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Daily Archives: January 16, 2017

NDC Explorer – one-stop-shop for exploring national climate action plans

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Via Data Driven Journalism: “In 2013, the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) decided that every member state should formulate a concrete national contribution to address the challenges of climate change. To this end, each country developed a Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) that communicated their planned climate change mitigation activities. However, INDCs vary in scope and content – with no common method for review or comparison – making it difficult for journalists to report on climate change contributions. In response, the German Development Institute and its partners have developed a new online tool, called the NDC Explorer, which aggregates information on 163 INDCs.

The interactive database lets journalists:

  • Explore an analysis of all INDCs in 60 different categories like mitigation, adaption and finance
  • Visualise the data on an interactive, zoomable world map
  • Visualise the data in bar graphs
  • Compare INDCs by region and by income
  • Compare full country profiles of up to three countries
  • Share insights via social media or email
  • Download customised world maps and bar graphs for presentations and publications.”

OECD – Tackling Wasteful Spending on Health

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“Following a brief pause after the economic crisis, health expenditure is rising again in most OECD countries. Yet, a considerable part of this health expenditure makes little or no contribution to improving people’s health. In some cases, it even results in worse health outcomes. Countries could potentially spend significantly less on health care with no… Continue Reading

How Cell Phone Data Helps Us Better Understand Human Exposure To Air Pollution

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Vast digital data-sets are changing how we predict the impacts of the urban environment on human health. In challenging traditional principles, can cellular network data offer insights on how to mitigate human exposure to dangerous air pollution? “Global urbanization has led to one of the world’s most pressing environmental health concerns: the increasing number of… Continue Reading

Treepedia maps trees in cities throughout the world

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Treepedia – Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world – Using the power of MIT digital research applications and Google Street view users may choose a city from the list included to date, and search by specific location(s) to identify the differences in green space within a city and in comparison to other… Continue Reading

Oxfam – Just 8 Men Own Same Wealth as Half the World

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News release: “Eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, according to a new report published by Oxfam today ahead of the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland:  Oxfam’s report, “An economy for the 99 percent,” shows that the gap… Continue Reading

Report – Fostering The Advancement of the Internet of Things

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Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force & Digital Economy Leadership Team report, Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things, January 2017. “The Internet of Things (IoT) – in which connected devices are proliferating at an unprecedented rate–is a technological development that is transforming the way we live and do business. IoT continues the… Continue Reading

CRS – Security Clearance Process: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

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Via FAS – Security Clearance Process: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Michelle D. Christensen, Analyst in Government Organization and Management. October 7, 2016. This report provides a primer on some of the fundamental aspects of the security clearance process, using a “Frequently Asked Questions” format. A security clearance is a determination that an individual—whether a… Continue Reading

The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017

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World Economic Forum, The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017, Published Monday 16 January 2017: “Around the world, no bigger policy challenge preoccupies leaders than expanding social participation in the process and benefits of economic growth. The report, which covers 109 economies, seeks to improve our understanding of how countries can use a diverse spectrum… Continue Reading