YouthNet blog
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Monday Feb 27, 2006
No stopping climate change?
How's this for a depressing Monday news story?The National Trust have acknowledged that they must now rethink their policy on protecting many of their sites as a result of climate change. Fiona Reynolds, Director General of The National Trust, said
"Society cannot ignore climate change. Its impacts are being felt already and they will become more widespread."
Their report concludes that "we can't always conserve things exactly as we once have. This goes for species, habitats, coasts or buildings."
I think The National Trust do fantastic work and it's quite soul destroying to think that if protecting our countryside, coastlines and historic buildings was difficult before, it's now got much, much tougher.
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 6:10 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]Reducing voting age to 16 and other ways to revitalise Britain's democracy
A commission called the Power Inquiry, set up in 2004 to consider how to increase and deepen political participation in Britain - particularly in light of the low turnout in the 2001 general election - has published a report based on 18 months of investigating. This tome describes we Brits' apparent disengagement from government and makes recommendations to ensure all have a greater say in the policies affecting our lives.
While we are more apparently intimate with the psychological lives of our politicians, we may be more alienated than before from the world of the "politicos". It's not a matter of our apathy; indeed, we're volunteering and promoting particular issues like crazy. As the commission's chair Helena Kennedy writes in the report's introduction,
"People in Britain still volunteer; they run in marathons for charity; they hold car boot sales to raise funds for good causes; they take part in Red Nose days and wear ribbons for breast cancer or AIDS. They sit as school governors, do prison visiting, read with children who have learning difficulties. They take part in school races and run the school disco. They march against the Iraq war and in favour of the countryside. They sign petitions for extra street lights and more frequent bin collection. They send their savings to the victims of tsunamis and want to end world poverty. What they no longer want to do is join a party or get involved in formal politics."
To an extent this is also true in the United States, where I've lived most of my adult years and where the two major political parties sometimes seem to differ more in personality than in policy (though both have shifted to the right). While among my mostly left-leaning acquaintances, Bush's first win of the presidential election galvanised us to canvass for the alternative, our perception of distorted vote-counting and an almost impenetrable administration left us cold. We could change more, perhaps, on a local level, and we could rally around particular issues. But in the meantime, voting is low and politicians don't know that we care.
One of Power's key recommendations is to reduce the voting age to 16 in Britain. Automatic voter registration could be dealt with as NI numbers are handed out. I think that provides a great parallel, as both political participation and the opportunity to do paid work are hallmarks of an engaged citizenship.
Editorial in the Guardian welcomes the report, noting its "holistic approach" to recognise the complexity of polictical apathy , but states that "it tends to blur perceptions and facts". It reminds readers of an Electoral Commission report two years ago, which indicated the general public (including young people) did not want the voting age lowered. According to the Daily Telegraph too, senior politicians of both main parties are generally supportive of the report. Mind you, they'd look a little silly if they weren't. But it's a good step, I think.
Posted by Kirsten Olson ( 4:51 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]Grown ups guide to MySpace
Wired News have produced a MySpace "cheat sheet" for parents to help them understand how and why their kids use MySpace.Is just just me or can you can smell the fear parents have about this strange and mysterious new world?.. Posted by Sam Thomas ( 2:19 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Google to save the earth with Infectious Disease Early Warning System
Dr Larry Brilliant (surely one of the best names ever), newly appointed Executive Director of Google's philanthropic arm, has won a $100,000 prize from the Technology, Entertainment and Design group (an invitation only community packed full of tech and media celebs like Peter Gabriel and Co-Founder of Google, Larry Page).As well as the cash prize, the group also awards the prize winner with one "wish" that the group must commit to fulfil.
Dr Brilliant's wish is to set up an internet based global early-detection and early-response system for infectious diseases, and he plans to gather support from other companies and foundations like the Bill Gates Foundation to make it happen. Last year Bono was one of the winners - his wish was to publicise his campaign to stamp out poverty in Africa and to set up a text-messaging system to pressure leaders of the G8 summit into dedicating money to Africa (he must have been granted an extra wish for being Bono).
I'm sure Dr Brilliant's plan will serve an excellent purpose and will no doubt be delivered using the best available technology, with the best available brains working behind it. He is also perfectly placed to work on a system like this, with a background in both infectious disease and technology.
However, I can't help but feel there's something slightly wrong with celebs and industry leaders granting 'wishes' to other celebs and industry leaders via an invitation only group - the problems they're trying to tackle are hugely complex and existing NGO's and non-profits have been dealing with them on a daily basis for many years. Maybe they'd be better off granting wishes to organisations on the ground - or maybe those that don't have a celebrity behind them just aren't part of the club?.. Posted by Sam Thomas ( 10:56 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Songs with advice
Our askTheSite service on TheSite.org provides excellent support and advice to the users who submit their personal questions. But really, are our experts any match for the might of the music industry over the years? Readers of The Guardian have come up with a Top 10 of songs which offer advice. Perhaps their number one pick, 'Words of Advice for Young People' by William Burroughs could be the unofficial askTheSite theme tune?Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 9:50 AM ) Link to this post Comments[2]
