Prepare for Change

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/10/california_central_valley_agriculture_drought_and_climate_change_photos.html "Frankly, there’s not much hope. How do we accommodate this new reality? Farming is never going to go back, regardless of how much rain we get next year, to the way it was in the ’70s and ’80s. It’s a long-term era of scarcity. California is much bigger than it was when these reservoirs were built, 40 or 50 years ago. There’s more water going to cities and the environment now. That boom era of California farming, I think everyone recognizes, is just a thing of the past." the price of food will go up while availability goes down.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29618889 "Last year a commercial scale advanced biofuels plant was opened in Crescentino near Turin , with the aim of producing 75 million litres of bioethanol every year from straw and arundo donax, an energy crop grown on marginal land. The Italians recently announced plans to open three further plants in the south of the country. Novozymes, one of the companies involved in the Crescentino initiative welcomed the government's decision to make it legally binding on fuel suppliers to include advanced biofuels in their petrol and diesel." This makes so much more sense than using food to make fuel, like corn ethanol.  I hope this comes to the US soon.

http://www.businessinsider.com/popular-resentment-could-lead-to-end-of-isis-2014-10 " Growing inequality and a general lack of concern for civilians living under ISIS's rule could eventually spell the end of the group, Elizabeth Palmer and Khaled Wassef report for CBS News. In Raqqa, Syria, ISIS's de facto capital, civilians chaffing under the jihadist's strict rule are becoming disenchanted with the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Residents are poor and disenfranchised — while fighters for the group are living lavishly. " From the book The False Messiahs, by Jack Gratus, it's easy to see that ISIS is nothing new in history. Someone like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, comes along, gathers a religious following, builds a movement, and then the whole thing collapses. I suspect, based on how ISIS is utilizing short-term strategies that will alienate most people, it will not last very long either. A short example from the book i...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/colorado-students-ap-us-history-protest "Hundreds of Jefferson County, Colo. high school students walked out of class on Monday to protest the district school board's plan to remove the teaching of 'civil disobedience' in the AP U.S. History curriculum. Students believe the proposed changes are an act of censorship, prompting 100 to 200 Evergreen High School students to walk out of class in protest for about 45 minutes, the Denver Post reported." It's good to see that one of the few tools the less powerful citizens have is cherished enough for this to happen.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/08/26/study-digital-media-erodes-ability-to-read-emotional-cues.aspx "For the study, researchers looked at two groups of students from the same school. The first group, comprising 51 students, attended outdoor school at the Pali Institute, a science and nature camp that doesn't allow student use of electronic devices. The second group, with 54 students, was allowed to use their devices as usual and did not attend the Pali Institute until the study was completed. Both groups were shown 48 pictures of happy, sad, angry or scared people and asked to identify their emotions, both at the beginning and end of the study. "They also watched videos of actors interacting with one another and were instructed to describe the characters' emotions," according to a news release. "In one scene, students take a test and submit it to their teacher; one of the students is confident and excited, the other is a...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/22/portland-oregon-tiny-homes_n_5698214.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063 "The city of Portland, Oregon, is nearing approval of construction for tiny home communities on public land in order to house homeless and low-income residents, the Oregonian reported. Josh Alpert, the city's director of strategic initiatives under Mayor Charlie Hales, said it's not so much a question of if, but rather, when the homes will be built in partnership with Multnomah County, according to the news source. The city will ask various public branches in the area -- including Portland Public Schools -- to provide surplus land for the homes." Less than 200 square feet is a bit small I think.  400 square feet would provide space for your "stuff" as well as a bit more comfort. I also like the comment "Looks good but perhaps adding a community garden would aid in feeding the residents, build skills, community and confidence."...