Se requieren cinco ríos para sanear el Medellín

ORIGINAL: El Colombiano
Por RAMIRO VELÁSQUEZ GÓMEZ
17 de junio de 2013

La contaminación generada es uno de los tres componentes de la huella hídrica. Foto Julio César Herrera

Estudio de la huella hidrica de la cuenca del río Porce reveló tres aspectos críticos que requieren acciones para asegurar buena disponibilidad de agua.

Si se fuera a sanear el río Medellín se necesitarían cinco ríos similares.

Una contaminación generada en la región donde se asienta el 80 por ciento de la población de la cuenca del río Porce y en la que hay cerca de 30.000 viviendas sin saneamiento, contribuyen a contaminarlo, aparte de la abundante industria.

Esta es una de las tres ‘papas calientes’ que detectó el primer estudio de huella hídrica de una cuenca hidrográfica en el país, realizado por el Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología de Antioquia (CTA) con vinculación de 16 entidades más.

Las otras dos, informa Diego Arévalo Uribe, uno de los directores del proyecto, son la fuerte competencia por el recurso agua que se presenta con los distintos sectores económicos al punto de que existe saturación, y el bajo desarrollo social de la zona más alejada de la región metropolitana en la que la riqueza no se refleja en mejor calidad de vida por la falta de gestión política.

El informe reveló además que en la cuenca no existe problema de cantidad pero sí de disponibilidad de agua.

El estudio cobijó un corredor de 5.248 kilómetros cuadrados con 7 cuencas y áreas y 31 subcuencas, desde el nacimiento del río Medellín en Caldas hasta el Nechí en Zaragoza, en comprensión total o parcial de 29 municipios.

En la extensa zona se detectaron más de 100 puntos claves con dificultades en el uso de los recursos asociados al agua, desde lo ambiental a lo económico y social.

La huella hídrica es un indicador para conocer los efectos sobre el agua asociados a los hábitos de vida de las personas y de la producción. Se subdivide en tres:

• verde, referente al consumo de agua almacenada en el subsuelo, proveniente de la precipitación y que no se convierte en escorrentía; 
• la azul que se relaciona con el consumo de agua de las fuentes superficiales o subterráneas; y 
• la gris, el volumen de agua requerida para asimilar la carga de contaminantes.

La investigación consideró la huella de los sectores doméstico, agropecuario, industrial, hidroeléctrico y minero, siendo pionera en el plano nacional y una de las pocas en el referente mundial.

Qué se detectó
Claudia Campuzano Ochoa, la otra directora, aclara que no hay una huella peor. Cada una es distinta. El impacto y el consumo pueden variar cada año.

El primer tramo, río Aburrá, posee todas las actividades económicas y alta contaminación. Su huella hídrica gris es de 15.300 millones de metros cúbicos (demanda bioquímica de oxígeno -DBO5), el 74 por ciento del sector doméstico, carga que se disolvería con cinco ríos Medellín.

En el tramo dos (ríos Grande, Guadalupe y Porce medio) prima la actividad agropecuaria y se mejora la calidad del agua por la incorporación de caudales de esos ríos, calidad que sube en el tramo tres de Porce Medio a Porce Bajo, donde termina la cuenca.

A orillas del Porce a dos kilómetros de la desembocadura del río Grande, en la vía hacia Amalfi, Hernando Atehortúa bendice al río por la sabaleta. "Vivo de él, este es un patrimonio, una belleza", aunque cuando se ‘torea’ es bravo.

La minería ha disminuido y pocos dependen de ella. Una actividad que casi no se ve ya en El Caney, vereda lejana de Santa Rosa de Osos, de la cual está a tres horas en chivero. Allí, relata Girlesa Mora, se vive de la caña y el café y en menor escala de la guayaba.

A lo largo de las siete áreas de los tres tramos, los problemas asociados con el uso del suelo ponen en riesgo la sostenibilidad de la provisión de los sistemas ecosistémicos. En unos ya superó el límite, en otros está al borde.

La huella hídrica agrícola de toda la cuenca tuvo en cuenta 48 cultivos presentes, priorizando 11. El café es el que más agua demanda: casi 8.000 metros cúbicos por tonelada producida, seguido del fique y el maíz.

En el sector pecuario, el subsector de los bovinos tiene la mayor incidencia con 5.000 metros cúbicos requeridos para producir una tonelada de carne, seguido del equino.

La huella hídrica doméstica es más alta en municipios del Norte (Belmira, Donmatías y Carolina del Príncipe). En el Valle de Aburrá cada habitante demanda 8 metros cúbicos.

Pero es el sector doméstico del Aburrá el que más contamina: casi 11.000 millones de metros cúbicos de DBO5.

En esta zona, explica Martha Cecilia Montoya Restrepo, ingeniera de la subdirección Ambiental del Área Metropolitana, la falta de educación ambiental incide en el problema, además de las 30.000 viviendas en zonas de difícil recolección de aguas residuales.

Minería nociva
Uno de los puntos claves es la contaminación minera a lo largo de la cuenca, pero más fuerte en Amalfi, Anorí, Remedios, Segovia y Zaragoza.

Con la escasa información disponible se estableció que la huella gris por mercurio para la minería del oro en esas poblaciones es de 1.500.000 metros cúbicos de agua limpia necesarios para asimilar la contaminación generada para producir 1 kilo de oro bajo condiciones de recuperación del 50 por ciento del elemento, un indicador del enorme impacto de la actividad aurífera.

Para producir un kilo de oro se requieren 58,7 metros cúbicos de agua (huella hídrica azul), pocos frente a la gris, aunque no se pudo establecer el impacto para toda la cuenca por mercurio y cianuro.

Aunque los tramos y áreas fuera del Aburrá generan mucha riqueza por la producción agropecuaria y minera, la población general carece de servicios básicos de acueducto y alcantarillado en la mayoría, lo que se convierte en el tercer punto crítico de la cuenca.

Tras conocer la huella hídrica total, ahora, dicen Campuzano Ochoa y Arévalo Uribe se definen líneas para generar proyectos que ayuden a disminuir el impacto sobre el agua a lo largo de la cuenca.

"Para que no quede en el papel", concluye Julia Cristina Cadavid, ingeniera de Cornare.


EN DEFINITIVA
El estudio del impacto humano sobre la cuenca del río Porce reveló tres puntos críticos que afectan la disposición del agua, aunque hay cantidad suficiente para atender la demanda.


PARA SABER MÁS

EL AGUA VERDE SE QUEDA CORTA

De los afluentes que caen al río en el Valle de Aburrá, el Área Metropolitana ha estudiado en detalle 14, seis de ellos en Medellín. En jurisdicción de Cornare, a la cuenca del Porce drenan las subcuencas de las quebradas Ovejas y Piedras Blancas. La primera ya no dispone de agua verde para sostener las actividades agropecuarias, que también se agotó en la otra, indica Julia Cristina Cadavid. En la cuenca del río Porce solo 7 por ciento de la población de los 29 municipios reside en las áreas rurales. En estas es menor la cobertura de acueducto y alcantarillado.

28,000 Rivers Disappeared in China: What Happened?

ORIGINAL: The Atlantic
Angel Hsu and William Miao 

Apr 29 2013

Government officials say it's been caused by statistical inaccuracies and climate change. But is that the whole story?

Reuters

As recently as 20 years ago, there were an estimated 50,000 rivers in China, each covering a flow area of at least 60 square miles. But now, according to China's First National Census of Water, more than 28,000 of these rivers are missing. To put this number into context, China's lost rivers are almost equivalent, in terms of basin area, to the United States losing the entire Mississippi River.

Why have these rivers "vanished" from the maps and national records?

Official explanations from the Chinese government have attributed the significant reduction to statistical discrepancies, water and soil loss, and climate change.

"The disparity in numbers was caused mainly by inaccurate estimates in the past, as well as climate change and water and soil loss. Due to limited technology in the past, the previous figures were estimated using incomplete topographic maps dating back to the 1950s," said Huang He, China's Deputy Director of the Ministry of Water Resources, in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

While this explanation seems plausible, Chinese web users, an active and formidable force for raising environmental issues with the Chinese government, are not satisfied. One user named Yami Laoliu, writing on the popular Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, voiced skepticism: "I am surprised to learn that 28,000 rivers have already disappeared in the map. Is it natural disaster? Or man-made mistake? I think both played a role, but it was mainly a man-made mistake."

Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute and a leading water expert agrees: "Climate change is a real threat to the world's resources, and we already see evidence of impacts on water availability, quality, and extreme events. But the water challenges in China are far greater than just climate change," he said.

Pinning the rivers' disappearance on climate change is politically palatable right now, and the human origin of global warming is not controversial in China. But in an unusual twist, blaming climate change allows officials to absolve themselves of the poor management, governance, lack of groundwater extraction controls, and rapid development that are more likely culprits for the river's disappearances.

"As China's population and economy have rapidly grown, the country has experienced serious degradation of its water resources, including massive overuse and contamination," Gleick said. "The 'disappearance' of major rivers and streams is far more likely to be directly connected to uncontrolled and unsustainable extraction of water for industry and agriculture, though climate change may play a greater role in the future."

***

The past 30 years in which these rivers vanished have coincided with a phase of rapid industrialization and urban growth in China. From 1990 to 2000, urban areas expanded by more than 5,000 square miles, an area the size of Puerto Rico, and the expanding economy has correspondingly strained water and energy resources. In Yale University's 2012 Environmental Performance Index, China is one of the worst performers (ranked 116 out of 132 countries) with respect to its performance on changes in water quantity due to consumption, including industrial, agricultural, and household uses.

Poor management of water resources has also exacerbated the situation. The main water resource law in China only requires permits for groundwater extractions for "large-scale" projects. The lack of specificity in this language has led to what Gleick says is substantial overdraft of groundwater throughout the country. Weak water governance also caused last September's red water flow in to the Yangtze River, an occurrence that left even Chinese officials perplexed.

What about the statistical discrepancies that the government says could have factored in to the rivers' disappearance? While some updates to river classification are plausible, cartography and mapping techniques have been very sophisticated in China for many years. One user on Sina Weibo tweeted an old map of waterways for Qingdao, showing abundant waterways in considerable detail. The maps are accurate and Qingdao's rivers have not been wiped away by "improved surveying methods" -- they have simply been converted into Qingdao's sprawling roadways, said one of the city's urban historians.

So why is the Chinese government blaming only climate change and statistical inaccuracies? Climate change is an easy and popular scapegoat and allows the government to save face by pinning the disappearance on natural causes rather than anthropogenic (and arguably preventable) ones.

However, as the Chinese online reaction demonstrates in this case and in recent air pollution events, the Chinese public may not be as willing to accept such a backseat approach to environmental management. Given the current state of the waterways and growing demand for water in China, authorities would be better served by thoroughly examining the root causes of the challenge and striving to be more transparent about both the certainties and the uncertainties surrounding the issue.

BIOLATAM: Punto de encuentro del negocio de la biotecnología Latino Americana

ORIGINAL: BioLatAm

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ENGLISH

BIOLATAM 2013 nace con el objetivo de posicionarse como evento líder en el área latinoamericana para fomentar el desarrollo de negocio entre empresas biotecnológicas, así como con los sectores usuarios (farmacéutico, productos sanitarios, alimentarias, veterinarias, energéticas, entre otros) de todo el mundo, con intereses particulares en el área latinoamericana.

BIOLATAM 2013 combinará conferencias, un partnering y eventos de networking, con el objetivo de facilitar las relaciones entre empresas internacionales, inversores, instituciones y centros de investigación del ámbito de la biotecnología y áreas relacionadas.

PROGRAMA
BIOLATAM 2013 contará con un programa que abordará, además de otros, los siguientes temas:

SESIÓN 1: Hacía una Bioeconomía sostenible para América Latina

• La Estrategia de Bioeconomía de la Unión Europea: Oportunidades para América Latina
• Tendencias en el mercado de Biocombustibles
• Bioplásticos, un Mercado en crecimiento

SESIÓN 2: Medicina Personalizada basada en marcadores para luchar contra el Cáncer

• Valoración de los resultados del estudio "Planning cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean" publicado por Lancet Oncology
• Estrategias de screening poblacional
• Sistemas de diagnóstico y pronóstico temprano coste/efectivos

SESIÓN 3: Bioprospección y Biodiversidad

• Situación regulatoria
• Oportunidades en la prospección marina y terrestre
• Casos de éxito en la gestión sostenible de la biodiversidad

SESIÓN 4. Terapias Avanzadas

• El rol de los sistemas de donación y trasplantes ante el reto de la medicina regenerativa
• Mapa de la excelencia científica en el área en Latinoamérica
• Oportunidades en el ámbito de los proveedores privados de salud.

SESIÓN 5: Buenas prácticas en acceso al mercado en LATAM (patrocinio confirmado, no disponible)

• El mosaico regulatorio en LATAM
• El papel crítico de los distribuidores
• Casos de éxito

SESIÓN 6: Biotecnología Alimentaria, la gran apuesta

• Herramientas para el control de calidad y trazabilidad
• Novedades en fermentaciones y probióticos
• Ingredientes funcionales y nutrigenómica

SESIÓN 7: El impacto de la biotecnología en la Sanidad Animal y la Acuicultura

• Nuevas vacunas
• Sistemas de diagnóstico
• Tecnología genómica aplicada al sector
• Nuevas fuentes de alimentación

SESIÓN 8: Biotecnología para la Cosmética

• Estrategias de búsqueda de nuevos extractos naturales
• Tecnologías de ensayo in vitro
• Soluciones nanotecnológicas

SESIÓN 9: Seminario de Capital Riesgo
Parte 1: Políticas públicas de apoyo al Capital Riesgo en biotecnología
Parte 2: Capital Riesgo en el ecosistema empresarial latinoamericano

• Casos de éxito en fondos público privados
• Oportunidades para participación cruzada entre Europa, EEUU y LATAM
• Cómo acercar a las grandes fortunas y business angels al sector

SESIÓN 10: Biosimilares

• Entorno regulatorio
• Experiencias en fabricación
• Situación y perspectivas en Latinoamérica

SESIÓN 11: Agrobiotecnología

• Situación en Europa y EEUU
• ¿Hay espacio para las PYMEs Biotech?
• Investigación con especies de interés para Latinoamérica

SESIÓN 12: Políticas de cluster biotech en América Latina

• El rol de las asociaciones empresariales
• Bioparques y Bioincubadoras
• Redes internacionales

SESIÓN 13: La Biotecnología como catalizador de la industria de Dispositivos Médicos

• Innovación y emprendimiento en biomédica
• Futuro de los dispositivos médicos basados en principios de biotecnología
• Diagnóstico in vitro de enfermedades infecciosas

El programa de BIOLATAM 2013 está en desarrollo y se actualizará periódicamente:

Diogene by Renzo Piano at Vitra Campus

ORIGINAL: Dezeen.com

12 June 2013

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

Renzo Piano has become the latest high-profile architect to add a building to the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by completing a tiny wooden cabin with room for just a single inhabitant.

The one-room hut is named Diogene, after a Greek philosopher who rejected luxury and chose to live in a barrel, and is intended as a self-sufficient hideaway that can be used as a workplace or as a weekend home.

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

Renzo Piano first presented his idea for the minimal home in a 2009 edition of architectural magaine Abitare, proposing a living space of around two by two metres, with enough space for a bed, a chair and a small table. Following the publication, Piano was commissioned by Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman of furniture brand Vitra, to develop the project.

"This little house is the final result of a long, long journey partially driven by desires and dreams, but also by technicality and a scientific approach," says Piano.

Diogene. Photo by Deeze

The completed cabin is presented as an experimental concept rather than a finished product. 

• Its exterior is clad with aluminium panels to protect it from the elements and 
• it uses solar panels, 
• rainwater collection and 
• a biological toilet to satisfy the usual requirements for electricity and water.

A pull-out sofa is fitted on one side of the space, while a folding table is slotted beneath the window and a shower, toilet and kitchen are also included. All together, the cabin is no wider than three metres and could easily fit inside a lorry. 

Exploded diagram

 "Diogene is not an emergency accommodation, but a voluntary place of retreat," adds Vitra.

The building opens this week at the Vitra Campus, where architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid and SANAA have all previously completed buildings. Hadid also recently returned to the campus to add an angular installation outside her Fire Station.

Design sketch

  

Other recent projects by Italian architect Renzo Piano include a flat-pack auditorium in Italy and London skyscraper The Shard.

See more architecture by Renzo Piano »
See more architecture at the Vitra Campus »

Here's a more detailed description from Vitra:

Diogene, a cabin designed by Renzo Piano and RPBW for Vitra

In June 2013, a further element will be introduced on the Vitra Campus. On a hill between the VitraHaus and the Dome, the Italian architect Renzo Piano and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) has developed Diogene, which to date is Vitra's smallest building ― but largest product.

The 100 most endangered species in the world

ORIGINAL:  Best Colleges On Line Aria Cahill

El secreto de uno de los mejores sistemas educativos del mundo

ORIGINAL: BBC
Laura Plitt. BBC Mundo
13 de junio de 2013

Los niños en Finlandia empiezan la escuela a los 7 años, mucho más tarde que en la mayoría de los países del mundo.

No son los que más invierten en educación (menos del 7% del PIB), ni los que imponen la mayor carga horaria a los niños en las escuelas (608 horas lectivas en primaria en comparación con 875 de España, por ejemplo).

Tampoco se inclinan por dar cantidades excesivas de tarea para la casa; y, a la hora de evaluar formalmente el éxito del proceso de aprendizaje, un par de exámenes nacionales cuando los jóvenes dejan la escuela, a los 18 años, les basta.

Contenido relacionado

Por qué los bebés de Finlandia duermen en cajas de cartón

Argentina, un imán para los estudiantes universitarios

¿Por qué es tan cara la universidad en Chile?

Entonces, ¿cómo es posible que los alumnos finlandeses siempre ocupen los primeros puestos en las listas internacionales que evalúan los niveles educativos?

En el informe más reciente de PISA -siglas en inglés del Programa Internacional para la Evaluación de Estudiantes de la OCDE (Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos)- de 2009, Finlandia ocupa el puesto número dos en ciencia, el número tres en lectura y el número seis en matemáticas.

Esta evaluación se realiza cada tres años (los resultados de los exámenes de 2012 se publicarán en diciembre de 2013). En 2006, por ejemplo, Finlandia se estableció en los primeros dos puestos en las tres áreas.

Mientras en América Latina las protestas estudiantiles -más recientemente las de Chile y Colombia- ocurren con frecuencia, Finlandia parece haber encontrado un modelo -de educación gratuita de principio a fin y donde las escuelas privadas casi no existen- que tiene a los maestros y a los estudiantes contentos por igual.

El orgullo de ser maestro

La educación a grandes rasgos
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• Idea básica: igualdad de oportunidades.
• Los niños empiezan la escuela a los 7 años.
• Casi todas las escuelas son públicas (el número de escuelas privadas es ínfimo).
• Toda la educación es gratuita (desde el preescolar hasta la universidad)
• La comida y los materiales de estudio también son gratuitos.
• Durante los primeros seis años de primaria es el mismo maestro para casi todas las asignaturas.
• Jornada escolar: de 8.30 - 9 a 15 hs., con media hora de almuerzo.
• Exámenes nacionales cuando los alumnos tienen 18 años
• Promedio de alumnos por clase: 23.
• Clases mixtas (mujeres y varones, y diferentes grados de capacidad).
• Maestros debe tener una maestría para ejercer la docencia.

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Son muchos los factores que hacen que la educación en Finlandia sea una de las mejores del mundo, pero uno de los temas clave, según varios expertos consultados por BBC Mundo, es la calidad de los profesores.

"El profesorado tiene un nivel de formación extraordinaria, con una selección previa tan exigente que no se compara con ninguna otra en el mundo", le explica a BBC Mundo Xavier Melgarejo, un psicólogo y psicopedagogo español que empezó a estudiar el sistema educativo en Finlandia hace más de una década.

"Sólo entra en las facultades de educación gente con notas por encima de nueve, nueve y medio sobre diez. Son muy exigentes. Se les hacen pruebas de lectura, sensibilidad artística, de dominio de algún instrumento, de comunicación... Como resultado, las universidades sólo reclutan a un 10% de los estudiantes que se presentan.

Y para ejercer la docencia todos los maestros necesitan hacer una maestría.

La contraparte de esta exigencia es el reconocimiento. No necesariamente en términos económicos, ya que los sueldos de los educadores no presentan grandes diferencias con el resto de Europa (según la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico, OCDE, el salario básico de una maestro de primaria es de entre US$29.000 y US$39.000 anuales), sino sociales.

"Los maestros son considerados profesionales académicos y tienen la responsabilidad de desarrollar su trabajo, por eso no se ejerce sobre ellos un control excesivo", le explica a BBC Mundo Anita Lehikoinen, Secretaria Permanente del Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Finlandia.

"Aquí no es como en otros sitios, no tenemos tantas normas", dice Hilkka-Roosa Nurmi, profesora de idiomas.

"Esta profesión atrae a tanta gente porque ser maestro es un honor en Finlandia. Probablemente sea la profesión más valorada", acota Melgarejo.

"Yo no soñaba con ser profesora, pero ahora me dedico a esta profesión y me gusta mucho", explica Hilkka-Roosa Nurmi, una profesora de español e inglés que tiene experiencia como docente de estas lenguas en su país y en España.

"Aquí no es como en otros sitios, no tenemos tantas normas. Podemos elegir cómo enseñamos. Tenemos más libertad. Pero esto significa también más responsabilidad", dice.
Tú vales lo que sabes


Gasto público en educación, total (% del PIB)
Finlandia: 6,8%
Suecia: 7,3%
Dinamarca: 8,7%
Argentina: 6%
Cuba: 13,1%
Chile: 4,2%
México: 5,3%
Estados Unidos: 5,4%

Fuente: Banco Mundial 2009

Otra de las razones por las que el sistema finlandés funciona es, en gran medida, porque la escuela es sólo uno de los engranajes del proceso educativo. Las otras variables de peso son la familia y la sociedad -de tradición luterana- donde hay un elevado sentido de la responsabilidad y donde se valora a las personas "por su formación y no por su situación socioeconómica", dice Melgarejo.

Para darnos una idea, "en la cultura luterana uno se salva cuando lee la Biblia, se llega a Dios a través de la palabra escrita". Y aunque hoy día las iglesias no estén muy llenas, el valor de aprender a leer y escribir ha quedado profundamente arraigado en la cultura finlandesa, agrega Melgarejo.

En esto coincide Lehikoinen: "la mayoría de los hogares están suscritos a uno o varios periódicos y ésta es una tradición que luego se pasa a los niños", señala.

El sentido de la responsabilidad está arraigado en la cultura finlandesa.

Los medios indirectamente también ayudan al aprendizaje de la lectura. "Todos los programas de televisión en lengua original, la mayoría en inglés, están subtitulados y eso impulsa a los niños a aprender a leer y a aumentar la velocidad lectora", señala Melgarejo.

Pero también los finlandeses apuestan por la educación porque saben que como país pequeño, rodeado de vecinos poderosos como Rusia o Suecia y sin un arsenal de recursos naturales a su disposición, la cultura -su dominio en el ámbito del conocimiento- es lo que lo que les da la posibilidad de competir en una economía global.

Y puertas adentro, la excelencia en el nivel educativo se traduce "en un grado importante de cohesión social, que les permite a los finlandeses sentir que son parte de la sociedad, incluso en tiempos de crisis", explica Lehikoinen.

Lecciones para América Latina

"Cuando planteamos grandes reformas educativas, por ejemplo, siempre involucramos a los maestros y a los alumnos, no se trata de órdenes del gobierno que los educadores tienen que acatar, son reformas que hemos preparado juntos"


Anita Lehikoinen, Secretaria Permanente del Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Finlandia.

Cuando se dieron a conocer los resultados de la primera evaluación PISA en el año 2000, el gobierno se vio inundado de visitas de delegaciones extranjeras que acudían a Finlandia para descubrir los secretos de la maravilla nórdica e implementarlos en sus propios países.

Alemania por ejemplo, azorada por sus resultados mediocres en la prueba, tomó nota del programa finlandés e introdujo reformas en su sistema.

¿Pero qué posibilidad tienen los países de América Latina, donde la educación pública está lejos de ser un orgullo, donde el sueldo de los maestros no está a la altura de sus responsabilidades y donde no existe un estado de bienestar como en algunos países europeos, de implementar un sistema educativo como el de Finlandia?

"No puedes copiar y pegar el sistema entero", le dice a BBC Mundo Andreas Schleicher, responsable de las evaluaciones PISA, "pero puedes ver cómo los finlandeses saben quién es un buen maestro, cómo los reclutan, cómo les asignan las clases o cómo se aseguran de que cada niño se beneficie de lo que le enseñan".

A los niños no se les da mucha tarea escolar para la casa.

Melgarejo también cree que se pueden importar ciertos elementos, como mejorar la selección de buenos maestros, fomentar las bibliotecas públicas -ampliamente concurridas en Finlandia- y hacer que las familias contribuyan al proceso de escolarización.

Y quizá una lección útil para América Latina sea aprender cómo Finlandia afronta los cambios en el ámbito de la educación.

"Todo se basa en la confianza mutua y en la construcción de un consenso. Cuando planteamos grandes reformas educativas, por ejemplo, siempre involucramos a los maestros y a los alumnos, no se trata de órdenes del gobierno que los educadores tienen que acatar, son reformas que hemos preparado juntos", afirma Lehikoinen.

Después esta descripción de Lehikoinen, Melgarejo y Schleicher, uno podría tender a imaginarse una clase en Finlandia como una situación idílica: un grupo de niños obedientes escuchando embelesados una clase magistral que interrumpen de tanto en tanto con una pregunta inteligente.

Nada más lejos de la realidad. Los niños hacen las mismas travesuras que en cualquier parte del mundo. Incluso, a veces, "cuando hacen las mediciones de educación es una paradoja porque aunque les va muy bien, cuando les preguntan si les gusta la escuela, siempre dicen que no. Quizá eso se deba al espíritu independiente de nuestros niños", concluye Lehikoinen.

The Life of flowers Timelapse 1080p

ORIGINAL: Vladimir Vorobyov

Four energy policies can keep the 2 °C climate goal alive

ORIGINAL: IEA
10 June 2013

Image: IEA

IEA report shows how to stop growth in energy-related emissions by 2020 at no net economic cost
Warning that the world is not on track to limit the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency (IEA) today urged governments to swiftly enact four energy policies that would keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth.

“Climate change has quite frankly slipped to the back burner of policy priorities. But the problem is not going away – quite the opposite,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in London at the launch of a World Energy Outlook Special Report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, which highlights the need for intensive action before 2020.

Noting that the energy sector accounts for around two-thirds of global greenhouse-gas emissions, she added: “This report shows that the path we are currently on is more likely to result in a temperature increase of between 3.6 °C and 5.3 °C but also finds that much more can be done to tackle energy-sector emissions without jeopardising economic growth, an important concern for many governments.”

New estimates for global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2012 reveal a 1.4% increase, reaching a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes (Gt), but also mask significant regional differences. In the United States, a switch from coal to gas in power generation helped reduce emissions by 200 million tonnes (Mt), bringing them back to the level of the mid‑1990s. China experienced the largest growth in CO2 emissions (300 Mt), but the increase was one of the lowest it has seen in a decade, driven by the deployment of renewables and improvements in energy intensity. Despite increased coal use in some countries, emissions in Europe declined by 50 Mt. Emissions in Japan increased by 70 Mt.

The new IEA report presents the results of a 4-for-2 °C Scenario, in which four energy policies are selected that can deliver significant emissions reductions by 2020, rely only on existing technologies and have already been adopted successfully in several countries.

“We identify a set of proven measures that could stop the growth in global energy-related emissions by the end of this decade at no net economic cost,” said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol, the report’s lead author. “Rapid and widespread adoption could act as a bridge to further action, buying precious time while international climate negotiations continue.”

In the 4-for-2°C Scenario, global energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions are 8% (3.1 Gt CO2‑equivalent) lower in 2020 than the level otherwise expected.
Targeted energy efficiency measures in buildings, industry and transport account for nearly half the emissions reduction in 2020, with the additional investment required being more than offset by reduced spending on fuel bills.
Limiting the construction and use of the least-efficient coal-fired power plants delivers more than 20% of the emissions reduction and helps curb local air pollution. The share of power generation from renewables increases (from around 20% today to 27% in 2020), as does that from natural gas.
Actions to halve expected methane (a potent greenhouse gas) releases into the atmosphere from the upstream oil and gas industry in 2020 provide 18% of the savings.
Implementing a partial phase-out of fossil fuel consumption subsidies accounts for 12% of the reduction in emissions and supports efficiency efforts.

The report also finds that the energy sector is not immune from the physical impacts of climate change and must adapt. In mapping energy-system vulnerabilities, it identifies several sudden and destructive impacts, caused by extreme weather events, and other more gradual impacts, caused by changes to average temperature, sea level rise and shifting weather patterns. To improve the climate resilience of the energy system, it highlights governments’ role in encouraging prudent adaptation (alongside mitigation) and the need for industry to assess the risks and impacts as part of its investment decisions.

The financial implications of climate policies that would put the world on a 2 °C trajectory are not uniform across the energy sector. Net revenues for existing renewables-based and nuclear power plants increase by $1.8 trillion (in year-2011 dollars) collectively through to 2035, offsetting a similar decline from coal plants. No oil or gas field currently in production would need to shut down prematurely. Some fields yet to start production are not developed before 2035, meaning that around 5% to 6% of proven oil and gas reserves do not start to recover their exploration costs. Delaying the move to a 2 °C trajectory until 2020 would result in substantial additional costs to the energy sector and increase the risk of assets needing to be retired early, idled or retrofitted. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can act as an asset protection strategy, reducing the risk of stranded assets and enabling more fossil fuel to be commercialised.

To download the WEO special report Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, click here.

To read Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven's comments at the report's launch, please click here.

To see the presentation that accompanied the report's launch, please click here.


Accredited journalists who would like more information should contact ieapressoffice@iea.org.

About the IEA
The International Energy Agency is an autonomous organisation which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond. Founded in response to the 1973/4 oil crisis, the IEA’s initial role was to help countries co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply through the release of emergency oil stocks to the markets. While this continues to be a key aspect of its work, the IEA has evolved and expanded. It is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing reliable and unbiased research, statistics, analysis and recommendations.

Homepage photo: © Shutterstock.com

Intention

ORIGINAL: Apple

Here, simple phrases paired with elegant visuals describe the thoughts and emotions that go into creating each Apple product

Every Start-Up Needs a Well-Articulated Strategy

ORIGINAL: INC

Mark Suster
Jun 4, 2013

Your business model should be more than just a picture of your start-up, says Mark Suster. 

Shutterstock

I recommend you read Fred Wilson's recent blog post about the need for a well articulated business strategy before pushing a particular business model.

Since Arrested Development is back, I thought I'd resurrect Gob Bluth's answer when he was told he needed a "business model" -- he quickly figured out that he was missing one so he asked Starla, the Bluth company secretary, if she would be his business model.

He then brought her to board meetings so nobody could accuse him of not having a business model.

I guess this is the ultimate definition of implementing a business model when you're not clear on strategy!

I found myself in violent agreement with Fred's blog post(s).

My take on his argument is this:

1. You need to first create a compelling product.
Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market.

In my opinion, no amount of clever marketing or chest beating at conferences can create a market if you don't have an amazing product to begin with.

My most read post on marketing tips highlights this -- please pay attention to tip number four -- you can't have great marketing for bad or mediocre products.

2. You need product / market fit.
Put simply -- you need enough users in a segment who care about what your doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales and marketing resources.

If you solve a deep problem for a niche user group but not enough users have the problem you won't achieve product / market fit.

Or if you solve a problem for a big segment but your solution isn't significantly better than alternatives -- you won't have a fast-growing, successful business. I often call this "going a mile wide and an inch deep."

The answer to either problem may mean simply refining your product to solve deeper problems or expanding the product scope to meet a larger group of customers' needs.

Product / market fit is everything.

I see many companies these days that just race to raise capital. They see capital raising as the success validator. Sometimes they rush to raise cash because they don't have a well articulated product / market fit and they think having more money will help them have more time to prove the business.

I know what is going through their collective heads, "The more money I have, the more time I have to figure things out."

True.

On the other hand, sometimes, "mo' money, mo' problems."

Raise yours wisely. Spend it wisely. Figure out the appropriate time to step on the gas with more funds. There is no right answer.

***

I know that the acronyms or business sayings change over time. But the search for product / market fit has been around in various form for a long time.

A. CROSSING THE CHASM
In the 90's, we all talked about "Crossing the Chasm" in which Geoffrey Moore encouraged us to think about solving really deep problems in a particular customer set and then using that satisfied customer set to move on to tangental markets.

The idea of "going deep" with customers has always shaped how I think. Shallow and superficial and racing from segment to segment in search of some take up has never been a strong strategic plan for me.

B. INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA
Second, I was then influenced greatly by Clayton Christensen's work, "The Innovator's Dilemma" in which he argued that "disruptive technology" came from companies who offered products that were significantly cheaper and less functional that the existing market and ended up capturing the needs of customers who previously couldn't buy products due to price / complexity.

He calls this competing with "non consumption."

It was the most profound business strategy book I had read and greatly influenced how I thought about company building and certainly how I think about investing.

I have written this up before if you're interested -- I call it Deflationary Economics.

But when you create a product for a large segment of users who previously couldn't afford products due to price or complexity and if that product can work at "Internet scale," you have the chance to do something truly amazing.

Like DeviantArt.

With 30 million registered users on a global basis. 65 million monthly actives. 2.5 billion monthly page views.

All totally free. It has become the largest art community on the web with huge pockets of global users who never had a website in which to express themselves amongst peers and also find ways to monetize their talents on a global basis.

C. LEAN START-UP MOVEMENT 
And finally there is the most modern spin on these concepts by two individuals who have built tech start-ups and have done an excellent job at describing the process. In Steve's case, it is "going in search of a business model."

He wrote two legendary books, "Four Steps to Epiphany" and more recently "The Start-up Owner's Manual."

And Steve's desciple (or as Steve will tell you, "He's way past me now!" is Eric Ries who wrote the must own, "The Lean Start-up.")

***

I think all of these great works (all must reads) scratch at the same thing -- the search to solve a real problem a market has by creating features that add compelling value to your customer such that they will do what customers hate to do -- change behaviors (i.e. use your product).

And in the words of my friend Bill Gross, "Your product has to be 10 times better than what exists in order to be a success."

Want to become a better, smarter, more effective team builder and communicator? Join us at Inc.'s upcoming Leadership Forum June 10 to June 12 in San Diego. Visit leadership.inc.com for details.

If you don't want to click through to the link, I'll tell you the answer -- if you're in a competitive market and you aim to solve problems assume you'll have strong competitors so if you need to aim for 10 times as much innovation to end up being three times as good as the market and you need to be three times as good as the market for rapid adoption. But if you have time later -- please watch video with Bill. He's awesome to learn from.

3. Business Model
Fred's third argument is that you need to be careful not to try and scale up your operations (sales staff, marketing, etc.) until you feel clearly you've achieved product / market fit.

He published another MUST READ post about being careful not to confuse early revenue traction with product / market fit.

The money quote:

One of the things I have observed over the years is that a hard charging sales oriented founder/CEO can often hide the defects in a product.

Because the founder is so capable of convincing the market to adopt/purchase the product, the company can get revenue traction with a product that is not really right.

And that can hide all sorts of problems.

That's Sofa King true.

The Need for Strategy

It's something I worry about with companies.

Are we winning because we create compelling marketing materials and have hard-driving sales people that get customers buying product or are we solving a deep-seated customer need?

If it's the former, your company will definitely start to top out at some point.

It's why I never get too excited about sales unless I can scratch the surface of the elusive "why."

• Why are they buying from us?
• What are their alternatives?
• What problem are we solving?
• How will it benefit them financially (more sales, fewer errors, reduced customer churn, etc.)?
• How will it save them time /drive productivity?

If you're not solving a deep seated problem you'll become "shelfware" and won't have a repeatable, scalable business.

So that's why I believe companies need a well articulated strategy. Not a mission statement, mumbo gumbo bullshity, groupthink happy clappy statement to be published on your website.

But a clear, crisp articulation of:

• What problem are you solving for today's users of your product? (Really. Why did they buy? No spin.)
• What in your product is truly differentiated in the market to solve this problem? (Where do you believe you are strong against the competition in functionality or delivery? Note: This is not a statement about strengths / weaknesses in marketing. It is about product.)
• Where do you think your customers' needs will evolve to based on your world view of changes in the marketplace in the next two to three years? (i.e. changes in computing devices, regulations, end user adoption of technologies such as wearable computers, watching online video, whatever.) Based on the problems you are solving in today's customer base, your unique skills in solving these problems and where you see the market going, the big question becomes … 
• In which direction should your company evolve? Admitting that you will have limited resources and strong competition both in today's market and in the markets you want to enter is the right start of the conversation. You need to pick wisely because whatever you do, you must do better than other people staring at the same information as you. (Also known as your competitors or future competitors)

I work with many companies.

In some -- like Maker Studios -- we have a very clear and shared purpose for what makes us unique, why we are growing so rapidly and where we think the market is heading (and thus how we must evolve). The team has stated it and has built metrics around key goals for future success.

At other companies, we have very strong revenue growth and an intuition on why we're doing well but a less well articulated case for why people love us today, where we stand relative to alternative options and where we want to evolve as we perceive our customers requirements will evolve.

What I can tell you is this.

I don't work with a single team that isn't trying to pull together a stronger case for our strategy.

In the early days of the company, it's ok to launch a product that you believe will solve a customer problem with a strong intuition about where the value will lie. That can be your "going in strategy" but you know it will need to evolve.

And as you know, the initial product strategies are like war plans, "they never survive first impact with real customers."

Customer Use
That's when you learn. That's when you must reflect on how your customers are using your product. That's where you must cull or refine features people aren't using. That's where you need to separate out your market spin from your internal reality of how customers are (or are not) using your product.

It's why in early-stage teams I personally invest in strong teams not in strong product strategy.

I sometimes see VCs debate ad finitum about a company's strategy. They think they know "here's how your product will be adopted, blah, blah, blah."

I don't mind having the debate but a VC who thinks early on that he/she REALLY knows what is going to happen in the market his fooling him/herself. Markets decide. We simply have a ring-side seat and hopefully make our next moves based on market signals.

From customer feedback, you need to define your company's strategy.

When you know the value of what you provide to a constituency (either your end users or somebody who will pay to interact with your end users) then you can begin to define a strong business model.

Hopefully one more scalable than Gob Bluth's.

This post originally appeared on the blog Both Sides of the Table.