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NexThought Monday: The Role of STEM Professionals in Global Sustainable Development
The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) community is changing. Many passionate, hardworking students are not as excited about taking up well-paying, but arguably monotonous, jobs in large corporations. Their big question is: what do we do next? To answer this question, Khanjan Mehta of Penn State spent over three years interacting with hundreds of innovators to find new pathways toward careers in social innovation and global sustainable development.
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- Energy, Technology
- Tags
- employment, innovation
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Rockefeller Family Fund hits Exxon, divests from fossil fuels
The Rockefeller Family Fund said on Wednesday it would divest from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and "eliminate holdings" of Exxon Mobil Corp.
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- Energy
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India’s big move into solar is already paying off
The price of solar power has plummeted in recent months to levels rivaling that of coal, positioning the renewable source as a viable mainstream option in a country where 300 million people live without electricity. Solar prices are now within 15% of coal, according to KPMG. If current trends hold, the consultancy predicts electricity from solar will actually be 10% cheaper than domestic coal by 2020.
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- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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- solar
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Mobile Data Has the Answers, But First, We Need to Ask the Right Questions
I’ve realized that when guiding social enterprises, nonprofits and international NGOs to begin using data, it’s helpful to focus on a key, sometimes obvious point: data has to actually answer a critical business or programmatic question. Mobile data collection for the sake of collecting data isn’t enough.
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- Energy, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise, Technology
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The Deadly Cost of Bringing Coal-Powered Electricity From Australia to India
The Australian government continues to claim that coal will play a vital role in bringing cheap energy to developing nations. In particular, it has claimed India’s poor will benefit from the development of coal reserves in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. But is that really the case?
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- Energy, Environment
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- renewable energy
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New York Pension Fund Could Have Made Billions by Divesting From Fossil Fuels
New York State’s pension fund would have an additional $5.3bn to give to its retired employees if it had divested from fossil fuel companies and put that money into clean energy, according to a new report.
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- Energy, Environment, Investing
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The Developing World Faces a Silent Killer. Could a $1 Solar Light Help?
Every day at around 6pm, 40 families living in a remote corner of Andhra Pradesh in southeast India – a 6km walk from the nearest road – would be swallowed by darkness. With no access to electricity, sunset was a non-negotiable curfew – going outside was dangerous, people couldn’t cook and children were unable to do their homework.
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- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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Weekly Roundup: Ending India’s Economic Caste Calcification and Gates Superpowers
The cultural, religious, racial and political implications of India’s complex caste system continue to roil many parts of the country. This week saw protests in Haryana State that killed 19 people people and crippled parts of New Delhi’s water supply. But many voices called for a new economic future, we echo them in the weekly roundup. Plus, why the Gateses took off their capes and encouraged #SuperPowerForGood in their annual letter.
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- Energy