YouTube Technical Lectures from India's National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning

Free lectures from the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalor. Along with expanding technology, this approach can rapidly advance learning throughout the developing world. Thanks to Subbiah Arunachalam.

Desalination Update

Here is an article from Food and Water Watch (click the title for the link).

I would add that I can live without a car or the internet, but we cannot live without water. If you had only enough money to buy a gallon of gas or a gallon of drinking water, which would you buy? Soon, water might cost as much as gas does now...

Pray for rain and snow in California... or do a rain dance. We really could use it.

ELMO

Chemistry Blog � Blog Archive � Chemistry Dictionary for Word Processors - Version 2.0 (Updated)

The new, open source, Chemistry Dictionary for Word Processors - Version 2.0 (Updated) is now available. It is a free download. This dictionary is over 100,000 chemical terms, is compatible with Open Office and Microsoft Office and doesn't overwrite your existing dictionaries. There are versions suitable for Windows, Mac and Linux. I'm just checking it out, and I know people speak highly of it. Happy Spellchecking.

Desalination in California??!

Here is a good quote from the article today in the SF Chronicle:

"We need to change how we relate to water and not just dip straws into whatever water source is close by," said Coastkeeper Alliance's Sheehan. "We need to recognize the limitations to the environment and adjust our behavior. If we live in a desert climate, we need to act as though we live in a desert climate."

I live in the Mojave Desert, and I am one of the only residents here who doesn't waste water on my lawn...

Click the title of this post for the full article.

ELMO

Non Profits Hit Hard by Recession

It seems even the Red Cross is having a hard time during these tough financial times. Click on the title for the full story.

The sad part is that they spend so much money to help people whose homes have burned down because they were using candles or other nonconventional methods to heat their homes....

ELMO

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor

Kudos to drug giant GlaxoSmithKline and new leader Andrew Witty for a radical change in strategy towards cheap medicine for the world's poor.

Excerpt of the article in The Guardian (link above)

[Andrew Witty] said that GSK will:

• Cut its prices for all drugs in the 50 least developed countries to no more than 25% of the levels in the UK and US – and less if possible – and make drugs more affordable in middle-­income countries such as Brazil and India.

• Put any chemicals or processes over which it has intellectual property rights that are relevant to finding drugs for neglected diseases into a "patent pool", so they can be explored by other researchers.

• Reinvest 20% of any profits it makes in the least developed countries in hospitals, clinics and staff.

• Invite scientists from other companies, NGOs or governments to join the hunt for tropical disease treatments at its dedicated institute at Tres Cantos, Spain.

My comments can be found on The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics.

Comments, Chemists Without Borders?

There's a latte more to it than meets the eye

Click the title and be surprised. You've got the whole world in your hands.

Arsenic from "The Periodic Table Videos", University of Nottingham

© Brady Haran 2008

The Chemicals in My Computer - John Shegerian

E-waste Recycling: What is 'arsenic'?