Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city’s population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations.
http://www.ted.com/talks/geoffrey_west_the_surprising_math_of_cities_and_corporations.html
Tagged with ted cities urbanisation population corporations
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/a-fresh-look-at-population-bombs-and-bulges/
"…a variety of experts discuss the path past 7 billion people. One voice is that of Mara Hvistendahl, the Asia correspondent for the journal’s news staff and author of “Unnatural Selection,” a potent and revealing book about selective abortion and related issues. In this case, she discusses her piece on the potential benefits and perils of “youth bulges” like those underlying the turmoil in many Arab countries this year.?
In the 1960s, Stewart Brand became one of the country’s first and most famous champions of a new ecological awareness. His Whole Earth Catalog spoke to a generation of hippies and back-to-nature commune dwellers.
Now, at 70, Stewart Brand is calling on environmentalists to reframe their understanding of the problem — and solutions. It’s too late for back-to-nature, he says. Global warming is beyond that.
To survive now, Brand says, we need nuclear power, genetic engineering, giant cities. We must manage nature or lose civilization.
This hour, On Point: In the face of global warming, Stewart Brand redefines green.
http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/10/stewart-brands-ecopragmatism