0giU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/euIHAVq0giU/GAO-Report-Schools-Need-More-Training-on-Handling.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/GAO-Report-Schools-Need-More-Training-on-Handling.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Calif. Schools Required to Give Medical Help to Ki (Resource)</title> <description>Schools in California will be required to have someone available who is trained to assist diabetic children under a legal settlement announced Wednesday in Oakland. The agreement sets a policy requiring children who have diabetes to be provided services under federal laws that guarantee equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities. "The importance of this settlement is it's applying those laws to children with diabetes," says Arlene Mayerson, an attorney with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, representing 4 families in the lawsuit. "This will be a model for states across the country." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one in 523 people under 20 have diabetes. A few states, including Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas, already have legislation that allows schools' non-medical staff members to be trained to administer insulin and help children monitor blood-sugar levels.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/JiAS0-KVrJQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/JiAS0-KVrJQ/Calif-Schools-Required-to-Give-Medical-Help-to-Ki.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Calif-Schools-Required-to-Give-Medical-Help-to-Ki.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>For Consideration in Reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act (Resource)</title> <description>The UCLA Department of Psychology cites facts. In low performing schools, few students appear ready and able to learn the daily lessons. Many have become disengaged and alienated from classroom learning. Some are misdaiagnosed with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. School improvement guidelines must consider matters other than the instrucitonal component of schooling. Student learning supports have been marginalized and fragmented. Learning Supports encompass many resources, strategies, and practices to address barriers to learning and teaching. There is a clear need to link with other organizations and agencies as needed, and to integrate school and community resources as a comprehensive, multi-faceted cohesive component at every school.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/LK0iBSnGsY8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/LK0iBSnGsY8/For-Consideration-in-Reauthorizing-the-No-Child-Left-Behind-Act.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/For-Consideration-in-Reauthorizing-the-No-Child-Left-Behind-Act.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>EPA Ties with Chemical Industry Probed (Resource)</title> <description>A U.S. Congressional committee is investigating ties between the chemical industry and expert review panels hired by the Environmental Protection Agency to determine safe levels for a variety of chemical compounds. Rep. John D. Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, are heading the investigation. "Americans count on sound science to ensure that consumer products are safe. If industry has undue influence over this science, then the public's health is endangered," a Dingell spokesman said. They are seeking to learn the amount of money the chemistry council paid experts, attorneys, consultants and a scientific publication.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/nzv8VdLqDsg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/nzv8VdLqDsg/EPA-Ties-with-Chemical-Industry-Probed.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/EPA-Ties-with-Chemical-Industry-Probed.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Nashville Schools First to Use Face-Recognition Security Cameras (Resource)</title> <description>Security cameras with face-recognition technology to spot intruders will soon be used in Metro Nashville schools. It will be the first U.S. school system to install and use the cameras. When a camera spots a face in a school that it cannot match to a stored photo or if it detects the face of someone barred from school grounds, it will sound alarms. The technology is denounced by civil libertarians, and was discarded by police departments in Tampa, Fla., and Virginia Beach, Va., which found face-recognition cameras downtown did not help spot wanted criminals. Many urban schools have networks of security cameras monitored from a control room. Some use radio-frequency ID cards to track students as they board buses and enter buildings. Others check visitors' names against databases of sex offenders.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/YliaBd4SjJ8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/YliaBd4SjJ8/Nashville-Schools-First-to-Use-Face-Recognition-Security-Cameras.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Nashville-Schools-First-to-Use-Face-Recognition-Security-Cameras.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Underage Drinking Begins Young (Resource)</title> <description>A review of national and statewide surveys conducted over the last 15 years shows that among typical 4th graders, 10% have already had more than a sip of alcohol and 7% have had a drink in the past year. While the numbers are small in the fourth grade, the surveys show that the percent of children who have used alcohol increases with age, and doubles between grades four and six&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/sl7dLV3beTM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/sl7dLV3beTM/Underage-Drinking-Begins-Young.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Underage-Drinking-Begins-Young.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>The Troy Howard Middle School Garden Project (Resource)</title> <description>A middle school in Maine uses gardening projects to teach a variety of skills.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ScDbc6YlflA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ScDbc6YlflA/The-Troy-Howard-Middle-School-Garden-Project.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/The-Troy-Howard-Middle-School-Garden-Project.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Children Who Survive Urban Warfare May Suffer from (Resource)</title> <description>The following symptoms, lasting longer than a month, may indicate the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/8npVJhGCmI0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/8npVJhGCmI0/Children-Who-Survive-Urban-Warfare-May-Suffer-from.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Children-Who-Survive-Urban-Warfare-May-Suffer-from.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Japan Eyes Robots to Support Aging Population (Resource)</title> <description>Japanese researchers are racing to build smart robots to serve the needs of the elderly in a country where 40% of the population will be over 65 by 2055. New types of robots will play a major role as there won't be enough people to do many jobs. Researchers from University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Information Science and Technology now work with counterparts from 7 leading Japanese firms to develop robotic and information technology leading to a new generation of robots in the next 15 years.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/UV4m7vRmq3c" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/UV4m7vRmq3c/Japan-Eyes-Robots-to-Support-Aging-Population.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Japan-Eyes-Robots-to-Support-Aging-Population.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Cell Phone Use in Hospitals Poses Danger (Resource)</title> <description>The use of cell phones near hospital beds or important equipment is dangerous and could switch off ventilators or disrupt pacemakers. BioMed Central's online open access journal Critical Care reports that University of Amsterdam researchers recorded nearly 50 incidents of electromagnetic interference from cell phones used in hospitals, and classified 75% of them as significant or hazardous. Cell phones should come no closer than one meter to hospital beds and equipment, said the researchers. Critical care equipment is vulnerable to electromagnetic interference by new-generation wireless telecommunication technologies with median distances of about 3 centimeters. The study contradicts a study from research at the Mayo Clinic which found that 300 tests over a 5-month period showed no noticeable interference with important hospital equipment due to regular cell phone use. The Dutch team -- which tested 61 different medical devices -- found that most of the incidents stemmed from the latest General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) signal, a new-generation technology that allows things such as wireless Internet access. Other malfunctions they attributed to electromagnetic interference included complete stops with no alarms in syringe pumps and incorrect pulsing by an external pacemaker.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/xTvyk8Mtu0E" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/xTvyk8Mtu0E/Cell-Phone-Use-in-Hospitals-Poses-Danger.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Cell-Phone-Use-in-Hospitals-Poses-Danger.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Shaquille O'Neal's Wellness Wheel (Resource)</title> <description>Kids are turning away from exercise (replaced by television, video-games, web-surfing, etc.) and eating too much junk food instead of nutritious foods. The result is an ever-increasing epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity. Changing school lunches, removing sodas from the school vending machines, offering weight-loss camps for overweight kids where they can work on their problem without embarrassment, requiring all kids to take more physical education classes, and teaching families how to prepare nutritious meals that have kid appeal seem to be the most effective strategies. Shaquille O Neal convinced the Florida Public School system to adopt the  Shaquille O Neal Wellness Wheel in its curriculum (using elective classes of teen health and home economics along with physical education classes).&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/r44t8Bc0xWk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/r44t8Bc0xWk/Shaquille-ONeals-Wellness-Wheel.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Shaquille-ONeals-Wellness-Wheel.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>World's Best Medical Care? (Resource)</title> <description>The disturbing truth is that this country lags well behind other advanced nations in delivering timely and effective care. There is a growing body of evidence that, by an array of pertinent yardsticks, the United States is a laggard not a leader in providing good medical care. The Commonwealth Fund compared the United States with other advanced nations through surveys of patients and doctors and analysis of other data. Its latest report, issued in May, ranked the United States last or next-to-last compared with five other nations  Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom  on most measures of performance, including quality of care and access to it. Other comparative studies also put the United States in a relatively bad light&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/kTvJwx38-zo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/kTvJwx38-zo/Worlds-Best-Medical-Care.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Worlds-Best-Medical-Care.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>White House Issues Climate Change Report (Resource)</title> <description>The Bush administration, bowing to a court order, has released a fresh summary of federal and independent research pointing to large, and mainly harmful, impact of human-caused global warming in the United States. Most of the findings, like the spread of warmth-loving pests and the inevitable loss of low-lying lands to rising seas, are not new. But the report included new projections of how the poor, elderly and communities with lagging public-health and public-works systems will face outsize health risks from warming. Among the report s new conclusions on health:  An increased frequency and severity of heat waves is expected, leading to more illness and death, particularly among the young, elderly, frail and poor. It gave high odds (essentially a two out of three chance) that Lyme disease and West Nile virus would have expanded ranges because of warming. The report gave the same odds that some food- and water-borne diseases would also increase among susceptible populations.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/tB2yYo-Py60" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/tB2yYo-Py60/White-House-Issues-Climate-Change-Report.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/White-House-Issues-Climate-Change-Report.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>U.S. Court Backs States Measures to Cut Emissions (Resource)</title> <description>Ruling in a lawsuit against Vermont s standards on those heat-trapping gases, federal judge, William K. Sessions III, rejected a variety of challenges from auto manufacturers, including their contention that the states were usurping federal authority. The ruling follows a decision by the United States Supreme Court in April that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide as air pollutants. The ruling in Vermont explicitly endorses the idea that California has the right to set its own regulations on the gases, and that other states, like Vermont, have the right to follow its lead. Judge Sessions ruled that the auto manufacturers had not proved their claims that compliance with the rules in Vermont  clones of the groundbreaking standards adopted in California  was not feasible.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/hyUL3lQJgjU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/hyUL3lQJgjU/US-Court-Backs-Statese28099-Measures-to-Cut-Emissions.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/US-Court-Backs-Statese28099-Measures-to-Cut-Emissions.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>U.N. Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate (Resource)</title> <description>In its final report, an international panel details mounting risks in specific and forceful language, scientists said. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the first time specifically points out important risks if governments fail to respond: melting ice sheets that could lead to a rapid rise in sea levels and the extinction of large numbers of species brought about by even moderate amounts of warming, of 1 to 3 degrees.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/bPElZesv5CU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/bPElZesv5CU/UN-Report-Describes-Risks-of-Inaction-on-Climate.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/UN-Report-Describes-Risks-of-Inaction-on-Climate.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>U.S. Cancer Death Rates Falling For Most Groups (Resource)</title> <description>Recently in the United States, death rates from cancer have been dropping by an average of 2.1% per year a near doubling of decreases that began in 1993. Much of the progress comes not from miracle cures, but from more mundane improvements in prevention, early detection and treatment of some of the leading causes of cancer death  lung, colorectal, *** and prostate tumors. However, American Indians and Alaska Natives in some regions are not benefiting from the same improvements and have higher rates of preventable cancers and late-stage tumors that would have had a better prognosis had they been detected sooner. Researchers attribute the problems to poverty, lower education levels, and lack of insurance and access to medical care. The Indian Health Service s facilities generally do not treat cancer.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/TR877iEBCaU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/TR877iEBCaU/US-Cancer-Death-Rates-Falling-For-Most-Groups.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/US-Cancer-Death-Rates-Falling-For-Most-Groups.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>[NYTimes]The Soul of a New Vaccine (Resource)</title> <description>Sanaria Inc. is making a vaccine with gamma rays. Avoiding modern recombinant DNA technology that injects tiny fragments of parasite protein to prime an immune response, Sanaria uses the whole parasite, extracted by hand from the mosquito s salivary glands, and weakened so it cannot multiply. Because the world now fights malaria  ineptly  with nets, insecticides and drugs, a vaccine is desperately needed. Sanaria s is the sole vaccine using the whole parasite. Injected into a capillary, it rides the bloodstream to the liver and starts making proteins. But after about three days, it stops, and it never floods the blood with copies of itself. Radiation-weakened parasites have protected many lab mice and a handful of humans, but making a vaccine that can be mass produced is a huge challenge. The lucrative market is made up of tourists and the world s military forces. The larger goal is to protect the 3,000 children who die of malaria each day.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/0XZrCpfKKO8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/0XZrCpfKKO8/NYTimesThe-Soul-of-a-New-Vaccine.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/NYTimesThe-Soul-of-a-New-Vaccine.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Senate Panel Passes Bill to Limit Greenhouse Gases (Resource)</title> <description>A Senate committee approved a broad bill this week to address climate change, a major step toward passage of a measure that would for the first time slow and then reverse emissions of the gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/9Tnk71Gp2FA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/9Tnk71Gp2FA/Senate-Panel-Passes-Bill-to-Limit-Greenhouse-Gases.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Senate-Panel-Passes-Bill-to-Limit-Greenhouse-Gases.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Oil Spill Spreads in San Francisco Bay (Resource)</title> <description>Challenged by strong winds and tides, cleanup crews struggled to contain the 58,000-gallon spill as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for the area. The spill occurred after a 900-foot container ship, the Coco Busan, rammed into a tower of the Bay Bridge. The ship was crippled, and oozed the oil that has closed 16 beaches and, at last count, killed more than two dozen water birds. Local, state and federal agencies are involved with the investigation, recovery, and cleanup of the tanker s payload, consisting of diesel fuel and dense oil used to power ships.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/E5Eyhvcdjd8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/E5Eyhvcdjd8/Oil-Spill-Spreads-in-San-Francisco-Bay.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Oil-Spill-Spreads-in-San-Francisco-Bay.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>New Philadelphia Mayor s Top Task: Fight Crime (Resource)</title> <description>When Michael Nutter takes office as mayor of Philadelphia in January, he will face a crime wave that has left at least 355 people dead so far this year.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/HQgSs1X7HnU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/HQgSs1X7HnU/New-Philadelphia-Mayore28099s-Top-Task-Fight-Crime.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/New-Philadelphia-Mayore28099s-Top-Task-Fight-Crime.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Myanmar Reels as Cyclone Toll Hits Thousands (Resource)</title> <description>Myanmar struggled Monday to recover from a cyclone that killed more than 3,900 people and perhaps as many as 15,000. Foreign Minister Noppadol Pattama of Thailand met with Myanmar's ambassador. After the meeting, Mr. Noppadol said that 15,000 people had been killed and another 30,000 were missing. If those numbers are accurate, the death toll would be the highest from a natural disaster in Asia since the tsunami of December 2004, which devastated coastlines in South Asia and claimed 181,000 lives. Tens of thousands of people were homeless after the Myanmar cyclone, and food and water were running short.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/2g0Ag2oVOcQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/2g0Ag2oVOcQ/Myanmar-Reels-as-Cyclone-Toll-Hits-Thousands.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Myanmar-Reels-as-Cyclone-Toll-Hits-Thousands.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Lima, Peru, Aug. 16 (Resource)</title> <description>A day after a powerful earthquake devastated cities along Peru s southern coast, government officials put the death toll at 437, with at least 17,000 people displaced and with wide areas without power, telephone service or road access on Thursday night. At least 300 of the dead were in Pisco, a port city about 125 miles south of Lima, and more were thought to be buried in rubble, local officials said.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/9-BqMvNeZ4I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/9-BqMvNeZ4I/Lima2c-Peru2c-Aug-16.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Lima2c-Peru2c-Aug-16.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Japan Nuclear-Site Damage Worse Than Reported (Resource)</title> <description>Water leaking from a energy plant stricken by an earthquake was 50T more radioactive than initially announced. Tokyo Electric Power apologized for delays and errors in announcing the extent of damage at the plant in the northwestern coastal city of Kashiwazaki which was struck Monday by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. The company also said that tremors had tipped over  several hundred barrels of radioactive waste, not 100 as it reported Tuesday, and that the lids had opened on  a few dozen of those barrels. The company had miscalculated the level of radioactivity of the leaked water, 317 gallons of which flowed into the Sea of Japan. However, it said the water s level of radioactivity was still far too low to harm the environment.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/liqseCj21Ks" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/liqseCj21Ks/Japan-Nuclear-Site-Damage-Worse-Than-Reported.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Japan-Nuclear-Site-Damage-Worse-Than-Reported.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Hurricane Fears Cost Homeowners Coverage in the Ea (Resource)</title> <description>Millions of homeowners in Northern states are losing their home insurance policies as companies attempt to limit their exposure to catastrophic losses from hurricanes.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/sH20Szgnm0s" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/sH20Szgnm0s/Hurricane-Fears-Cost-Homeowners-Coverage-in-the-Ea.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Hurricane-Fears-Cost-Homeowners-Coverage-in-the-Ea.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Hard Times Hitting Students and Schools (Resource)</title> <description>With mortgage foreclosures throwing hundreds of families out of their homes each month, dismayed school officials say they are feeling the upheaval: record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals. Educators in many states said they were seeing more needy families than at any time in memory. 2 charities in suburban Detroit announced in Aug. that they would hand out student backpacks, attracting hundreds of families.  They went through all 300 backpacks in 3 hours, and that was that, said an official in Macomb Intermediate School Dist.  We re seeing a lot of desperate people. Districts in Louisiana, Minnesota and elsewhere have taken a radical measure and adopted 4-day school weeks. Hundreds of districts, responding to higher food prices, are charging more for cafeteria meals.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/usHP5wcuQGI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/usHP5wcuQGI/Hard-Times-Hitting-Students-and-Schools.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Hard-Times-Hitting-Students-and-Schools.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Efforts to Harvest Ocean s Energy Open New Debate (Resource)</title> <description>In the coastal Northwest, wave farms, harvested with high-tech buoys that are being tested here on the Oregon coast, could strain clean, renewable power from the surging sea.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/jRLP2YITfYU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/jRLP2YITfYU/Efforts-to-Harvest-Oceane28099s-Energy-Open-New-Debate.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Efforts-to-Harvest-Oceane28099s-Energy-Open-New-Debate.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Drought-Stricken South Facing Tough Choices (Resource)</title> <description>A drought in the Southeastern U.S.A. has become so severe that some cities are just months away from running out of water.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/xLy_I-8mxb0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/xLy_I-8mxb0/Drought-Stricken-South-Facing-Tough-Choices.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Drought-Stricken-South-Facing-Tough-Choices.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Chinese Dam Projects Criticized for Their Human Co (Resource)</title> <description>A year after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, water pollution, landslides, and mass resettlement (1.13 million displaced people) have led to questions about hydropower as a solution to China s energy conundrum.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/eA-4SsgX90g" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/eA-4SsgX90g/Chinese-Dam-Projects-Criticized-for-Their-Human-Co.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Chinese-Dam-Projects-Criticized-for-Their-Human-Co.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>[NYTimes]Cleaning Up China (Resource)</title> <description>Over the past 16 years, a large share of the world s polluting industries have migrated to the largest low-wage country of all, China, helping to turn big swaths of its landscape into an environmental disaster zone. China makes more than a third of the world s steel, half of its cement, about a third of its aluminum. It also consumes more coal than the United States, Europe and Japan combined. Airborne pollution causes more than 650,000 premature deaths a year. China is also surpassing the United States as the world s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China s government bears primary responsibility for failing to address the devastating environmental consequences of its breakneck growth.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/2CbvHvei1u4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/2CbvHvei1u4/NYTimesCleaning-Up-China.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/NYTimesCleaning-Up-China.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>China s Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis (Resource)</title> <description>In Changsha, China, a large female turtle with a stained, leathery shell in the city s decaying zoo is fed a special diet of raw meat in her small pool that is encased with bulletproof glass. A surveillance camera monitors her movements. A guard is posted at night. Scientists have concluded that she is the planet s last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle. She is about 80 years old and weighs 90 pounds. The planet also has only one, known male of the same species. He lives at a zoo in the city of Suzhou. He is 100 years old and weighs about 200 pounds. They are believed to be the largest freshwater turtles in the world. These last two Yangtze giant soft-shells are symbolic of the threatened state of wildlife and biodiversity in China. Pollution, hunting and rampant development are destroying natural habitats, and also endangering plant and animal populations.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/DoYYkwW_HH4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/DoYYkwW_HH4/Chinae28099s-Turtles2c-Emblems-of-a-Crisis.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Chinae28099s-Turtles2c-Emblems-of-a-Crisis.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Child Mortality at Record Low; Further Drop Seen (Resource)</title> <description>According to figures from the United Nations Children s Fund, for the first time since 1960, the number of deaths of young children around the world has fallen below 10 million a year. This public health triumph has arisen partly from campaigns against measles, malaria and bottle-feeding, and partly from improvements in the economies of most of the world outside Africa. Despite the improvement, two sets of countries have worsened: those in southern Africa that have been hit hardest by AIDS, and those that have been at war recently, like Congo and Sierra Leone.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/VGXJmKNmzR8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/VGXJmKNmzR8/Child-Mortality-at-Record-Low3b-Further-Drop-Seen.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Child-Mortality-at-Record-Low3b-Further-Drop-Seen.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>California Bars Restaurant Use of Trans Fats (Resource)</title> <description>California recently became the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to phase out their use. Under the new law, trans fats, long linked to health problems, must be excised from restaurant products beginning in 2010, and from all retail baked goods by 2011. Packaged foods will be exempt. New York City adopted a similar ban in 2006  it became fully effective on July 1  and Philadelphia, Stamford, Conn., and Montgomery County, Md., have done so as well. Having the requirement imposed on the most populous state s 88,000 restaurants, as well as its bakeries and other food purveyors, is a major gain for the movement against trans fats. That movement has been led by scientists, doctors and consumer advocates who trace the largely synthetic fat to a variety of ailments, principally heart disease.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/la04qxZZDCM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/la04qxZZDCM/California-Bars-Restaurant-Use-of-Trans-Fats.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/California-Bars-Restaurant-Use-of-Trans-Fats.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Billionaires Back Antismoking Effort (Resource)</title> <description>Bill Gates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg will spend $500 million to stop people world-wide from smoking. The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco will kill up to a billion people in the 21st century, 10 times more than in the 20th century. Most victims are expected to be in poor countries like Bangladesh and middle-income countries like Russia. Trying to cut that number, Bloomberg s foundation will commit $250 million over 4 years on top of a $125 million gift he announced 2 years ago. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is allocating $125 million over 5 years.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/l9j0HbmXPyw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/l9j0HbmXPyw/Billionaires-Back-Antismoking-Effort.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Billionaires-Back-Antismoking-Effort.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Asbestos and Aging Pipes Remain Buried Hazards (Resource)</title> <description>New York City got a reminder of the vulnerability of its aging infrastructure yesterday when a 24-inch steam pipe that was laid in 1924 exploded in Midtown near Grand Central Terminal, leaving one person dead and more than 30 injured. Mayor Bloomberg said cold water apparently got into the pipe, producing a change in pressure and the blast. Because the pipe was near a water main, the explosion sent water, steam and debris skyward. Many of the city s oldest steam pipes are covered with asbestos for insulation, and those around the accident could be at risk if they inhale significant amounts of tainted air.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/EA-rQb5kR_Q" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/EA-rQb5kR_Q/Asbestos-and-Aging-Pipes-Remain-Buried-Hazards.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Asbestos-and-Aging-Pipes-Remain-Buried-Hazards.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes (Resource)</title> <description>China s rise as an economic power has no clear parallel in history, so its pollution problem has shattered all precedents. Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions, that pollution poses not only a major long-term burden on the Chinese public but also an acute political challenge to the ruling Communist Party. Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China s leading cause of death, the Ministry of Health says. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Chinese cities often seem wrapped in a toxic gray shroud. Only 1 percent of the country s 560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by the European Union.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/GlujhAR53VI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/GlujhAR53VI/As-China-Roars2c-Pollution-Reaches-Deadly-Extremes.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/As-China-Roars2c-Pollution-Reaches-Deadly-Extremes.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Aid to Help Asia and Africa With Effects of Warmin (Resource)</title> <description>The Rockefeller Foundation will invest $70 million within the next 5 years to help Asian cities and African farmers withstand floods, droughts and other global warming hazards. Help will be needed no matter what is done to limit greenhouse gas emissions, because decades of rising temperatures and sea levels result from a century-long buildup of gases in the atmosphere. Poorer communities, with no money or technology to deal with a ruined harvest or an eroding coastline, face outsize threats.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/RMf9a8FfriE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/RMf9a8FfriE/Aid-to-Help-Asia-and-Africa-With-Effects-of-Warmin.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Aid-to-Help-Asia-and-Africa-With-Effects-of-Warmin.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Across Globe, Empty Bellies Bring Rising Anger (Resource)</title> <description>The food belt among the poor is eroding with the gains of working and middle classes, sowing levels of discontent and putting new pressures on fragile governments. In Burkina Faso and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, food riots are breaking out. In Malaysia, the ruling coalition was nearly ousted by voters who cited food and fuel price increases as main concerns. It s the worst crisis of its kind in more than 30 years, said Jeffrey D. Sachs, the economist and special adviser to U.N. Sec. General, Ban Ki-moon. The spike in commodity prices  the biggest since the Nixon administration  has pitted the globe s poorer south against the relatively wealthy north, adding to demands for reform of rich nations farm and environmental policies. But experts say there are few quick fixes to a crisis tied to so many factors, from strong demand for food from emerging economies like China s to rising oil prices to the diversion of food resources to make bio-fuels.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/hZwrfrEMVT8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/hZwrfrEMVT8/Across-Globe2c-Empty-Bellies-Bring-Rising-Anger.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Across-Globe2c-Empty-Bellies-Bring-Rising-Anger.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>A Rescue in China, Uncensored (Resource)</title> <description>Since an earthquake flattened a swath of China s rural Sichuan Province recently, killing nearly 15,000 people, the government in Beijing mounted an aggressive rescue effort, dispatching troops and sending Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the disaster zone with reporters. At the wreckage of a hospital where s people were buried, he shouted:  Hang on a bit longer. The troops are rescuing you. China s Communist Party leaders know that their approach to the earthquake is closely watched at home and abroad. After 2 months of criticism over its handling of Tibetan unrest, the government can not afford another round of criticism before it hosts the Olympic Games.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/3ozVlZdbDys" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/3ozVlZdbDys/A-Rescue-in-China2c-Uncensored.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/A-Rescue-in-China2c-Uncensored.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>A Heavy Toll from Disease Fuels Suspicion and Ang (Resource)</title> <description>In Middleborough, Massachusetts, a small group of residents of is awaiting a report later this year that could reveal dozens of cases of Lou Gehrig s disease in a downtown industrial area were caused by pollution. The cases, which state and federal officials call a  disease cluster, are located within a mile of Everett Square  a neighborhood adjacent to the town s onetime factory row. The study, financed by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and conducted by state health scientists, will result in the creation of a statewide registry to track cases of the disease, known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Residents have spent years trying to prove that heavy metals and solvents from plating and shoe factories  and the toxic chemical cocktails of other industries  are to blame.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/AHNgc8ZIqxY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/AHNgc8ZIqxY/A-Heavy-Toll-from-Disease-Fuels-Suspicion-and-Ang.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/A-Heavy-Toll-from-Disease-Fuels-Suspicion-and-Ang.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>World s Best Medical Care? (Resource)</title> <description>The disturbing truth is that this country lags well behind other advanced nations in delivering timely and effective care. There is a growing body of evidence that, by an array of pertinent yardsticks, the United States is a laggard not a leader in providing good medical care. The Commonwealth Fund compared the United States with other advanced nations through surveys of patients and doctors and analysis of other data. Its latest report, issued in May, ranked the United States last or next-to-last compared with five other nations  Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom  on most measures of performance, including quality of care and access to it. Other comparative studies also put the United States in a relatively bad light&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ujh7d3AEOsg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ujh7d3AEOsg/Worlde28099s-Best-Medical-Care.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Worlde28099s-Best-Medical-Care.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>The Soul of a New Vaccine (Resource)</title> <description>Sanaria Inc. is making a vaccine with gamma rays. Avoiding modern recombinant DNA technology that injects tiny fragments of parasite protein to prime an immune response, Sanaria uses the whole parasite, extracted by hand from the mosquito s salivary glands, and weakened so it cannot multiply. Because the world now fights malaria  ineptly  with nets, insecticides and drugs, a vaccine is desperately needed. Sanaria s is the sole vaccine using the whole parasite. Injected into a capillary, it rides the bloodstream to the liver and starts making proteins. But after about three days, it stops, and it never floods the blood with copies of itself. Radiation-weakened parasites have protected many lab mice and a handful of humans, but making a vaccine that can be mass produced is a huge challenge. The lucrative market is made up of tourists and the world s military forces. The larger goal is to protect the 3,000 children who die of malaria each day.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ZoxjwxL_olc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ZoxjwxL_olc/The-Soul-of-a-New-Vaccine.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/The-Soul-of-a-New-Vaccine.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Surge Seen in Applications for U.S. Citizenship (Resource)</title> <description>New feelings of insecurity in immigrant communities are helping fuel a rise in the number of legal immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens. The numbers of new naturalized citizens have steadily grown, to 702,589 last year from 463,204 in 2003. A big jump occurred this year, with the number of applications increasing every month, to 115,175 in May compared with 65,782 last December. For many legal immigrants, worry about their futures in the United States turned into action after an announcement on Jan. 31 by Citizenship and Immigration Services that it would increase application fees.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/QM3kQ-jEieE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/QM3kQ-jEieE/Surge-Seen-in-Applications-for-US-Citizenship.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Surge-Seen-in-Applications-for-US-Citizenship.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Study Paints Dire Picture of Warmer Northeast (Resource)</title> <description>-  The Northeast can anticipate substantial  and often unwelcome or dangerous  changes during the rest of this century, concluded the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which examined the impact of global warming on the region.  The very char&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/0iXq0p5309o" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/0iXq0p5309o/Study-Paints-Dire-Picture-of-Warmer-Northeast.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Study-Paints-Dire-Picture-of-Warmer-Northeast.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Juvenile Justice (Resource)</title> <description>As hearings began on July 12th, one of Congress must strengthen and update the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Passed in 1974, in exchange for federal grant dollars, it required states to move away from the practice of locking up truants and runaways and to avoid placing children in adult jails. The goal then was to move away from failed policies that often turned young delinquents into hardened criminals and toward a framework based on mentoring and rehabilitation. However, the states are increasingly classifying young offenders as adults, trying them in adult courts, and sending them to adult prisons. A federally backed study reports that children handled in adult courts and confined in adult jails subsequently commit more violent crime than children processed through the traditional juvenile justice system. Other studies show that as many 50% of the juvenile offenders sent to adult courts were not convicted or were sent back to the juvenile system after spending time in adult lockups. Equally disturbing is the fact that youths of color are more likely to be sent to adult prisons than their white counterparts.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/kIy15HLoV7o" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/kIy15HLoV7o/Juvenile-Justice.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Juvenile-Justice.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>In DNA Era, New Worries About Prejudice (Resource)</title> <description>When scientists first decoded the human genome in 2000, they were quick to portray it as proof of humankind s remarkable similarity. The DNA of any two people is at least 99% identical. New research is exploring how DNA explains racial differences between people of different continental origins. The heart-disease drug BiDil is marketed exclusively to African-Americans, who seem genetically predisposed to respond to it. Jews are offered prenatal tests for genetic disorders rarely found in other ethnic groups. Such developments are providing some of the first tangible benefits of the genetic revolution. Social critics fear they may also be giving long-discredited racial prejudices new potency. The notion that race is more than skin deep could undermine principles of equal treatment and opportunity which presume that we are all fundamentally equal.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/rbPaVBxXuSo" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/rbPaVBxXuSo/In-DNA-Era2c-New-Worries-About-Prejudice.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/In-DNA-Era2c-New-Worries-About-Prejudice.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>In an Era of School Shootings, a New Drill (Resource)</title> <description>Many schools are preparing for unusual emergencies: bomb threats, hazardous material spills, shelter-in-place preparation (students would use schools as shelters if a dirty bomb s plume were dangerously close) and armed, roaming sociopaths. School administrators and police officers push increased emergency preparedness efforts, as many states encourage schools to practice for dire situations. Kenneth Trump, pres. of National School Safety &amp; Security Services, a private company that counsels campuses on how to prepare for emergencies, sees a  tremendous lack of training particularly for school secretaries, bus drivers, and other support staff. Since Sept. 11, more people have been killed in school buildings than in terrorist attacks in this country.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/wijGhL7xYyQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/wijGhL7xYyQ/In-an-Era-of-School-Shootings2c-a-New-Drill.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/In-an-Era-of-School-Shootings2c-a-New-Drill.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Food and Fuel Compete for Land (Resource)</title> <description>The price of some foods is rising sharply, and from the corridors of Washington to the aisles of neighborhood supermarkets, a blame alert is under way. Among the favorite targets is ethanol, especially for food manufacturers and livestock farmers who seethe at government mandates for ethanol production. The ethanol boom, they contend, is raising corn prices, driving up the cost of producing dairy products and meat, and causing farmers to plant so much corn as to crowd out other crops. The results are working their way through the marketplace, in this view, with overall consumer grocery costs up roughly 5% in a year and feed costs up more than 20%. Now Congress is poised to adopt a new mandate that would double the volume of ethanol made from corn.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/IfS5t3RsuH0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/IfS5t3RsuH0/Food-and-Fuel-Compete-for-Land.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Food-and-Fuel-Compete-for-Land.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Earthquakes Bring Attention to Seismically Unsafe (Resource)</title> <description>In the wake of the disastrous collapse of over 7,000 "classrooms" and the death of 10,000 students (estimates are closely controlled by the Chinese government) in China after May 12's devastating earthquake, American seismologists are assessing the sturdiness of schools in the U.S., writes Andrew Revkin in the New York Times blog Dot Earth. The Pacific Northwest, seems most vulnerable. According to Yumei Wang, geohazards team leader for the state of Oregon, approximately 1,300 schools there have "a very high probability of collapse." Washington State is similarly vulnerable. Wang states that "what are sorely needed are long-term, institutionalized, government-funded programs to help school districts mitigate their high-occupancy, collapse-prone schools." Oregon is establishing a grant program to do this, but Wang cautions that the retrofitting of schools and other critical infrastructure will take decades and could cost up to $2 billion.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/CdrK30ruc2w" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/CdrK30ruc2w/Earthquakes-Bring-Attention-to-Seismically-Unsafe.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Earthquakes-Bring-Attention-to-Seismically-Unsafe.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Cleaning Up China (Resource)</title> <description>Over the past 16 years, a large share of the world s polluting industries have migrated to the largest low-wage country of all, China, helping to turn big swaths of its landscape into an environmental disaster zone. China makes more than a third of the world s steel, half of its cement, about a third of its aluminum. It also consumes more coal than the United States, Europe and Japan combined. Airborne pollution causes more than 650,000 premature deaths a year. China is also surpassing the United States as the world s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China s government bears primary responsibility for failing to address the devastating environmental consequences of its breakneck growth.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/7LHOW7VPcrs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/7LHOW7VPcrs/Cleaning-Up-China.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Cleaning-Up-China.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>As Somalia s Crisis Swells, Experts See a Void in Aid (Resource)</title> <description>In Somalia, the road between the market town of Afgooye and the capital of Mogadishu it is a corridor teeming with misery, with 200,000 recently displaced people crammed into swelling camps that are rapidly running out of food. U.N. officials say Somalia has higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed, and fewer aid workers than Darfur. The ever-worsening situation has included floods, droughts, locusts, suicide bombers, roadside bombs and near-daily assassinations.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/_N10JrFdmAA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/_N10JrFdmAA/As-Somaliae28099s-Crisis-Swells2c-Experts-See-a-Void-in-Aid.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/As-Somaliae28099s-Crisis-Swells2c-Experts-See-a-Void-in-Aid.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Chef Proves School Lunch Can Be Healthy, Cheap (Resource)</title> <description>A chef of restaurants on the French Riviera turns his skills at the market to create healthy and inexpensive school lunches&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/jccqzd2fgIM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/jccqzd2fgIM/Chef-Proves-School-Lunch-Can-Be-Healthy2c-Cheap.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Chef-Proves-School-Lunch-Can-Be-Healthy2c-Cheap.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Increasing Autism Rates Challenge Long Island Schools (Resource)</title> <description>With the number of Long Island children with autism having increased nearly 50% in three years, schools there are struggling to meet their needs. "You want to have the best education possible, but you have to balance that off against what people can afford," said Charles Murphy, a superintendent on Long Island. "But parents want every service under the sun, and you can understand why." Experts attribute the rise in autism rates to improved diagnoses, and to a broadening of the definition of autism itself. Still, the American Academy of Pediatrics has stressed the importance of screening every kid -- twice -- for autism by age 2.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ptwlSLS_Wsg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ptwlSLS_Wsg/Increasing-Autism-Rates-Challenge-Long-Island-Schools.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Increasing-Autism-Rates-Challenge-Long-Island-Schools.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>School-Based Health Centers Roles as First Responders (Resource)</title> <description>School-based health centers play a significant role in responding to students in crisis and provide a national model of health care access for students, and a Lake Research Partners study shows two-thirds of American voters support school-based health centers doctors offices within schools. Members of National Assembly on School-Based Health Care briefed legislators about the role of school-based health care and discuss ways to expand the federal health care safety net to include school health centers. Nationwide, there are approximately 1,700 school-based health centers available to serve nearly 2 million children in 44 states.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/XRxdQNbkfTc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/XRxdQNbkfTc/School-Based-Health-Centerse28099-Roles-as-First-Responders.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/School-Based-Health-Centerse28099-Roles-as-First-Responders.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Vaccine-Wary Parents Spark Public Health Worries (Resource)</title> <description>Children can be inoculated against diseases once regarded as the scourges of childhood, including measles, mumps, diphtheria, pertussis, and polio. However, in Ashland, Oregon, nearly 30% of kindergartners are exempt for some or all of the vaccines required by state law, at a rate 7 times the rest of the state and 12 times the rest of the nation. Health officials worry about a rising threat as small but growing clusters of parents seek exemptions to keep their kids from being vaccinated. Skeptical of government mandates and leery of feared links to disorders from asthma to autism, some parents say they re exercising their rights to protect their kids from risk. Health officials say the risk of vaccination is outweighed by the benefits of inoculations, and that those who don t immunize endanger not only their own kids, but also the collective resistance that keeps everyone else safe. Recently, government health officials reported the number of measles cases in the U.S. reached its highest level in over a decade, with nearly half the cases involving children whose parents object to immunizations. In addition to measles, recent outbreaks of pertussis have underscored the dangerous trend. Nevertheless, increasingly, parents are opting not to vaccinate or, more often, to vaccinate selectively because they don t trust the safety conclusions of the federal government or medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/IFtoL95jWSs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/IFtoL95jWSs/Vaccine-Wary-Parents-Spark-Public-Health-Worries.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Vaccine-Wary-Parents-Spark-Public-Health-Worries.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Skin Cancer Rates Grow among Younger Women (Resource)</title> <description>Federal health officials recently reported Increasing numbers of younger women continue to receive diagnoses of the most dangerous form of skin cancer even as the rate of new cases has leveled off in younger men. Statistics show the rate of dangerous melanoma has gone up 50% since 1980. One possible explanation is increases among young women of recreational sun exposure or tanning bed use. Mark Purdue, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute said that both of these things have been identified as risk factors. Ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen. If you bathe your skin in the ultraviolet light carcinogen long enough, skin cancer is going to develop.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/NECD5-uTgfY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/NECD5-uTgfY/Skin-Cancer-Rates-Grow-among-Younger-Women.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Skin-Cancer-Rates-Grow-among-Younger-Women.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Girls Track Breast Cancer (Resource)</title> <description>Sarah Waliany age 16, and her cousin, Shelina Kurwa, 17, who performed a science project that examines why some breast-cancer cases are drug resistant will present their findings as finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, &amp; Technology, sponsored by Siemens AG and the College Board. Both Shelina and Sarah say they were motivated to work in breast cancer research after several friends' mothers were diagnosed with the disease.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/rzNJyG2W-qs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/rzNJyG2W-qs/Girls-Track-Breast-Cancer.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Girls-Track-Breast-Cancer.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>UCLA to Study Chronic Diseases Disproportionately (Resource)</title> <description>The department of family medicine at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, it will study racial healthcare disparities, especially chronic diseases. Scientists from universities and medical centers across the U.S. will join the effort. The program will appoint 5 Healthcare Quality Scholars annually to conduct research on diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and other afflictions that disproportionately affect racial minorities.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/piHHFmrYDIY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/piHHFmrYDIY/UCLA-to-Study-Chronic-Diseases-Disproportionately.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/UCLA-to-Study-Chronic-Diseases-Disproportionately.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>New Research Effort at UCLA to Study Chronic Diseases That Disproportionately Affect Racial Minorities (Resource)</title> <description>The department of family medicine at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles launched the Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, it will study racial healthcare disparities, especially chronic diseases. Scientists from universities and medical centers across the U.S. will join the effort. The program will appoint 5 Healthcare Quality Scholars annually to conduct research on diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and other afflictions that disproportionately affect racial minorities.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ZrkA4gNVhCI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ZrkA4gNVhCI/New-Research-Effort-at-UCLA-to-Study-Chronic-Diseases-That-Disproportionately-Affect-Racial-Minorities.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/New-Research-Effort-at-UCLA-to-Study-Chronic-Diseases-That-Disproportionately-Affect-Racial-Minorities.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Obesity rates continue to climb in the United States (Resource)</title> <description>The obesity rate in the United States has increased at an alarming rate over the past three decades. We set out to estimate the average annual increase in prevalence as well as the variation between population groups to predict the future situation regarding obesity and overweight among U.S. adults and children, said Youfa Wang, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of International Health. "Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/GKGu_j2WwBg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/GKGu_j2WwBg/Obesity-rates-continue-to-climb-in-the-United-States.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Obesity-rates-continue-to-climb-in-the-United-States.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Remembering 9/11: The Day the Infrastructure Collapsed (Resource)</title> <description>By Anthony Townsend from IFTF s  Future Now weblog. 9/11 demonstrated both the fragility of the infrastructure of global capitalism and its resilience.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ex4XJqwlqzE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ex4XJqwlqzE/Remembering-911-The-Day-the-Infrastructure-Collapsed.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Remembering-911-The-Day-the-Infrastructure-Collapsed.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Newest Test for Students Evaluates Health, Fitness (Resource)</title> <description>Some experts say the newest addition to Texas' testing regimen,  a physical fitness assessment , might save lives and help put today's increasingly obese children on track to live healthier lifestyles. Under a new state law, nearly 4 million 3rd - through 12th-graders will have their stamina, strength, flexibility, and body composition measured for the first time this school year.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/1VM_Ic_gb10" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/1VM_Ic_gb10/Newest-Test-for-Students-Evaluates-Health2c-Fitness.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Newest-Test-for-Students-Evaluates-Health2c-Fitness.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>HopeLab: Combining research with innovative solutions (Resource)</title> <description>Founded in 2001, HopeLab is a non-profit organization that combines rigorous research with innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illness.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/pr30DqOgEuk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/pr30DqOgEuk/HopeLab-Combining-research-with-innovative-solutions.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/HopeLab-Combining-research-with-innovative-solutions.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Vitamin D Could Lessen Diabetes Risk in Children (Resource)</title> <description>Children with greater vitamin D intake have a reduced risk of developing diabetes later in their lives. New research showed that children who took vitamin D supplements were 30% less likely to develop Type 1 diabetes than those who did not take supplements.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/3tom4TmqC_Y" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/3tom4TmqC_Y/Vitamin-D-Could-Lessen-Diabetes-Risk-in-Children.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Vitamin-D-Could-Lessen-Diabetes-Risk-in-Children.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Unequal America Causes and Consequences of the Wide  and Growing  Gap Between Rich and Poor (Resource)</title> <description>The U.S. no longer boasts of having anywhere near the world s longest life expectancy. It doesn t even make the top 40. In this and many other ways, the richest nation on earth is not the healthiest. Scholars find further cause for concern in the pattern of health disparities. Poor health is not distributed evenly across the population, but concentrated among the disadvantaged. Disparities in health tend to fall along income lines everywhere: but in the U.S., the gap between the rich and the poor is far wider than in most other developed democracies, and it is getting wider. The U.S. also does less than most other rich democracies to redistribute income from the rich to the poor. American attitudes focus on equality of opportunity, while Europeans tend to see fairness in equal outcomes. Among Americans, differences of opinion about inequality result in disputes over whether poor people deserve help and sympathy or should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Research indicates that high inequality reverberates through societies on multiple levels, correlating with, if not causing, more crime, less happiness, poorer mental and physical health, less racial harmony, and less civic and political participation. Tax policy and social-welfare programs take on importance far beyond determining how much income people hold onto. The recent U.S. increase in economic inequality reflects a migration of money upward as salaries have ballooned at the top.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/2xZlhUp5hf0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/2xZlhUp5hf0/Unequal-America-Causes-and-Consequences-of-the-Wide-e28093-and-Growing-e28093-Gap-Between-Rich-and-Poor.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Unequal-America-Causes-and-Consequences-of-the-Wide-e28093-and-Growing-e28093-Gap-Between-Rich-and-Poor.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Our Nation Divided Into "Eight Americas" (Resource)</title> <description>Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Initiative for Global Health analyzed census and health statistics data for the years 1982 to 2001. They found what they call "an enormous gap" in life expectancies based on race, counties of residence, income, and other social factors. The analysis led the researchers to the idea that there are "eight different Americas." White middle America and black middle America are different from each other (whites live longer than blacks) and from low-income white America, Southern low-income rural black America, Northern low-income rural white America, high-risk urban black America, and Asian America.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/vsPdVhSrRMs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/vsPdVhSrRMs/Our-Nation-Divided-Into-Eight-Americas.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Our-Nation-Divided-Into-Eight-Americas.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Children in Katrina Trailers May Face Lifelong Ailments (Resource)</title> <description>Doctors fear that thousands of youngsters may face lifelong health problems because the temporary housing supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency contained formaldehyde fumes up to 5 times the safe level. The chemical was detected in many of the trailers sent to the Gulf Coast after Katrina. But a push to get residents out of them, spearheaded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, did not begin until Feb, 2008. Members of Congress and CDC insiders say the danger is being compounded by studies that will be virtually useless and the lack of a plan to treat children as they grow. More than 22,000 FEMA trailers and mobile homes are still being used in Mississippi and Louisiana.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/aW7kL7mWiQ0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/aW7kL7mWiQ0/Children-in-Katrina-Trailers-May-Face-Lifelong-Ailments.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Children-in-Katrina-Trailers-May-Face-Lifelong-Ailments.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Virtual World Population: 50 million by 2011 (Resource)</title> <description>Technology analyst group Gartner recently asserted that  80% of active Internet users (and Fortune 500 companies) will have a  second life , but not necessarily in Second Life by 201. Gartner is referring to  people who are heavyweight Net users. The estimate is actually that 50-60 million Net users will participate in a virtual world by 2011. Consider the current largest existing worlds, including South Korea s Cyworld with 20 million uniques, World of Warcraft with its 8 million subscribers, and Europe s Habbo Hotel with its own 7 million regular users. Lisa Cosmas Hanson of Chinese game market analyst, Niko Partners, estimates 26 million online world users by 2011 in China alone. Other contributing factors are: (1) Upward growth rates of existing worlds and social networks like MySpace; (2) Usage patterns of current online world users ( Especially in the teen and young adult area&  ); (3) General computer game usage; (4) Penetration and growth of Internet-enabled notebooks in this generation and spread of easily accessible wireless Internet; and (5) Involvement by major firms like IBM in virtual worlds, coupled to metaverse consulting groups to serve them there. This reflects both a growing interest from their client base, and will result in growing pressures and competencies to accelerate the move by corporate users into the virtual worlds space.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ZC663w16jOE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ZC663w16jOE/Virtual-World-Population-50-million-by-2011.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Virtual-World-Population-50-million-by-2011.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Dance Dance DNA (Resource)</title> <description>Photograph and link to explain the use of kinetic learning at an exhibit at the Scripps Aquarium near San Diego, devoted to teaching kids about science.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/dLBadjxpqRQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/dLBadjxpqRQ/Dance-Dance-DNA.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Dance-Dance-DNA.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Feral Cities - The New Strategic Environment (Resource)</title> <description>Richard Norton of the Naval War College lays out his vision of the feral city.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/SuIkw5w49hw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/SuIkw5w49hw/Feral-Cities---The-New-Strategic-Environment.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Feral-Cities---The-New-Strategic-Environment.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Crisis of Age Requires Cure (Resource)</title> <description>Every day an estimated 6,000 Americans turn 65. In 4 years, that rate will grow to 10,000 people a day. By 2030, one in 5 Americans will be 65 or older. Meanwhile, geriatrics programs across the US are shrinking, the number of certified geriatricians is falling relative to the population, physicians are dis-enrolling from Medicare, and fewer medical students are choosing to specialize in geriatrics. Usually, when public and private resources fail to address a societal problem, philanthropy is the answer. Yet aging, for the most part, is ignored by foundations and donors.  We are in a significant crisis, says Mark Lachs, a professor of medicine and a chief of the division of geriatrics at Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ.  The manpower deficit extends from the physician level to the frontline workers and everywhere in between. &lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/CpM0_ISi53E" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/CpM0_ISi53E/Crisis-of-Age-Requires-Cure.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Crisis-of-Age-Requires-Cure.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Texas District Debuts Special Propane Buses (Resource)</title> <description>A San Antonio-area school district has debuted new classic-yellow school buses that reportedly are the first in the nation manufactured to run on propane. District officials say the new buses are expected to cut fuel costs at least in half--no small matter, given the soaring cost of fuel.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ZUivTR8D_3I" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ZUivTR8D_3I/Texas-District-Debuts-Special-Propane-Buses.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Texas-District-Debuts-Special-Propane-Buses.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Survey: Parents Talk to Their Kids about the Web (Resource)</title> <description>A survey from Common Sense Media, and the Cable in the Classroom, finds that 85% of parents talked to their children in the past year about how to be safe and ethical on the online. But far fewer have discussed how to determine the credibility of online information, to be savvy internet consumers, or how to determine if a web site contains biased information.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/1GmPEDjWxNM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/1GmPEDjWxNM/Survey-Parents-Talk-to-Their-Kids-about-the-Web.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Survey-Parents-Talk-to-Their-Kids-about-the-Web.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Report urges U.S. to think "big" about broadband (Resource)</title> <description>Higher-ed group says it's time for nationwide, open access to high-speed internet service&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/_faFkML3e_Y" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/_faFkML3e_Y/Report-urges-US-to-think-big-about-broadband.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Report-urges-US-to-think-big-about-broadband.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Purdue Puts Emergency Texting to the Test (Resource)</title> <description>Concern about rapid notification of school staffs and students in the event of a crisis has increased since Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people. Officials say the successful results of a recent experiment conducted at Purdue University, to test cell-phone text messages as a form of emergency communication, may be a promising step to equip college campuses with reliable and adequate emergency response plans. Nearly 3,000 of the 9,979 volunteers who signed up for the experiment replied to the test text message on their cell-phones within 10 minutes. To see how well text messaging works in comparison with eMail as a form of emergency communication, Purdue also sent out an experimental eMail message to the 56,882 people with campus eMail addresses. The results suggested that, while eMail was faster for initially sending out messages, students generally didn't notice the eMail messages or respond as quickly.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/8uPg4zzhTNU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/8uPg4zzhTNU/Purdue-Puts-Emergency-Texting-to-the-Test.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Purdue-Puts-Emergency-Texting-to-the-Test.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Online Safety: Dispelling Common Myths (Resource)</title> <description>At the recent 2008 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), with more than 18,000 educators, technology coordinators, policy makers, and administrators attending, a panel of internet safety experts agreed that education is the best tool to keep kids safe online&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/9mW30QZbdf0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/9mW30QZbdf0/Online-Safety-Dispelling-Common-Myths.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Online-Safety-Dispelling-Common-Myths.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Green School Buildings Making A Surge (Resource)</title> <description>Environmentally friendly schools can reduce energy costs ... and improve learning. School systems nationwide are beginning to realize the benefits of "going green" when building new schools, according to experts who follow school construction trends. Though the initial building costs can run higher, schools are seeing a return on their up-front investment through a reduction in monthly energy costs. Green schools are also witnessing a boost in student achievement resulting from more healthy, productive, and comfortable learning environments.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/OLzT4zB11ao" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/OLzT4zB11ao/Green-School-Buildings-Making-A-Surge.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Green-School-Buildings-Making-A-Surge.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Gas Prices Fuel Rise in Virtual Field Trips (Resource)</title> <description>As schools grapple with budget cuts and rising fuel costs, many districts are finding it necessary to reduce or eliminate field trips, leaving students and teachers with a surprisingly attractive option--virtual field trips. Many classrooms just need a high-speed internet connection and video conferencing capability. Students enrolled in the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) have the opportunity to participate in numerous virtual field trips. They are able to take a virtual field trip on their own or in groups, using a computer and browser or a web conferencing tool (FLVS uses Elluminate) that allows students to be on separate computers but still be tied together. Virtual field trips also help students experience guest speakers who otherwise would not have been able to speak to their classes. Virtual field trips offer budget-friendly opportunities not only for schools, but also for students whose families might not be able to afford the sometimes costly expense associated with physical field trips.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Ta3v5cYHEHI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Ta3v5cYHEHI/Gas-Prices-Fuel-Rise-in-Virtual-Field-Trips.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Gas-Prices-Fuel-Rise-in-Virtual-Field-Trips.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Fuel Prices Force Schools to Get Creative (Resource)</title> <description>With fuel prices soaring to record-breaking numbers, school districts across the nation have been forced to rethink standard practices and cut corners just to keep their budgets afloat. From replacing field trips actual with virtual field trips to switching to open software, districts are trying to adapt to what could be only the beginning of an escalating crisis. Because gas prices are driving up food prices and federal funds for child nutrition are limited, the only variable the school system has is in food prices charged to students, so school meal prices are expected to rise.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/4JH5xWVd4DI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/4JH5xWVd4DI/Fuel-Prices-Force-Schools-to-Get-Creative.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Fuel-Prices-Force-Schools-to-Get-Creative.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>4-day Week on the Rise in Education (Resource)</title> <description>School districts and universities are instituting 4-day weeks, a trend becoming the norm as gas prices and energy costs continue to rise. The trend is particularly popular in some of the most remote school districts (Minnesota, Kentucky, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah) where buses travel hundreds of miles for student pickups, drop offs, and sporting events. At some colleges, administrators are authorizing alternative schedules as an employee-friendly policy designed to abate increasingly costly daily commutes.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/g7RooSrSn7o" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/g7RooSrSn7o/4-day-Week-on-the-Rise-in-Education.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/4-day-Week-on-the-Rise-in-Education.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Sharing Solutions for Childhood Obesity (Resource)</title> <description>This article from Environmental Health Perspectives Journal, presents data to explain that rates of obesity also are much higher among some populations and in certain geographic areas. And the prevalence of childhood obesity is growing exponentially.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/M6yAgopYSag" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/M6yAgopYSag/Sharing-Solutions-for-Childhood-Obesity.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Sharing-Solutions-for-Childhood-Obesity.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (Resource)</title> <description> Edward Granger-Happ, the CIO at Save the Children and chairman of NetHope, writes at the Journal of New England Technology that the face of corporate social responsibility is changing  it is no longer an adjunct activity for good community relations; it s about core business strategy. Corporate philanthropy used to be about supporting the arts and local community. But now employees are demanding companies to have CSR programs that apply the company s specific resources to help with world issues. Granger-Happ says the next generation of CSR is about skill-based philanthropy. Instead of leveraging the time and general management skills of employees, the focus now shifts to working on projects that leverage the specific skills of the employee and the organization. So if the company s skill is software development, then the CSR program may be helping nonprofit organizations develop emergency response supply chain management applications. For Granger-Happ, CSR is now also strategic: It s about employee response and engagement, and also about developing the next generation of corporate leaders. According to the 2006 Cone Inc. Millennial Cause Study, 79% of 13-to25 year-olds want to work for a company that cares about how it impacts and contribute to society, while 56 percent said they would refuse to work for an irresponsible corporation.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/bkn6qcmoc58" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/bkn6qcmoc58/Evolution-of-Corporate-Social-Responsibility.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Evolution-of-Corporate-Social-Responsibility.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Cell phones linked to brain cancer? (Resource)</title> <description>Mobile phones could kill more people than smoking or asbestos, according to a study by neurosurgeon and cancer expert, Dr. Vini Khurana. He warns that people should avoid using cell phones wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation. The study draws on growing evidence that use for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. The French government has followed Great Britain in warning against the use of mobile phones, especially for children. Germany advises its citizens to minimize handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced. Dr. Khurana fears that the incidence of malignant brain tumors and associated death rate may rise globally within a decade from now, when it will be too late to intervene medically. Recommended steps to take in order of greatest protection: (1) Not use a cell phone. (2) Not carry a cell phone on or near your body when not in use. (3) Use air tube headsets -- not the Bluetooth or wire headsets with your phones which conduct greater radiation to the head. (4) Purchase a BIOPRO cell chip and place it on the cell phone to reduce response to the radiation from the phone. In a recent discussion on the  Larry King Live television show, Dr. Khurana recommended using the  speaker feature instead of putting the cell-phone near one s head&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/sEgxywilkrg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/sEgxywilkrg/Cell-phones-linked-to-brain-cancer.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Cell-phones-linked-to-brain-cancer.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>State Schools' Chief Urges Districts to Consider Renewable Energy (Resource)</title> <description>Indiana's top schools official is encouraging districts to look into renewable energy technologies as a way to cut their energy costs. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed kicked off the Indiana Dept. of Education's yearlong "Learn Green, Live Green" initiative this month. Reed said some districts are already tapping into renewable energy, and saving taxpayer money in the process.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/DqIGH3jPHXU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/DqIGH3jPHXU/State-Schools-Chief-Urges-Districts-to-Consider-Renewable-Energy.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/State-Schools-Chief-Urges-Districts-to-Consider-Renewable-Energy.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>New Orleans Offers Students Laptops (Resource)</title> <description>Nearly 4,000 New Orleans high school students this month received laptops as part of a $53 million technology initiative by the Recovery School District that aims to modernize some of the nation s most rundown classrooms and improve achievement in a city where most students struggle to meet basic academic standards. Mr. Vallas, a veteran urban schools chief, in charge of the state-run district since July, said the laptops are part of a broader effort to introduce academic reforms, improve instruction, and raise expectations for the roughly 13,000 students in the 33 schools that he directly oversees. For decades, many struggling schools in the city did not even issue students their own textbooks&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/rYG7wK1WrGg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/rYG7wK1WrGg/New-Orleans-Offers-Students-Laptops.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/New-Orleans-Offers-Students-Laptops.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>DPS Screens Kids For Lung Disease (Resource)</title> <description>Denver Public Schools is putting out a dragnet for asthma - a lung disease that steals the breath of about 10 percent of children nationwide and up to nearly 19 percent in a few Denver schools. With $1.2 million in state funding and the help of National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver Health and Children's Hospital, nurses and counselors are screening students for the disease's earliest signs. The state health department has funded the DPS Asthma Program's first three years. Denver's initiative is one of a growing number of school- based asthma programs in the country - with those in Los Angeles and Minneapolis/St. Paul among the most prominent, said National Jewish pediatric allergist Stan Szefler. Nationwide, children between the ages of 5 and 17 missed 12.8 million school days in 2003 because of asthma, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/pJPsmBUjchY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/pJPsmBUjchY/DPS-Screens-Kids-For-Lung-Disease.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/DPS-Screens-Kids-For-Lung-Disease.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Michigan Science Teacher Assaulted in Classroom (Resource)</title> <description>Three students allegedly beat a Pontiac, Mich., high-school science teacher in his classroom, fracturing his skull, breaking a rib and injuring a lung. "Teachers are in a war zone, and we should be getting combat pay," said local teachers' union president Irma Collins. "We need better leadership to deal with our safety issues from the interim superintendent or from the board."&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/mC6m3tqWN1o" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/mC6m3tqWN1o/Michigan-Science-Teacher-Assaulted-in-Classroom.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Michigan-Science-Teacher-Assaulted-in-Classroom.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Schools in Several States Report Staph Infections (Resource)</title> <description>School officials around the country have been scrambling this week to scrub locker rooms, reassure parents and impress upon students the importance of good hygiene. The heightened alarm comes in response to a federal report indicating that the bacteria,&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/C_wR5otsZmY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/C_wR5otsZmY/Schools-in-Several-States-Report-Staph-Infections.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Schools-in-Several-States-Report-Staph-Infections.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Brain 'Circuits' May Hold Key to Curing Disease (Resource)</title> <description>Neurosurgeons traditionally have treated brain diseases using interventions targeted directly at affected sites in the brain, such as the speech-production area. More recently, however, focus has shifted to the brain's "circuits," the minuscule electrical and chemical pathways between parts of the brain that process activities such as vision, movement, heart rate, and mood. If these circuits are disrupted or fail altogether, they trigger a series of bad connections that can lead to epileptic seizures, mood disorders, or Parkinson's disease. An emerging technique called deep brain stimulation surgery involves implanting electrodes in selected areas of the brain and connecting them to a neuron-stimulator device placed on the lower body. The device acts like a heart pacemaker, adjusting electrical impulses to correct the circuits.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/OHkf68nT1dg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/OHkf68nT1dg/Brain-Circuits-May-Hold-Key-to-Curing-Disease.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Brain-Circuits-May-Hold-Key-to-Curing-Disease.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Shale Gas Could Boost Economy (Resource)</title> <description>The Marcellus black shale, in northern Appalachia, may generate help for Pennsylvania's economy. Using breakthrough technology that allows for horizontal drilling into the fractures in the shale, Terry Engelder, Penn State professor of geosciences, figured out how to access the natural gas beneath the surface. This gas could mean a major lift for the economy, with royalties for families leasing their land to gas companies, more jobs, and population increases, according to a forecast by Penn State's Workforce Educ. and Development Initiative, a collaboration of the Outreach Workforce Assessment Center and the College of Education Institute for Research in Training &amp; Development (IRTD). Predictions are that nearly 8,000 jobs will be created annually, disposable personal income will hover around $1 billion dollars annually and the population will rise by thousands through 2011. Drilling has just begun in the last few months in the southwestern part of the state, but the Marcellus shale covers almost 34 million acres of land in Pennsylvania. Penn State has an educational role in teaching residents how to handle leases and negotiations with the gas companies interested in drilling the shale. How land can be used, what can be built on it, and how landowners' water can be used, are all regulated.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/b--j2kHAYLs" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/b--j2kHAYLs/Shale-Gas-Could-Boost-Economy.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Shale-Gas-Could-Boost-Economy.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>A Knockout of a Workout (Resource)</title> <description>The Wii is a video-game system that is taking on new life as a fitness tool, thanks to its use of hand-held motion controllers and its release of tennis, golf, bowling and baseball programs as well as boxing. The hand units substitute full arm and body motions for the notorious thumb-driven controllers that helped plant a generation of kids on the couch while the Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong did all the work. Retirement homes are starting Wii bowling leagues; the New York Times recently reported that gym programs in at least 10 state school systems are using Dance Dance Revolution, a video game that is kind of like Twister set to music -- and it can't be long before one of the gym chains builds the Wii into its equipment. The technology is here, and it could offer a real contribution to fitness among sedentary adults, among the elderly, and among kids. Fitness-themed software, called WiiFit, is due for release in Japan this year and should be out in the United States in 2008.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/9bT78JSslWk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/9bT78JSslWk/A-Knockout-of-a-Workout.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/A-Knockout-of-a-Workout.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Epidemic of Extinctions: Decimation of Life on Earth (Resource)</title> <description>The world s species are declining at a rate  unprecedented since the extinction of the dinosaurs. The Living Planet Index shows the devastating impact of humanity as biodiversity has plummeted by almost 1/3 in the 35 years to 2005. The report, produced by WWF, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network, says land species have declined by 25%, marine life by 28%, and freshwater species by 29%.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/nm8w5WZhTpk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/nm8w5WZhTpk/Epidemic-of-Extinctions-Decimation-of-Life-on-Earth.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Epidemic-of-Extinctions-Decimation-of-Life-on-Earth.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Enterprise Foundation Says Community Revitalizatio (Resource)</title> <description>The Community Developers Guide to Improving Schools in Revitalizing Neighborhoods", argues that suggests that despite obvious linkages between the health of neighborhoods and the quality of the local schools, community revitalization efforts usually do not include schools. The report shows that this is beginning to change. It demonstrates in cities all over the United States those developers, foundations, and other investors who are committed to neighborhood revitalization and have made school improvement part of their agenda in the past 15 years. Is your community building its school as centers of community?&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/TOUOrGyUKYk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/TOUOrGyUKYk/Enterprise-Foundation-Says-Community-Revitalizatio.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Enterprise-Foundation-Says-Community-Revitalizatio.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>The New, New World Order (Resource)</title> <description>In Carrefour Grocery Store China sales were up 25% in the first quarter of this year. Sales in places like Brazil and Romania jumped more than 50%. While gross domestic product growth is cooling a bit in emerging markets, the results are still tremendous compared with the U.S. and much of Western Europe. The 54 developing markets surveyed by Global Insight will post a 6.7% jump in real GDP this year, down from 7.5% last year. The 31 developed countries will grow an estimated 1.6%. The difference in growth rates represents the largest spread between developed and developing markets in the 37-year history of the survey. The fact that the U.S. is no longer the locomotive of growth it was a few years ago doesn't seem to be that important anymore. The growing middle class in China is expected to multiply sevenfold by 2020, to 700 million people, according to Euromonitor, and India, where the number of middle-income folks will grow more than tenfold, to 583 million, says consultancy McKinsey &amp; Co. Increased incomes create market demands - thus quadrupling prices in steel, oil, and copper. Many nations with strong growth today depend on exports to the U.S. to keep their economies humming; a slowdown in U.S. spending surely will have ripple effects Robert McDonald, Procter &amp; Gamble's (PG, Fortune 500) chief operating officer, has borrowed a military term to describe this new business world order: It's a VUCA world, volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/8DUeQOzakOI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/8DUeQOzakOI/The-New2c-New-World-Order.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/The-New2c-New-World-Order.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>The Inconvenient Truth (Resource)</title> <description>The Web site and movie Inconvenient Truth provide a background about Global Warming.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/q-px5KwebX8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/q-px5KwebX8/The-Inconvenient-Truth.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/The-Inconvenient-Truth.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Teen Pregnancies Rise in U.S. for First Time in 15 (Resource)</title> <description>The National Institutes of Health report that teen pregnancies in the U.S. rose in 2006, for the first time since 1991. Teen pregnancies are a key indicator for this population as only reflects their health now their health and well-being for the next 20 to 40 years. Expectant mothers aged 15 to 19 are less likely to get prenatal care or gain weight appropriately, and they are more likely to smoke than older pregnant women. Cutbacks in community resources over the last 8 years may explain the new data.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/G93prwcw6jk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/G93prwcw6jk/Teen-Pregnancies-Rise-in-US-for-First-Time-in-15.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Teen-Pregnancies-Rise-in-US-for-First-Time-in-15.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>AIR Report to Help Cleveland Schools (Resource)</title> <description>Report from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) portrays the Cleveland School system as overrun by the mental-health needs of children steeped in poverty and turmoil. District officials asked the Cleveland and George Gund foundations to pay AIR $300,000 as consultants for 6 months. The report suggests suspensions as a last resort and eliminating the right of teachers to remove students from classes. Administrators also spoke to outside mental-health agencies about improving collaboration.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/rsvl8hrKUnc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/rsvl8hrKUnc/AIR-Report-to-Help-Cleveland-Schools.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/AIR-Report-to-Help-Cleveland-Schools.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Genetically Modified Mosquitoes May Combat Malaria (Resource)</title> <description>Scientists have genetically modified hundreds of mosquitoes, hoping to stop them from spreading their killer diseases. The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has found the work so promising it has invested nearly $38 million into genetic strategies to stop mosquitoes from transmitting diseases like malaria and dengue fever. Malaria kills nearly three million people worldwide every year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. "This is one of those high-tech, high risk innovations that would fundamentally change the struggle between humans and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes bred to be immune to malaria could break the disease's transmission cycle." said Dr. Regina Rabinovich, director of infectious diseases development at the Gates Foundation.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ClZoZw4uzBA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ClZoZw4uzBA/Genetically-Modified-Mosquitoes-May-Combat-Malaria.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Genetically-Modified-Mosquitoes-May-Combat-Malaria.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Governor Signs Bill for College Emergency-Response (Resource)</title> <description>To improve and standardize measures, a new requires law, colleges and universities in Illinois must work with state and local emergency management officials to develop and conduct training and emergency response drills at least once a year.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/pJyuLrgYlpQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/pJyuLrgYlpQ/Governor-Signs-Bill-for-College-Emergency-Response.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Governor-Signs-Bill-for-College-Emergency-Response.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>$20M Donation to Benefit Healthy Schools Program (Resource)</title> <description>The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a New Jersey philanthropic foundation, is giving $20 million to a program designed to promote healthy eating and exercise in schools in 17 states. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to use the money to help schools in those states attack obesity in children. The Alliance, which is a partnership of The Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, says that some 8,000 schools will be able to get in-person support for their anti-obesity programs by 2010.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/IVfA3J9yheI" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/IVfA3J9yheI/2420M-Donation-to-Benefit-Healthy-Schools-Program.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/2420M-Donation-to-Benefit-Healthy-Schools-Program.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Philanthropic Travel Connects Tourists with World (Resource)</title> <description>Clients of the luxury travel agency Artisans of Leisure are embracing an off-the-map concept known as philanthropic travel. They donate cows - or even a water buffaloes - to impoverished villages. And they follow up by sponsoring a ceremony and a big party. "Our clients are really looking for human connections," said founder Ashley Ganz. Artisans of Leisure is experiencing a boom in this ethically complicated niche. Likewise, Ritz Carlton Hotels and Resorts has just launched a 71-hotel program called Give Back Getaways, allowing guests to participate in music therapy programs for the disabled in Istanbul or home restoration in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, China. Guests will shell out between US$50-100,000 for the experience, part of which is forwarded to the local charity. American Express Travel is set to launch its own package for its elite Platinum Card members, one of which will include an Orient-Express train trip through Botswana and South Africa that will offer visits to soup kitchens and basket-weaving projects en route. The cost: US$13,000 per person, and evidently, the company sees a future from this kind of demand. In the past week they received many calls from travelers who wanted to go help out in Myanmar. Operators and social theorists surmise that this jet set generosity could be the loud echo-effect of anti-poverty crusaders Bono, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt. Others attribute the trend to niche positioning in a competitive luxury market.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/YtTMLf1HTcg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/YtTMLf1HTcg/Philanthropic-Travel-Connects-Tourists-with-World.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Philanthropic-Travel-Connects-Tourists-with-World.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Study Shows Gap Growing Between Ric (Resource)</title> <description>Business Week examines the growing divide in a number of industrialized countries in the context of globalization of the world's economy.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/a4rxhzP02EY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/a4rxhzP02EY/Study-Shows-Gap-Growing-Between-Ric.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Study-Shows-Gap-Growing-Between-Ric.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Demilitarizing What the Pentagon Knows About Developing Young People (Resource)</title> <description>In contrast to 20 years ago, individuals who do not succeed in school have little chance of finding a job or contributing to society and societies that do not succeed at education have little chance of success in a global economy. Given the enormous stakes for our society and economy, our communities, and the young people themselves, the nation's educators and policymakers should focus with laser-like precision, intensity, and ingenuity on equipping these endangered young people for self-sufficiency and citizenship in the twenty-first century. The enormity, gravity, and stubbornness of this challenge demand out-of-the-box thinking and interventions that are implemented on a scale commensurate with the scope of the underachievement problem. This working paper examines the approaches, wisdom, and experience generated by the ChalleNGe program as well as the vast storehouse of knowledge and research, models and systems possessed by the military services that are potentially applicable to educating and developing youngsters who are at greatest risk of academic failure, economic marginality, and outright poverty.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/YRpqfqvkK9U" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/YRpqfqvkK9U/Demilitarizing-What-the-Pentagon-Knows-About-Developing-Young-People.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Demilitarizing-What-the-Pentagon-Knows-About-Developing-Young-People.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America (Resource)</title> <description>The Brookings Institution report, June 2006,  Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America." This article contends that middle-class neighborhoods have disappeared even faster in metropolitan areas, especially in cities. This trend suggests increased sorting of high- and low-income families into neighborhoods that reflect their economic profiles. The resulting disparities among neighborhoods will create new challenges for policies to enhance household mobility, improve the delivery of key public services, and promote private-sector investment in struggling locales.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/iuISV9JJDzc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/iuISV9JJDzc/Where-Did-They-Go-The-Decline-of-Middle-Income-Neighborhoods-in-Metropolitan-America.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Where-Did-They-Go-The-Decline-of-Middle-Income-Neighborhoods-in-Metropolitan-America.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Junk Sleep Damaging Teenagers' Health (Resource)</title> <description>British teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep because they are distracted by electronic gadgets in their bedrooms, according to a recent survey. Advice body The Sleep Council said "junk sleep" could rival the consumption of unhealthy junk food as a major lifestyle issue for parents of teenage children. Its poll of 1,000 youngsters aged 12 to 16 found that 30% of them managed to get just 4 to 7 hours sleep per night as opposed to the recommended 8 or 9 hours. Almost a quarter said they fell asleep more than once a week while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic gadgets. We are seeing is the emergence of Junk Sleep - that is sleep that is of neither the length nor quality that it should be in order to feed the brain with the rest it needs to perform properly at school. Nearly all the teenagers had a phone, music system or TV in their bedroom, with around two-thirds possessing all three.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/YRW4XM-c5rc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/YRW4XM-c5rc/Junk-Sleep-Damaging-Teenagers-Health.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Junk-Sleep-Damaging-Teenagers-Health.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Homeless High Schoolers Inspire a Plan (Resource)</title> <description>Boston is considering whether to open a residential program that would be the first in the state for homeless high school students and one of only a few in the nation. Homeless students, are more likely to miss school, struggle academically, and consider suicide, according to a new state report that found the problem is far more widespread than officials realized. The program would probably serve a dozen to 20 students and would be sited at or near Boston Day and Evening Academy, an alternative high school. Some educators say the program could be risky and may distract administrators from their primary mission, education, as they take up the role of a social service agency.  What some of these kids may need most is a consistent home where there is order and people around whom they can trust and who have their act together," said DeWitt Jones, chairman of the board of trustees for Boston Day and Evening.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/4KtyCrePxhY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/4KtyCrePxhY/Homeless-High-Schoolers-Inspire-a-Plan.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Homeless-High-Schoolers-Inspire-a-Plan.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Feral Cities (Resource)</title> <description>A post on the blogcritics.org website commenting on the view of  feral cities by Richard Norton of the Naval War College.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/ArcdMa5ZwO0" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/ArcdMa5ZwO0/Feral-Cities.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Feral-Cities.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Schools Embrace Green Designs in Labs, Roof (Resource)</title> <description>Green roofs are sprouting at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., a pioneer in the effort, and at Harvard University which is building a $1.2 billion, four-building science complex in Boston to include innovative winter gardens.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/Yl8In7XyUpY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/Yl8In7XyUpY/Schools-Embrace-Green-Designs-in-Labs2c-Roof.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Schools-Embrace-Green-Designs-in-Labs2c-Roof.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Plan Turns Habitat for Humanity into an Investment (Resource)</title> <description>Habitat for Humanity is looking to grow funds by borrowing a developing-world concept: microloans. The Atlanta-based nonprofit, which builds homes for people in need, recently announced the launch of a microloan program in partnership with the Maryland-based Calvert Foundation. It will allow individuals to invest in  not just donate to  Habitat's philanthropic mission. If the program succeeds, investors will receive interest payments on their money. Microloans are typically used to provide small amounts of credit to people or businesses that do not qualify for traditional loans. The concept is popular in the developing world, but it is a first for Habitat, which has subsisted on donations, grants, and proceeds from home sales. Habitat s Chief Executive Jonathan Reckford said the Calvert partnership, intended to last 5 years, is a new way to fuel the growth of Habitat, that nearly doubled the number its completed projects from 2005 - 2007. Last year, it finished 49,000 home projects worldwide.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/YGizeAzqG4A" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/YGizeAzqG4A/Plan-Turns-Habitat-for-Humanity-into-an-Investment.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Plan-Turns-Habitat-for-Humanity-into-an-Investment.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title> Little Green Schoolhouses (Resource)</title> <description>High-performance schools -- those that integrate the best in today s design strategies and building technologies -- also referred to as "green" or "sustainable" -- can help us make the most of the opportunity presented by today s massive school construction programs. While there are many variations, in general, high-performance schools are healthy, productive, and comfortable environments for students and teachers that provide high levels of acoustic, thermal and visual comfort. Their windows and skylights admit generous amounts of daylight, and the buildings are safe and secure. They are cost-effective to own and operate because they use durable products and systems. Their systems and materials are chosen using life-cycle cost analysis, rather than the cheapest first-cost. During design, energy analysis tools are used to optimize the building s performance, and after construction its equipment is fine-tuned to operate correctly. High-performance schools are available for use by non-students during hours when the school is not in operation, and community participation during design is encouraged.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/l0ipXmPFbsw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/l0ipXmPFbsw/-Little-Green-Schoolhouses.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/-Little-Green-Schoolhouses.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Mind Shifts (Resource)</title> <description>The June, 2008 issue of American School and University: Shaping Facilities and Business Decisions, features and cover story entitled,  Mind Shifts: Schools and Mental Health  Business, Legal, Security and Facilities Implications .&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/K1AQtBeqxuQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/K1AQtBeqxuQ/Mind-Shifts.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Mind-Shifts.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Kids Need Mental Health (Resource)</title> <description>NSBA, American School Board Journal, Dec. 2003. Tells how urban school districts in several cities, such as Minneapolis, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, are working day and night to take care of children's social, emotional, and physical needs so they can learn.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/t8QtBvFccNY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/t8QtBvFccNY/Kids-Need-Mental-Health.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Kids-Need-Mental-Health.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Computrace by Absolute Software Inventories &amp; Recovery (Resource)</title> <description>ComputraceComplete combines Computer Theft Recovery, Data Protection, and Secure Asset Tracking offered by a Recovery Guarantee. ComputraceComplete allows IT administrators to centrally manage their assets by monitoring computer movement, asset leasing information, and software license compliance. It also offers up to a $1000 Recovery Guarantee if a stolen computer cannot be located within 30-60 days. An optional Data Delete service is also available.&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/0ULXvUWtnfA" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/0ULXvUWtnfA/Computrace-by-Absolute-Software-Inventories--Recovery.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/Computrace-by-Absolute-Software-Inventories--Recovery.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>AP Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water (Resource)</title> <description>It's amazing what you can find in your drinking water these days, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones. Not so thirsty?&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~4/f8a04pZ3law" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Bio-Distress/~3/f8a04pZ3law/AP-Probe-Finds-Drugs-in-Drinking-Water.aspx</link> <feedburner:origLink>http://www.futureofed.org/resource/AP-Probe-Finds-Drugs-in-Drinking-Water.aspx</feedburner:origLink></item> </channel> </rss>