Common goals from 12.680 km away

Hello everyone!

This is my first blog entry for this course and I look forward to many more. I want to start off by introducing myself and taking you on a short journey of my life that has brought me to here, 12.680 km from the islands of Hawai’i in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to EOI, Madrid.

It is customary in Hawai’i during introductions, to recount your entire lineage tracing you back to the roots of your ancestry, as a protocol. Through this one is able to bring their intentions forward and be reminded of their family ties to the place of where they are from. I will spare you these details of my ‘olelo no’eau, as it is called but wanted to bring it up as it is important as I discuss the reasons why I am here studying the International Masters in Sustainable Development & Corporate Responsibility here.

Growing up in Hawai’i, the natural environment was something that played a part in my everyday life. It was something that I can say now, that as a child, was taken for granted. It wasn’t until I began to travel and see other parts of the world that I realized just how special the places were that I grew up in. (I’m sure that this is not exclusive to Hawai’i, but that many people would have this realization of their hometown after growing up.) And just like most places, as I got older I noticed the changes that were happening around me. The loss of beach access for locals, the development of our own natural playgrounds and a growing sense of urgency to preserve the life and land of our home.

I wasn’t the only one noticing the change and the voices within the community became louder. However, I soon realized that while the voice of the community was strong, there was nothing stronger than political will and that screaming and crying no longer got us what we wanted. I chose to study Political Science at the University of Hawai’i and thus began my learning of how the system works.

Fast forward to today, and while my late professor of Hawaiian Politics would laugh at my optimism, I see the bigger picture of what it will take in order to make change for the better. I understand the importance of community activism and strength however, it’s goes unheard without the political will, checks and balances.

My first instinct to “preserve” the life and land that we had in Hawai’i is no longer an option, but we must embrace the change that is coming at us in order to truly be able to adapt and progress. I know these may be ‘fluffy’ words that I’m using to describe this, but it’s what I really feel. We need the community grassroots approach while at the same time the political drive to progress forward. Because as of now, we’ve gone past the point of preservation and have moved onto the point of adaptation. This can either be a positive change or negative, but I hope that with this masters that I will be able to find the tools that we need in order to secure a future in which my children can also enjoy the same things that I did.

To conclude, I understand that my approach may seem extremely narrow in the whole scheme of things, but I this is what attracted me the most to the IMSD Program. Not only does it give a global perspective on sustainability issues, but it brings together the minds of students of all over the world.

So, while the islands of Hawai’i may be 12.680 km away from Spain, what brings us together are the common goals that we share in order to achieve a more sustainable future.

So… let’s go IMSD!! Or, as we would say in Hawai’i, IMUA!

 

1 comentario / 20 Nov 2012 por Ivory McClintock Kealani Pan
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DP: Microfinance: An introduction

Over the last few decades, Microfinance, or Microcredit, has become a popular mechanism for economic development and poverty reduction.

The term microcredit can be defined as “programmes that extend small loans to very poor people for self-employment projects that generate income, allowing them to care for themselves and their families” (From the Microcredit Summit, 2-4 February 1997).

This “contemporary” idea of microfinance is widely believed to have been created by Mohammad Yunus, who began lending to poor women in Jobra, Bangladesh in the 1970s.  He later founded his own Microfinance institution (MFI) known as the Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus, along with the Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to create economic and social development from below”.

However, microfiance is not a new concept; it has played a large role in civil society for centuries and has taken several different forms, outside of the modern, formal banking sector.

In Latin America, for example, the use of Tandas among poor populations is the most popular form of saving and financing. Tandas are formed among a small group of people who agree to give a specific amount of money to the Tanda every week.  The collected money each week is then given to one of the Tanda members on a rotating basis.  Each member will receive the total amount of the Tanda one week during the arrangement.  This system has proven to be a popular model for those communities in which “modern” financial services through the banking sector are not available.  A good list of the different types of microfinancing can be found on the Grameen Bank Website.

Why are more “institutional” forms of microfinance unavailable to certain populations?

Microfinance programs are typically considered risky and financially not sustainable to most institutions.  Many people interested in microcredit typically are poor families with little capital, and little or no credit history.  Additionally, as microloans typically range from as little as a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, it is typically hard to profit on these programs.  Therefore, most financial institutions do not offer these services.  They choose to focus on the larger clients, with strong credit history, significant collateral, and who are willing to take out loans of significantly higher principals.

This exclusion of the worlds poor from larger financial institutions creates a void in business and financial development in which microcredit institutions, or small communal practices, can fill.

These institutions, however, do not come without their own weaknesses and costs.  Due to the low value of these loans, and the innate uncertainty of the borrowers, interest rates from microfinance institutions (MFIs) tend to be high:

In 2010, the estimated world average for interest rates was around 37% (nytimes).

 

So why provide microcredit?  What are the benefits?

In some cases, these high interest rates provided by MFIs are still cheaper than the costs incurred using less formal methods of borrowing.  According to CGAP, an independent policy and research center on financial access for the worlds poor, the rates given by MFIs are often “far below what poor people routinely pay to village money-lenders and other informal sources, whose percentage interest rates routinely rise into the hundreds and even the thousands”.

In a paper prepared by UNESCO for the 1997 Microcredit Summit , they state:

Over eight million very poor people, especially women, are benefiting today from different microfinance programmes. Experiences of these programmes show that provision of microcredit and savings facilities, when efficiently utilized, enables the poor to build strong microenterprises, increase their income, and participate in economic growth. It also contributes greatly to the empowerment of the poor, especially women, and helps to raise awareness and aspirations for education, health care and other social services. In light of these achievements, microfinance is increasingly being considered as an important tool for poverty reduction.

The film Microfinance: In Their Own Voices gives real world examples of people who have been positively affected by microcredit loans.  It “presents real, personal stories of microfinance clients from different parts of the world, including Kenya, India and the Philippines.”  The video, and more information, can be found on the International Year of Microcredit 2005′s website.

 

So how do Microcredit institutions function?

Microcredit institutions handle their programs differently:

What about other financial services?

Recently, the idea of microfiance has widened to include other products such as microsavings and microinsurance. These services are now being offered, in addition to microcredit, by many microfinance institutions.

The video below shows how the bank Bancomer in Mexico is working with IDEO to find sustainable microsavings programs for people with little income. It does a great job at really explaining the trial and tribulations of microfinance.

Comments Off on DP: Microfinance: An introduction / 20 Nov 2012 por Amy Blyth
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Why Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility?

Hello world!

I thought I would start this blog with a brief explanation about why I am at EOI, and why I am passionate about sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.

There is so much more that I could say than what is written in this short post (I hear it is best to keep these things short and to the point…); however, I believe this little introduction is a good way to “get my feet wet” in the world of blogging.

Folks, this is my first experience in the “blogosphere”, so bare with me.

As many of you already know, our world is running out of resources.
The world population is growing.
As countries are developing, the global energy demand is increasing.
Water resources are reaching critical levels.
We are warming our planet.

Just to name a few…

Understanding our environmental problems has become a bit of an obsession of mine in recent years. It has raised a lot of personal questions about how I want to live my daily life, and what I would like to do in the future.

It is bit overwhelming to think about, as these questions are not easy to answer – for anyone. However, my hope for this year is to really get below the surface of the ideas developed in this Master – Social Entrepreneurship, Human/Social/Economic Development, CSR, Sustainability… –  and to begin to understand where I fit in this giant, complex puzzle.

I am excited to have embarked on this journey here at EOI, and will continue to share some of my personal reflections, experiences, and any interesting tid-bits learned along the way.

Welcome to my blog!

(How’d I do on post #1? …)

Comments Off on Why Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility? / 15 Nov 2012 por Amy Blyth
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1′ post ¡Hola world, I introduce my self!

First blog of my life, first post of my life and first month here at Eoi Business School, in the International Master on Sustainable Development and Corporate Responsibility .

Before any other word, comment and thought, better I introduce my self.

My name is Veronica Recanati, I am 34 and I am Italian. I love travelling (not being a tourist thou), taking pictures with my Nikon D90, scuba diving and snowboarding. I like reading and writing and I don’t like cooking :p.

I did some crazy jumps during my life, real ones like a skydive jump in the German sky back to 2007 and professional and personal ones, like the last one that pushed me here.

In all my life I have been always looking for something…I have always wanted to know more, understand more, travel more, see more, be more. My hometown in the lovely region Marche started soon to be too small for me and as soon as I got my Master’s degree in Business Communication I moved out from there (2004).

I first went to Spain where I learnt Spanish and collaborated for a year with Granada University in the “Centro de promocion de empleo y practicas”. Great experience but I wanted to learn more, improve my english and explore the north of Europe..so through an Aiesec exchange program I moved to The Netherlands where I worked as an International Business Developer during two years for an innovative Dutch company (Nedap). In 2007 Cisco Systems entered into my life and after a quite hard recruitment process (starting in 2000 candidates..finishing in 6 ), I decided to leave again my comfort zone and to join the multinational American company. After a year of sales graduate program in Amsterdam (amazing international environment) I moved back to Italy and I worked during 4 years in the sales and security fields as Partner Account Manager. I loved my job, the company, my colleagues but after some years I felt that something was missing..

In 2010 I decided to spend my summer holidays in a different way and I went to Tanzania for a month for a volunteering project in an orphanage (through IVHQ organization).

I expected to see poverty but I cannot explain the shock I had once I was immersed in such a different and difficult reality!

That trip gave me new eyes for everything and everything started from there.

Once I went back to Italy I shared my experience and thoughts with friends, family and colleagues. I got in touch with the other international volunteers who had been volunteering at the same orphanage and we decided to found our own organization: Glorious Orphanage (Oct. 2010) and to support the children.

Without acknowledging it I was taking the path that would have brought me here today.

I knew Cisco has a CSR team and I decided to become an active member. Several colleagues showed me their interest and their determination to support my cause and after few months I got the first Cisco donation for a new classroom in the orphanage.

The second year I went to Tanzania I met Luca Bazzoli, President of an Italian non-profit association: Sensacional. He shared with me the principles of his charity: transparency, innovation, participation and its bottom up approach (our teacher Leda Stott recently talked about Robert Chambers and his thoughts and theories on this development approach). I was touched by Luca’ words and decided to become part of the Sensacional fundraising team. I managed to involve Cisco in one of the projects in Ecuador and to get the support from some Cisco partners and many colleagues.

Day by day this new part of my life became bigger and bigger as the passion I had for this field. However I still had my primary and very busy sales role as Security Partner Account Manager. The weekly forecasts, the business trips, the daily meetings, the partner trainings, the morning videoconferences were absorbing my days and I was not satisfied about my life.

I had to stay awake late at night to lead the charity activities, coordinate the Cisco CSR related activities, posting articles on Cisco blog, organize fundraising events for Sensacional and involve people. I was running all the times and I understood my life was not sustainable anymore! (sorry.. I have heard this word so many times so far, I now believe fits perfectly everywhere).

So I had to change something…I wanted to learn more on this field and be totally focused on it, become an expert, learn about development, NGOs, Corporate Responsibility, I had to quit with the sales life and starting with a new and more meaningful path.. yes..I had to jump!

So last July I finally did it!

I left a permanent and well paid job, a clear role in the society, a nice company car and many other benefits in order to be a student again and become a specialized person on sustainable development.

I still collaborate with Cisco in the CSR related activities..and who knows..I leave the door open in my mind.

So..I jumped once more time in order to help more, to learn more, to see more, to be more… and it feels GREAT .

That’s all for now..Welcome to my blog!

 

 

Comments Off on 1′ post ¡Hola world, I introduce my self! / 17 Oct 2012 por Veronica Recanati
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Farewell (or goodbye?) EOI, a 9 months of fantastic stories…

As 9 months ago, when I was a new student and a new Madrid’s citizen, I opened my blog introducing myself, now after these months, I would like to write the last post of this academic year trying to draw a balance of this experience.

First of all, it has been an amazing adventure, an opportunity to grow personally in terms of learn a new language (Spanish) and develop another (English), furthermore, I feel that the core experience which I will bring with me in the future it is for sure to have known such amazing, cute and kind people, which I’ll never forget!

Our class has been a melting pot, whereas a lot of different cultures has been met to create a gorgeous environment, and that is something almost unrepeatable…so my thanks goes to my peers, which have make possible it!

The second thing that I want to remark is the quality of the lectures, almost every teacher has done a great job there, and I would like to thanks everybody, but a special thanks goes to a couple of them: our director Leda Stott, her kindness is something impossible to describe; and Francisco Pinheiro, which has believed in me and has gave me the opportunity to carry on with this experience in Madrid.

 

In the end, my last, but absolutely not least, thanks goes, of course, to my parents, whom have helped me to undertake this path and always encourage me to give the best in everything, I love you.

With these words I want to say goodbye EOI, and see you (soon?) to everyone has knew me during this 9 months.

Ciao!

Luca Palma, Italy.

Comments Off on Farewell (or goodbye?) EOI, a 9 months of fantastic stories… / 19 Jul 2012 por Luca Palma
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The role of Technology in Today’s World and in the Future

Technology is an essential part of our lives today and few can imagine living without. We achieved a lot with the help of technology, for example we have the possibility to travel, keep in touch with friends on the other side of the earth and cure many illnesses. It means more freedom and choices for people but at the same time we have to consider the social imbalance, weapons of mass destruction and natural resource depletion. Jane Godall asks for a reason: “We are the most intelligent species walking on earth, how it comes we destroy on what we depend?” What has achieved so far is irrevocable, but we can still determine where it goes in the future.

One of the most important things everybody has to deal with is to overcome the short-termism, which prevails in governments, companies and individuals. Additionally we know, that decisions one individual takes are not necessarily good for the society as a whole. This doesn’t make it easier.

I think it is important to bear in mind the mutual goal: to keep the planet with mankind and all its beautiful animals and plants alive. This implies to make technology as positive as possible for humanity and the environment in the long run. The technology we create now creates the future and it should be for the people and make things easier and not more complicated. So what kind of society will we be?

Technology shapes the future and it can help to make it compatible with nature. It can help us to develop clean energy, transport possibilities with less emissions and low-energy houses to save resources. Technology is not only about technology itself or more efficiency and discovering new methods and processes; we have to add the component of art which is about to make wise choices for the future of technology. We should not develop technology because of itself, but to develop it, because it adds value to society and simplifies human life. For this, it needs to be discussed with experts from many fields and we have to relate the technology to the organization and the culture in which it should operate. And remember: There are no side effects – they are part of the technology.

TED Talks with further interesting information (last accessed 30.06.2012):

Damian Palin: Mining minerals from seawater, http://www.ted.com/talks/damian_palin_mining_minerals_from_seawater.html

Danny Hillis: Back to the future (of 1994), http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/danny_hillis_back_to_the_future_of_1994.html

Harvey Fineberg: Are we ready for neo-evolution?, http://www.ted.com/talks/harvey_fineberg_are_we_ready_for_neo_evolution.html

Comments Off on The role of Technology in Today’s World and in the Future / 30 Jun 2012 por Marie Glück
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Class: Technology for Human Development – Reflection on the article: Science may be ‘running out of control’ by Martin Rees

The article from 2006 leads us from a fear perspective of science to an optimal application of it. Many people share the opinion that science can get out of control. This is a dangerous path, as for those the fear takes over more and more their life as science advances, which is at very high velocity in the last years. But why are they so afraid of the scientific achievements if it is said that scientific method is absolutely objective and scientific knowledge is morally neutral? They have a good reason to be suspicious as history showed us enough examples where science showed its downside i.e. nuclear bomb, biological weapons, some genetically modified achievements etc.

One has to admit that there are risks involved with the advancement of science. Nevertheless, no one can stop the scientific progress, there are no instruments for that. Scientists can not be stopped thinking and experimenting, of course, the process can be slowed down with withdrawal of resources. After all, what is left for us is to learn to accept the existence of scientific progress and its power, in a positive and negative way. However, humans can manage the risks with enough caution, giving legal frameworks and fortify our scientists with the request to have a moral responsibility in whatever they are working. They have to be accountable for their decisions and acts.

If people in the developed world have worries about science, how much more fear can have the ones who live in developing countries? People living in the South could be still afraid from the achievements which the ones in the North already consider as an everyday thing. But again, the fear of developing countries can be understood if we think of negative examples from the past, what the Western technology (used as applied technology) caused to less developed countries i.e. the Bhopal chemical accident, big oil companies’ oil drilling in Africa etc. They are lacking equipment and other resources to compete in the progress but also the legal framework to stop the foreign invasion or just lower the risk.

For this reason, scientists have an even higher responsibility towards mankind. Usually the problem is not with the scientific discoveries but the applications of it. Those could and should be managed with more caution though. I agree with the article saying the controlling of science will be an important issue of the century and that its difficulties could be serious. Nevertheless, we can not fear developing if it is done in a responsible and smart way. For this, as in many areas too, multilateral partnerships could be a solution. These alliances (even between North and South) for the good cause could avoid that a discovery and the power of it is in one sole hand and make sure that the positive effects can be used worldwide.

Since the progress of science has always influenced society and environment and will keep doing so, another solution could be to assess scientific achievements and applications based on the triple bottom line (People, Planet, Profit). This seems to be forgotten i.e. in case of inventing plastic: it is a cheap, light and easy-to-use material (advantages for the industry), but what about the hundreds of years until it disappears in the environment and the health impacts in humans and other living beings?

In my opinion, if society requests that the environmental and social risks are managed well at a high importance “science has the best chance of being applied optimally”¹.

1 Martin Rees: Science may be ‘running out of control’ http://www.edge.org/responses/what-is-your-dangerous-idea

Comments Off on Class: Technology for Human Development – Reflection on the article: Science may be ‘running out of control’ by Martin Rees / 22 Jun 2012 por Ildiko Heim
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Technology and development; Science or/and development?

Since the early Greeks created deductive logic, science has evolved dramatically while unreal. Without science and scientific advancements, it would be impossible to live with the current conditions. We have cars to move everywhere, infrastructure, telecommunications, we have advanced in health research, cures and remedies for diseases that not too much time ago were mortals; we have developed measures in how to treat and prevent pollution or studies of psychology that allows us to understand much better the learning progress and so on. In short, science allows us to manage all the possible situations to which individuals and human beings may face throughout their lives. Can you imagine, nowadays, for a developing country, to live without mobile phones? Or Internet? Or gps? Or even Facebook?

However, in my view, evolution of science is “getting out of hand”. Some advances are creating “weapons” truly dangerous to population or even for planet. Nuclear power, that while for some reasons can be considered useful since it reduces emissions, it also has an extremely high risk associated; or nuclear weapons able to destroy, indeed, all population and so all science advances. But not only these examples can be considered risky for society, but simply facts as trying to colonize Mars, control cleaning tasks with robots, driving without driver, smart homes and so on. All these technological developments enable, apparently, to improve the welfare of the people but, in my view, in some cases exceed the ethical and real limits. More technology, more limitations the individuals will have in their decision making process. We seem to try to reach a situation where humans do not control anything but machines do. All the labor force is being replaced by smart machines, losing, because of evolution, a large number of qualities that define us as rational beings. Furthermore, for example, all these technologies will cause an increase of energy consumption (for instance data center servers consume huge amounts of energy), so it is necessary to use science also to produce solutions with a very low energy consumption and high efficiency.

On the other hand, it is important to note that science is not equally distributed between population around the world. It is true that all the new solutions can be applied in developing countries (for instance the distribution of mobile phones in India, the implementation of efficiency measures of water management in Jordan or in some countries of Africa). Nonetheless, to implement science efficiently and evenly throughout the world, it has to reduce the cost of its outcomes in order to be accessible to the poorest. Furthermore, governments should implement policies in order to give economic incentives to entrepreneurs, business and researchers to focus their research and projects in developing countries, and especially to meet their needs. It does not have sense, in developing countries mainly, but also in some developed countries, to invest and research in projects that are not really fulfilling the real needs or even it will not be used by the population because of the lack of education or training. Therefore, science requires not only research and economic improvement, but also a large dose of reality, ethics, and in many cases training (for instance, the construction of  latrines in Africa, without an adequate education, become useless). Concerning to health, it is also important to mention that it seems very controversial the huge amounts of money spend it preventing and cure for disease with a high ratio of mortality in developed countries such as cancer (which is totally fair indeed) while many children in Africa do not have access to vaccines for preventing malaria, dengue fever or even diarrhea.

To sum it up, in my view, society should be very proud of the numerous advances that science has reached allowing us to achieve a really good standard of living, mainly in developed countries. However, the risk, due to the normal development of science is high. If science is applied incorrectly, and precisely one of the advances as Internet facilitates it, can become a really important risks not only for society but also for ecosystem and the planet. On the other hand, the technology must be applied equally in society. It is absolutely necessary to promote policies and funds to allow science to work not only for the richest but also to expand it to the poorest. Obviously, some advances, due to the immaturity and their cost, are very complicated to apply to everyone, but at least, science and research should provide the necessary tools and infrastructure to fulfill the basic needs. What sense does it make to spend millions of euros launching rockets to Mars or the moon to research, while millions of people do not have the technologies and infrastructures to have access to water, water and waste treatment or for the prevention of disease? People and science must be aligned, but, if it is not possible, first are human beings and then science.

Comments Off on Technology and development; Science or/and development? / 21 Jun 2012 por Carlos Cerdan Infantes
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Soul-searching Sustainability

Hi all!

Last week was our final week of class at EOI. On Friday, my colleagues and I delivered our last class presentations and gathered outside the EOI building on the green fields to share the multi-ethnic food that each of us brought for our IMSD international lunch buffet! Eva, Leda, Almudena, and Esperanza was there to join us and the weather couldn’t have been better. It was a really wonderful lunch so my thanks goes out to everyone who attended and those who shared with us your national cuisine!

That said, I must say that even though the Master’s is coming to an end (we still have our final projects to present in July), the bonds we’ve created and the knowledge we’ve absorbed will continue to be an essential part of our lives. I will always remember the good times we shared and how amazing it was to learn from each other, inside as well as outside the classroom setting. I believe that we will cross paths again in the near future. Perhaps some day we will become partners or associates, who knows? Regardless, I’m sure that we will be seeing each other again after July, and I welcome my friends to come visit Malaysia anytime they wish to do so!

I am also pleased to inform that in hopes of  continuing my pursuit and passion in issues concerning Sustainability, I recently launched my own little website entitled “Soul-searching Sustainability”. The link can be found below:

http://syafrinasharif.webs.com/

I hope you will find time to visit it. It is where I plan to continue my soul-searching adventures in this field of study.

Of course I will return here from time to time as I’ll never forget my EOI blog, which has held so many memories of my splendid time studying under the IMSD programme. In fact, I will re-post some of the blog entries that I have published previously here onto the blog of my new website because they contain useful information that are related to the topics I will be discussing.

This is certainly not goodbye and so I refuse to say “adios“. I will keep in touch with you soon and wish all the EOI students out there the best of luck in their final projects!

Buena suerte y hasta luego!

Comments Off on Soul-searching Sustainability / 17 Jun 2012 por Syafrina Sharif
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The Future of Science

For millions of years nature has been the only one responsible for evolution, now it has a competitor- humans. Our species has figured out ways to ‘out smart’ mother nature and learn to shape and control our own evolution. Today we can do many things. We can shape our bodies to ‘perfection’, increase our ‘strength’ or take pills that help us change our body functions. All these activities have gone from something found in science fiction books to a very normal and popular way of life for some.

But are humans going too far? Do we really have the knowledge and the experience to replace nature in its job? It seems that humans think so. Latest science experiences have enabled humans to take a cell from a tissue, make into a stem cell and recreate any part of the body needed. This leads not only to body part recreations, but full copies of animals. So far this type of science has been limited to animals, but with the advancement of science at such a rapid pace it is no longer unlikely to someday see humans making copies of themselves.

Now a days medical scientists are spending a big portion of their time and money trying to figure out cures for cancer and cardiovascular problems that are common in prosperous countries rather than focusing on infectious disease which are more likely to plague individuals in the tropics.  Most importantly, it is interesting to see how our brains are changing due to the fact that people are getting more inputs in one day as they used to in their entire lifetime. The effects of such a hyper active world are evident, individuals that are born with autisms increased from 6.7 in every 1,000 to 11.4 in 1,000 between 2006 to 2008. This increase is rapid but scientists don’t understand what is it caused by. There should be more research that helps us understand the effects of modern evolution on our brains and bodies.

The bottom line is this, humans cannot possibly understand and use science in a more efficient way for evolution than nature can. The fact is visible through the world we live in today. Humans are the only species with high intelligence and capacity than any other on the planet, yet we are also the only species that puts material values above others. This importance on materiality has led to an unjust world where in the 21st century the poor are getting more poor, while the rich become more rich. People with wealth and power have a influence on modern science, politics, policy, education, as well as every other aspect of our lives.

The question of whether science is getting out of control is valuable and timely. What we should really be asking ourselves though is whether we believe humans should have such an immense power of controlling not only their own evolution, but that of bacteria and the environment around us. Without the right monitoring, as well as good stakeholder engagement, the future of science could be more harmful than helpful. Maybe its best to keep things such as evolution to those with more experience and those without self interest or ego. It’s best left to mother nature.
Sources:
Carter, Beth. (2012) “Science May Soon Give Us Pills That Make Us Exercise”. Wired. Accessed on June 15, 2012 from: http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/06/science-may-soon-give-us-pills-that-make-us-exercise

Enriquez, Juan. (2012) “Will our kids be a different species?” TED. Accessed on June 5, 2012 from: http://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_will_our_kids_be_a_different_species.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TedtalksHD+%28TEDTalks+HD+-+Site%29

4 comentarios / 17 Jun 2012 por Hokuma Karimova
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