Through the Keyhole

Everyone can learn from each other

Everyone can learn from each other, independent of time, space and place.

– Ryan Bretag (courtesy of David Jakes)

Does he really believe this?

Joe Sturgis, a Republican from Davenport [Iowa] … doesn't believe that secondhand smoke causes cancer. However, multiple scientific studies, commonly cited by mainstream medical doctors and groups, indicate otherwise.

"I don't think there is any scientific proof that I've read to prove that secondhand smoke causes cancer," Sturgis said. "Basically, it's a virus. Some people get it and some people don't."

[From the Des Moines Register]

Ivy League v. incarceration

There is no cost difference between incarceration and an Ivy League education. The main difference is the curriculum.

 – Paul Hawkens, Social Waste

Big Media is two-faced

This cartoon pretty much sums up the Hollywood writer’s strike. Check out more of Matt Davies’ work…

Gamers are catching the attention of advertisers

[video removed - see first comment - egg on my face!]

D.C. v. Toronto

Rana Florida (wife of Richard Florida) on Washington, D.C. (my hometown) v. Toronto:

"They say D.C. is characterized by a combination of northern hospitality and southern efficiency," she laughs.

"Toronto is the opposite."

globeandmail.com: THE FLORIDAS' SOCIAL CALENDAR

White House cuts CDC testimony

Before the report made it to the Senate, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cut 10 pages from a 14–page document from the Centers for Disease Control on the health and disease risks associated with global warming.

OMB spokesman Sean Kevelighan … [said] that OMB reviews take into consideration "whether they ... line up well with the national priorities of the administration."

Sources: White House cut testimony - CNN.com.

Global warming IS occurring. It may be a matter of dispute in some circles as to its cause, but as far as I know there’s no dispute that it actually is happening. So what national priorities might warrent preventing the Senate from knowing about the health and disease risks associated with climate change?

Bottled water

A must-read from Fast Company on the bottled water industry:

Bottled water is often simply an indulgence, and despite the stories we tell ourselves, it is not a benign indulgence. We're moving 1 billion bottles of water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That's a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water. (Water weighs 81/3 pounds a gallon. It's so heavy you can't fill an 18-wheeler with bottled water--you have to leave empty space.) Meanwhile, one out of six people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water. . . . in Fiji, a state-of-the-art factory spins out more than a million bottles a day of the hippest bottled water on the U.S. market today, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have safe, reliable drinking water. Which means it is easier for the typical American in Beverly Hills or Baltimore to get a drink of safe, pure, refreshing Fiji water than it is for most people in Fiji.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/117/features-message-in-a-bottle_Printer_Friendly.html

American productivity

The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609.

The productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The U.N. report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent available.

Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.

The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work - a second key measure of productivity.

Report: American workers world's most productive - Sep. 2, 2007

I hope this electric car pans out

This is an interesting article on the Think City, a new electric car being developed in Norway:

• Can Think's electric car revolutionize the auto industry?