In the wake of the Great Recession, Millennial women seem to be having a particularly tough time finding jobs. Although its been a decade since the start of the Recession, many young women are still feeling its effects.

According to a new analysis by the Institute for Womens Policy Research (IWPR), many young women (especially those ages 25 to 34), are experiencing unemployment at higher rates than in 2007.

"While the overall unemployment rate for American workers is now lower than it was just prior to the Great Recession, Millennial women, especially Millennial women of color, have still not fully recovered from the recession," said IWPR Senior Research Scientist Dr. Chandra Childers.

The analysis found that young Black womens unemployment rates were higher in 2016 than young White womens unemployment rates were at their peak in 2010 (8.8 percent compared to 7.7 percent).

"These are women who were just entering the workforce or early in their careers when the recession hit, and the ensuing high unemployment paused the development of their skills and work experience, Childers said.

A separate report, titled The lost generation: recession graduates and labor market slack, says Millennials in general are struggling to get jobs.

"Data on youth unemployment rates show a sharp rise during and after the 2008-09 recession both on an absolute and relative basis," wrote Spencer Hill, economist at Goldman Sachs.

Currently, Millennial unemployment rates stand at more than double the national average (12.7 percent compared to 5 percent as of September 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

"While youth underperformance is typical of recessions, the effects of the most recent downturn appeared larger and more long-lasting than average," Hill added.

In addition to stalled development of job-related skills, the trend may be driven by the generations high expectations for the type of job they hope to land. Millennials tend to look for dream jobs that afford them work-life balance, with flexibility, breaks and time to focus on personal development.

Statistics support the idea that Millennials are an overconfident bunch. But for those lacking experience, this quality may shrink the pool of potential jobs. It could also make the idea ofcontinuing to live with mom and dad sound like a more appealing option than trudging onward with the job search.

The high price of a college education might also be making it more difficult for Millennials to enter the job market. On the heels of the 2008 economic crash, Millennials may find it more difficult than ever to scrape together the funds to obtain a college degree and find an entry point into the job market.

Follow this link:
Young women are still struggling to get jobs - ConsumerAffairs

Another school year begins and Latinos across the country are entering college in record numbers. Your first days in college will certainly produce anxiety, excitement and lots of questions. Below are some thoughts and practical advice for college students from Latino professors who have "been there, done that" when it comes to education.

College is a critical time for self-exploration and personal development. You may be looking at a long list of requirements and be asked early on to figure out what your major will be.

As youre dealing with this pressure, remember to also think about you. What do you love to do best? What are you most passionate about? What makes you want to get out of bed every morning (or most every morning!)? What makes you happy?

Believe it or not, your classes can help you figure that out; choose classes carefully so that you approach not only core requirements but classes that can help you choose a major with these questions in mind. Talk to your advisors. Do a little research; look at course syllabi and check out what students are reading. And talk to your peers about the kinds of courses and professors that had the biggest impact on them and why.

Angelica Maria Bernal, University of Massachusetts

Then, as you are more immersed in a major that is a good fit, think about how to take that major to the next level: what extra-curriculars, internships, community service and study abroad opportunities can help you to better develop your passions?

Think beyond your classes: maybe you can approach a professor to help them with their research, attend a talk on campus (or other nearby campuses) that sounds interesting, or reach out to fellow students to organize something new.

Students of color face a great deal of pressure, including financial pressure. Advice like this might seem like a luxury, but it doesnt have to be. Oftentimes, the most successful individuals are the ones who turned their passions into careers. It takes a lot of work and personal initiative, but its not out of reach. Use your academic experience to the fullest to help you better develop yourself!

Anglica Maria Bernal is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Department of Political Science, and Director of the Academic Fellows Program.

Culture shock is what many first-generation students experience as they acclimate to a university system that is set up for white and affluent students to succeed. You can overcome this by maintaining connections to home and community. The greatest asset you possess is your own cultural knowledge and finding a tribe on campus that values its imperative.

Many first-generation students often find themselves feeling guilt over the financial and social obligations to the family versus their individual schooling. Women have the added pressure of confronting gendered expectations with parents, such as when making decisions about moving away from home.

Glenda Flores, Steve Zylius / UCI Steve Zylius / UCI

Remember, you are a student first and the best way to give back to your family for their sacrifices in the long run is by obtaining your degree and career.

On the classroom front, here's a good tip. While taking pictures of the lecture slides may seem like a time-saving strategy, nothing helps you retain information more and perform better academically than putting pen to paper. Take notes. Studies confirm this!

Then, rewrite or read your notes right after class. A general rule of thumb is twelve hours of work for every four-unit course per week. This includes reading the material, making outlines of the readings, study groups, and writing out your lecture notes, to name a few.

Glenda M. Flores is Associate Professor of Chicano/Latino Studies & Director of Undergraduate Studies at UC Irvine.

To grab your dreams you have to dig deep and be honest with yourself. Know your strengths and more importantly, understand your weaknesses. To be successful, you have to face these fears and weaknesses head on.

Plan ahead, organize yourself, and establish short and long-term goals using a career development plan.

Edward D. Vargas, Arizona State University

College wont be easy, but we are here to help along the way. So reach out and make sure you develop relationships with mentors and folks who truly care about your well being.

You must also invest in yourself. So, keep yourself healthy by taking care of your body and your mental health.

Remember, this is your life. So dont only reach for your dreams, grab them!

Edward D. Vargas is an Assistant Professor in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.

If you are among the first in your family to attend a college or university, one of the few people from your high school to pursue higher education, or on a campus thats not particularly diverse, you may feel like youve been admitted to college against the odds.

For some, this is accompanied by a feeling that you dont belong at your institution and a crushing pressure to succeed for your family, friends, and comunidad.

Amada Armenta, University of Pennsylvania

Since Latinos are generally underrepresented in American colleges and universities, your achievements are remarkable and noteworthy. On the other hand, Latinos and other minority students have been going to college and succeeding for generations.

While you may be blazing a trail for your family, you are absolutely not alone. Being the exceptional chosen one is really stressful!

So here's some good advice. Give yourself permission to be yourself.

Amada Armenta is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Read the original here:
Hello, College. Latino Professors Share Some Great Advice - NBCNews.com

Summer break has been extended for San Juan Island School District students.

Just a day after the first day of the new school year, on Friday, Sept. 1, the districts teachers went on strike and school was closed.

We are at an impasse with the district negotiating team, said Amy Hull, president of the districts teachers union, called the San Juan Education Association. We need to attract and retain quality teachers mainly because the students are so important to us.

At 8 a.m., Sept. 1, roughly 20 SJISD teachers marched from the Friday Harbor Elementary School to Spring Street. They carried signs asking for fair wages and intermittently chanted What do we want? A fair contract. When do we want it? Now. According to Hull, this is the first teachers strike in district history.

The teachers contracts ended on the first day of the new school year, Thursday, Aug. 31. The union convened after school, said Hull, and 97 percent of the 55 union teachers voted to strike. According to a press release, posted to the associations Facebook page that evening, 97 percent also voted no confidence in School Superintendent Danna Diaz, who is the chief negotiator between the district and board.

Diaz doesnt trust or respect us as education professionals, said Hull in the press release, which also stated that educators feel [Diaz] treats teachers like they are replaceable.

The district was notified of the strike at roughly 6 p.m., Aug. 31, according to SJISD Business Manager Jose Domenech. District officials posted a message on the website and notified parents and students of the closure for the day.

Domenech previously told the Journal that staff is the largest expenditure in the district, and last year, about 80 percent of funds was spent on them.

This is a very difficult situation for our entire community, said SJISD Superintendent Danna Diaz in the SJISD message. The District is committed to resolving this situation as quickly as possible. Strikes do end, and at that time we will work together again on our shared mission of educating students.

According to Hull, the San Juan Education Association met with the districts negotiating team six times since June. Specifics of negotiations cant be discussed, she explained, but teachers are requesting a salary raise and additional training to increase personal development. They are also requesting the inclusion of special education needs in contracts to alleviate those educators caseloads.

Micheal Biggers, a Friday Harbor Elementary teacher for 14 years, said teachers, from the similarly sized district of Coupeville on Fidalgo Island, recently received a 5 percent salary increase. He added that the SJISD board once used Coupeville as an example to limit wages when those teachers made less than SJISD educators.

Now, were using them as the example, said Biggers.

The SJISD Board will hold a closed meeting about the strike at 1 p.m., with a public meeting to discuss their decisions at 2 p.m. at the Friday Harbor High School library. Check the Journal for updates.

Staff photo/Hayley Day San Juan Island School District teachers march up Argyle Avenue to Spring Street on Sept. 1.

Staff photo/Hayley Day Teachers picket in front of Wells Fargo on the corner of Spring Street and Argyle Avenue on Sept. 1.

See the rest here:
San Juan Island School District teachers strike - Journal of the San Juan Islands

A ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday marked the official opening of the Residences at Career Gateway, a 58-unit affordable housing development on the South Side.

Residents have already moved into the 14 townhomes on the site, while the 44 apartments in the main building will start filling up this weekend.Amenities include a fitness center, a community room with a kitchen, an outdoor playground, and a childrens obstacle course.

Pricing for the apartments starts at $650 per month, with all units reserved for households at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

The project, which was first proposed nearly three years ago, is the result of a partnership between the non-profit organization Community Development for All People (CDFAP) and Cleveland-based developer NRP Group. It sits at the corner of Heyl Avenue and East Whittier Street, on the former site of Heyl Avenue Elementary School.

CDFAP is working to coordinate the many partners who will provide programming for the buildings 2,400 square foot Career Gateway Training Center. Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Goodwill Columbus, Columbus City Schools and Dress for Success are among the organizations that will provide on-site job and personal development training available to residents of the new development as well as the surrounding community.

Opening the Residences at Career Gateway is a significant next step forward in the journey to ensure the South Side remains a vibrant mixed income community with sufficient high quality affordable housing, said Reverend John Edgar, CDFAP Executive Director, in a statement. The on-site job training facilities offer wonderful opportunities for community residents to develop their job readiness skills and complete programs that connect them to full time positions with South Side employers.

For more information, see http://www.residencesatcareergateway.com.

Continued here:
New Housing Development, Workforce Training Center Opens on South Side - columbusunderground

New York The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, released today her annual report to the General Assembly. The 16-page document outlines immediate priorities as well as a longer-term vision for improving the protection of children affected by armed conflict, with a reflection on the achievements of the children and armed conflict agenda over the past two decades.

The UN engagement with governments and armed groups has enabled positive achievement over the past two decades benefiting children affected by conflict; but lasting wars and complex conflicts could reverse the positive gains, as we keep seeing occurrences of all six grave violations including re-recruitment of freed children, abduction, sexual violence and killing and maiming, highlights Ms. Gamba.

Covering the period from August 2016 to July 2017, the report also depicts emerging issues and challenges including alarmingly high numbers of attacks on schools and protected personnel and cases of military use of schools. With over 245 million children estimated to be living in conflict zones, a whole generation is at risk of missing out on education due to the effects of conflict, with dramatic consequences for the personal development of children but also for long term peace and security.

The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict also condemns the increasing politicization of the provision of humanitarian access for aid delivery, even when it is intended for children. Besiegement as a method of warfare has dramatic consequences, especially for children. In 2016, 994 incidents of denial of humanitarian access were verified by the United Nations, almost half of them in South Sudan; in Syria, nearly 650,000 people have been deprived from food and life-saving items like medicine; this is unacceptable, Ms. Gamba adds.

The report thus highlights the necessity of depoliticizing the delivery of humanitarian aid to children and of protecting education in situations of armed conflict, including through the deterrence of the military use of schools and the endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration. Other recommendations include the necessary political, technical and financial support to reintegration programmes for children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, giving special attention to the needs of girls, and enhancing legal protection frameworks.

20 Years of Work for Children Affected by Armed Conflict

The report also provides an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the mandate since its inception 20 years ago, and the Special Representative looks forward to building on the gains made since to end and prevent grave violations against children in conflict. Among the accomplishments, the report underlines the signature of 28 action plans by parties to conflict; the delisting of nine parties to conflict; and the success of the Campaign Children, Not Soldiers as a catalyst for strengthening the overall child protection architecture.

All eight countries that were initially part of the Children, Not Soldiers campaign have signed an action plan with the United Nations and thousands of children have been released and reintegrated. Chad has met the benchmarks set out in its action plan on the recruitment and use of children. Solid progress has been observed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although other violations remain of concern in the country, including cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence and killing and maiming.

In addition, the engagement by the United Nations with non-State armed groups has resulted in the signing of two new action plans to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children during the reporting period; in Sudan with the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM/N) and in Mali with the Coordination des Mouvements de lAzawad (CMA).

Sadly, ongoing crisis have hampered the progress in implementing action plans in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Reflecting on more recent trends, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General is very concerned at the many violations attributed to non-State actors in general, and violent extremists in particular, and notes a rise in the use of children and their abduction by these groups.

Building on lessons-learned, a new campaign to increase public awareness on the six grave violations is currently under development. The Special Representative also intends to engage additional actors and enhance engagement with its current partners, including UN agencies, international, sub-regional and regional organizations, as well as civil society, to pursuing best practices in strengthening the protection of children affected by armed conflict.

Read the full report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to the General Assembly.

Read more from the original source:
Progress Achieved to Protect Children in Past 20 Years Threatened by Ongoing Crisis - ReliefWeb

The physical basis of consciousness is perhaps the greatest mystery and problem in modern science. There can be little doubt that consciousness is a physical phenomenon but we cannot even begin to explain how it arises in brains. The simple and doubtless simplistic medical model of consciousness is that the cerebral hemispheres, where thinking and feeling goes on, are like millions of light bulbs. Consciousness is the brightness with which they shine. If you progressively damage the cerebral hemispheres, consciousness dims. Small areas of damage to the hemispheres have little effect on consciousness: many neurosurgeons have seen patients who walked into hospital with a knife or a nail, for instance, stuck in their brains, and yet who are fully conscious.

The hemispheres are powered, in ways we do not understand, by the brainstem, the part of the brain between the hemispheres and the spinal cord. In the medical model, the brainstem is equivalent to an electric cable supplying the millions of light bulbs. Small injuries to the brainstem can cause profound coma all the light bulbs will be dimmed at once.

Many years ago, when I was still training to be a neurosurgeon, I admitted an elderly American man who had collapsed with a brainstem stroke while watching the Championships at Wimbledon. He was completely paralysed but able to move his eyes up and down in response to my speaking to him. It seemed fairly clear to me that he was locked in fully conscious but trapped within his body. The next morning, I showed the poor man to my consultant on the ward round. These are just reflexes, he said of the patients eye movements. Just reflexes, he repeated fiercely, as he quickly walked away meaning, I suppose, that he preferred to think that the man was not conscious or suffering.

I did not agree but nor, to my shame, did I return and talk to the patient and comfort him. I fear that my failure was even more egregious than my consultants denial of the obvious, but it is extraordinarily difficult to talk to an immobile body, knowing that you cannot get any response, and even more difficult to know what to say. It feels like talking to a corpse. It is not just that the thought of what the patient might be experiencing is too horrible to contemplate but also that it feels unnatural. It is indeed unnatural, to the extent that modern medicine can now keep people alive with profound brain damage who, in the past, would invariably have died in the first few days after the stroke or injury.

So there is now a group of people who are mute and immobile and require 24-hour nursing care. They are categorised as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) if they show no reactions whatsoever, and as being in a minimally conscious state (MCS) if they respond to stimulation to some extent. Some, like the patient in Wimbledon, are fully aware and locked in (as was Jean-Dominique Bauby, the author of The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly).

Adrian Owen is a neuropsychologist who has devoted his life to working with these patients. In Into the Grey Zone, he describes how, almost by chance, he became involved in putting PVS patients in scanners that show brain activity rather than just brain anatomy. He demonstrated that some PVS patients, despite being completely mute and immobile, show evidence of mental activity and are possibly conscious. We must say possibly, because consciousness is an entirely subjective phenomenon and cannot be measured or directly observed from outside. It can only be inferred.

The method Owen developed was to ask PVS patients to imagine that they were playing tennis. In some of these patients but only a minority the functional scans showed activity in the parts of the brain that light up in normal volunteers brains when they are asked to imagine playing tennis. He concluded that the PVS patients whose scans show this same activity must be conscious. Not everybody who works in this field agrees it can be argued that awareness, which these patients certainly show, is not the same as having a conscious sense of self. There is much room for philosophical speculation and argument.

Owen was able to establish communication of a sort with some of these patients, by asking questions to which the patients could reply yes (by imagining a game of tennis) or no (by imagining walking around their home), but the communication was very limited.

There was tremendous media excitement about this groundbreaking work, as Owen recounts in some detail. But what does his discovery mean? Do PVS patients think and feel? Are they in hell, or perhaps even in heaven? Is the law right in permitting PVS patients to be allowed to die withdrawing food and water so that they slowly starve to death? All that is clear is that some patients who have previously been diagnosed as being in PVS have some kind of inner, mental life. What this life might be like is impossible to know. It is, in many ways, a deeply disturbing thought, above all for the patients families.

This is a fascinating and highly readable book, written with evangelical fervour, but it needs to be read with some care. Owen has made a remarkable discovery and is right to be proud of it. He describes in gripping and moving detail and there is no doubting his deep compassion for the patients and their families how his work evolved, but only towards the end of the book does he start to admit how complicated the problem is.

There are many causes of PVS and MCS. Carol, his first subject, who made a remarkable (but incomplete) recovery, having been written off as being in PVS, had suffered from an inflammatory condition of the brain that was entirely different from what many of the other patients he describes suffered: head injuries with extensive structural brain damage. Patients who become clearly conscious after severe head injuries often have terrible personality changes and disabilities, and the same would probably apply to many of the PVS and MCS patients if they are conscious, albeit mute and immobile. As it is, many of the PVS patients Owen studied showed no brain activation when asked to imagine playing tennis. Finally, consciousness is a complex grey-scale phenomenon, not simply a matter of on or off. In places, Owen comes close to making it sound as though all PVS patients were potentially wide awake but locked in.

We cannot know what these patients are experiencing but what we do know is that the suffering of their families is terrible, as I have seen in my life as a neurosurgeon. Anybody who has read Cathy Rentzenbrinks beautiful book The Last Act of Love will know this, too. Owens work raises many more questions than it answers. The complicated problems of how to look after PVS patients and how their families should see them have become a lot more difficult.

Owen is now working in Canada, trying to use electroencephalography to detect awareness and possible consciousness in comatose patients a less complex method than using brain scanners. It is not yet clear whether this will work. Emerging technologies will undoubtedly one day allow us to read the minds of others, he states . I am not so sure, but time will tell.

Henry Marsh is a consultant neurosurgeon and the author of Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Into the Grey ZoneAdrian OwenGuardian Faber, 320pp, 16.99

See the rest here:
Into the Grey Zone: can one really be conscious while in a coma? - New Statesman

You're looking for an actress who owns who she is, makes no apologies, and basically embodies what it means to be a badass woman? One who's bold with her hair, changing it up whenever she damn well feels the need? One who clapped back with total class when she was slammed for wearing locs to the Oscars? Hi, Zendaya Coleman, star of the summer hit Spider-Man: Homecoming and all-around glam icon. She turns 21 on September 1, and in honor of her birthday, here's a look back at a selection of her most fun, most audacious, most notable looks. "Shes super playful about her hair. Shes a hairstylist's dream. She loves to play dress-up. We collaborate and talk. What would complete the vision in terms of the look?" her stylist, Larry Sims, sums up for Allure. Plus, she's fearless. I believe shell try anything. It just has to be the right time, says Tymothe Wallace for Dove Hair, who has also worked with Zendaya for years.

Continued here:
See Zendaya's Hair Evolution, From Mullet to Locs and More - Allure Magazine

New Delhi: The following is the text of the address of the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, at the Business and Climate Summit (BCS) 2017 here today:

I am delighted to speak on this occasion of the Business and Climate Summit (BCS) 2017. I am glad that the Summit has brought together businesses, investors and policymakers to mobilise the business community in support of climate action.

The world came together in 2015 and agreed upon the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It came into force in November 2016 and till date, 160 Parties have ratified the agreement. India as a party to the Paris Agreement is committed towards its successful implementation.

It is also however, critical and necessary that equal focus is given to Pre-2020 actions by developed countries under Kyoto Protocol and that they fulfil their commitments of providing effective finance, technology transfer and capacity-building support to developing countries.

In order to strengthen Pre-2020 actions and close the emission gap, we also need to agree on a timeline for early ratification of the Second Commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. India deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol on August 8, 2017. UNFCCC should endeavour to promote developed country parties in fulfilling their commitments in the Pre-2020 period.

One of the key features of Paris Agreement is Nationally Determined Contributions. India submitted its NDCs in 2015. It includes 8 goals, 3 of which are quantitative, including reducing the emissions intensity of our GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level; achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 and creating an additional sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. The other five goals pertain to healthy and sustainable lifestyle, climate friendly and clean path to economic development, building capacities on climate technology and mobilise domestic and new additional funds.

We are now working on developing a roadmap for implementation of our NDC and have constituted an Implementation committee and six thematic Sub-committees involving key Ministries and Departments.

To achieve the goals, Government of India is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which encompasses eight national missions representing multipronged, long-term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change. The broad policy initiatives of the government are supplemented by actions of the State Governments through their State Action Plan on Climate Change. Key sectors covered by SAPCCs include agriculture, water, habitat, forestry, health and disaster management among others.

Government of India has set an ambitious target of 175 GW renewable power installed capacity by the end of 2022 and we have already achieved 58.3 GW of renewable energy installed capacity so far.

There are a number of other initiatives including distribution of energy efficient appliances where we have distributed about 23.39 crores LED lights; Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide free clean cooking gas connections to women below poverty line where more than 2.8 crore LPG connections have been released.

Through our missions like AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission, we are transforming our cities to make them efficient and climate resilient.

Government of India is also implementing its own National Adaptation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 350 crore.

However, with the responsibility of lifting around 360 million people out of poverty and raising the standard of living of an even greater number of people, technology is one of the powerful solutions for countries like India that can simultaneously address climate change and our development needs.

At the international level, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, India launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) jointly with Government of France. It provides a common platform where global community including bilateral and multilateral organisations, corporates, industry and stakeholders can make a positive contribution to the common goals of increasing utilisation of solar energy in meeting energy needs of ISA member countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner. So far, 36 countries have signed the ISA and 7 countries have ratified it.

Private sector is an integral part of Indias action on climate change as well. Private sector has embarked on a number of voluntary actions. The Indian industry has participated in voluntary carbon disclosure programmes whereby they report their carbon management strategy and GHG emissions.

India is also planning to establish a voluntary carbon market with World Bank assistance with focus on uncovered areas.

Going forward, as political leaders and representatives of the people, we have major role and responsibilities towards the citizens of our country and the globe and a duty to think long-term. We should listen to the voice of science seriously and act accordingly to safeguard our people against the risks posed by climate change.

Sustainability has been a way of life in India for centuries. Indian ethos and values promulgate simple living, respect for life and reverence of nature. Irresponsible pursuit of extravagant lifestyle is slowly eroding traditional values and as a result, minimalist lifestyle, has started to ebb from peoples way of life.

Access to clean air, water and a liveable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is just not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation. We have only one planet and humankind must become accountable on a massive scale for the wanton destruction of our collective home. Protecting our future on this planet depends on the conscious evolution of our species.

The global nature of climate change calls for a collective response. India has been engaging actively in multilateral negotiations under the UNFCCC, in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner to establish an effective cooperation and equitable global approach, based on the principles of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities & Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) enshrined in the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

As we move forward in our work on implementation of Paris Agreement, we believe that the incoming COP 23 Presidency of Fiji and UNFCCC Secretariat will host a successful meeting with an outcome, which is agreed upon by all Parties.

Follow this link:
Environment Minister's inaugural address at Business and Climate change Summit 2017 - India Education Diary

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a famous French philosopher and Jesuit priest who was also trained as a paleontologist and geologist. He took active part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard proposed the concept of the Omega Point and further developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere. Some of his ideas caused dispute between him and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, because of which several of his books were censured. In his significant book, The Phenomenon of Man, he described the unfolding of the cosmos. In another work, Book of Genesis he deserted the traditional interpretations of creation which greatly displeased some officials of the Catholic Church. He was opposed by his Church superiors and some of his books were denied being published during his lifetime by the Roman Holy Office.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Childhood and Early Life

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on May 1, 1881 in Orcines, France. On his paternal side, he was a descendant of an ancient family of magistrates from Auvergne originating in Murat, Cantal whereas from his maternal side he belonged to a family which was entitled under Louis XVIII. His father, Emmanuel Teilhard was an amateur naturalist. He was also an avid stone and plant collector and always promoted conservation of nature in the household. The birth of Teilhards spirituality was credited to his mother, Berthe de Dompiere. In 1893, when he was only twelve, he went to the Jesuit college of Mongr, in Villefranche-sur-Sane. In 1899, he joined the Jesuit novitiate at Aix-en-Provence, where he started his philosophical, theological and spiritual career. In 1902, he earned a licentiate in literature in Caen. Between the time period 1905 and 1908, Teilhard taught physics and chemistry in Cairo, Egypt, at the Jesuit College of the Holy Family. From 1908 to 1912, he studied theology in Hastings, in Sussex. During this time, he developed his scientific, philosophical and theological knowledge in the light of evolution. Teilhard was consecrated as a priest on August 24, 1911, at the age of 30. For the next two years, from 1912 to 1914, he worked in the paleontology laboratory of the Muse National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris.

In June 1912, Teilhard was a part of original digging team along with Arthur Smith Woodward and Charles Dawson who were carrying investigations at the Piltdown site; it was the site where first fragments of the Piltdown Man were discovered. He was acquainted with Henri Breuil at the museum's Institute of Human Paleontology, and in 1913, he took part with him in excavations in the prehistoric painted caves in the northwest of Spain, at the Cave of Castillo. He also served in World War I in December 1914 where he was a stretcher-bearer in the 8th Moroccan Rifles. During the war, Teilhard narrated his experiences in his diaries and also to his cousin, Marguerite Teillard-Chambon in letters who later edited these experiences into a book, Gense d'une pense (Genesis of a thought). He wrote his first essay, La Vie Cosmique (Cosmic life), in 1916, in which he had revealed his scientific and philosophical thoughts. On May 26, 1918, Teilhard pronounced his solemn vows as a Jesuit in Sainte-Foy-ls-Lyon. In August 1919, while he was in Jersey, he wrote Puissance spirituelle de la Matire (the spiritual Power of Matter). For some time, he pursued three unit degrees of natural science: geology, botany and zoology at the Sorbonne. After 1920, he taught geology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. After being granted a science Doctorate in 1922, Teilhard became an assistant professor.

Career

Teilhard traveled to China in 1923 with Father Emile Licent, who was in-charge of important laboratory collaboration between Natural History Museum in Paris and Marcellin Boule's laboratory. While he was in Ordos Desert, he wrote several essays which also included La Messe sur le Monde (the Mass on the World). The next year, he resumed his lecturing at the Catholic Institute and also took part in several conferences for the students of the Engineers' Schools. The Catholic Church asked him to teach at the Catholic Institute and to continue his geological research in China. In April 1926, he traveled back to China. Teilhard remained in China for the next twenty years which also included a number of voyages throughout the world. Between 1926 and 1935, he made five geological research expeditions in China, which enabled him to establish a general geological map of China. During 1926-1927, Teilhard traveled to the Sang-Kan-Ho valley near Kalgan (Zhangjiakou) and made a tour in Eastern Mongolia. In this period, he wrote Le Milieu Divin (the divine Medium). He also started writing the first pages of his main work Le Phnomne humain (The Human Phenomenon).

In 1926, Teilhard joined the excavations of the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian as an advisor. He also played the role of the advisory for Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China, which was founded in 1928. He stayed in Manchuria with Emile Licent and for some time remained in Western Shansi and northern Shensi with the Chinese paleontologist C. C. Young and Chairman of the Geological Survey of China, Davidson Black. After the tour of Manchuria in the area of Great Khingan, Teilhard joined the team of American Expedition Center-Asia in the Gobi organized by the American Museum of Natural History with Roy Chapman Andrews. Teilhard, along with Henri Breuil, discovered that the Peking Man the nearest relative of Pithecanthropus from Java was a faber. During this period, Teilhard wrote L'Esprit de la Terre (the Spirit of the Earth). As a scientist, he also took part in the famous Croisiere Jaune or "Yellow Cruise" managed by Andre Citroen in Central Asia. He joined the China Group in Kalgan who joined the Pamir group, in Aksu. He spent several months in Urumqi, capital of Sinkiang with his colleagues. In 1933, he was ordered by Rome to give up his post in Paris. Teilhard also undertook many explorations in the south of China which included his traveling to the valleys of Yangtze River and Szechuan (Sichuan) in 1934 and to Kwang-If and Guangdong, in the next year.

World Travels

Between 1927 and 1928 Teilhard stayed at Paris, France during which he traveled to Leuven, Belgium, to Cantal, and to Arige, France. On the invitation of Henry de Monfreid, he went to Obock in Harrar and to Somalia with his colleague, geologist Pierre Lamarre. Teilhard stayed in France and in the United States from 19301931. In 1935, he joined the Yale-Cambridge expedition in northern and central India along with geologist Helmut de Terra and Patterson, who had affirmed their assumptions on Indian Paleolithic civilizations in Kashmir and the Salt Range Valley. On the invitation of Professor Ralph van Koenigswald, he went to the site of Java man during which a second cranium, was discovered. In 1937, onboard of the boat, the Empress of Japan, he wrote Le Phnomne spiritual (The Phenomenon of the Spirit). The ship carried him to United States where he was awarded with the Mendel medal by Villanova University during the Congress of Philadelphia, recognizing his works on human paleontology. In the year 1939, his book LEnergie Humaine was banned by Rome. During his stay at France, he suffered from malaria. While returning to Beijing, he wrote L'Energie spirituelle de la Souffrance (Spiritual Energy of Suffering). In 1941, Teilhard presented his most important work Le Phenomena Humaine to Rome and by 1947, he was precluded by Rome to write or teach on philosophical subjects.

Death

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin died in New York City on April 10, 1955. He was buried in the cemetery at St. Andrews-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, upstate New York.

Read more:
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Biography - Pierre Teilhard de ...

When it comes to self-improvement, there's something people don't seem to talk aboutit's not just about you.

Before self-improvement, there's a moment. An "enough is enough, I'm making a change," moment.

The way I see it, self-improvement is just being humble enough to accept the knowledge, help and support of other people.

It's about surrounding yourself with people who inspire you to be better, people who show you the tools to achieve your goal.

If the goal is mental improvementyou return to school, join a book club, or seek out a teacher.

For spiritual improvement people often seek fellowship of similar believers.

If the goal is physical improvement, you seek out a gym or trainer and read articles on nutrition.

When it comes to physical improvement, people always ask me the same thingHow did you do it?

The thing is, I didn't.

I was lucky enough to find my support systemmy tribe.

I've lost 110-pounds. But I didn't do it alone.

While my tribe couldn't do the burpees for me (unfortunately!) they could sure do them with me. They answer my questions, push me that last mile and inspire me to do one more rep.

They're as proud of that 110-pounds as I am.

My coach corrects my technique, keeps me from getting hurt and reminds me of how far I've come.

My best friend is always willing to commiserate on how much we hate running (A lot. We hate it a lot!) and how much we hate kale (Also a lot!).

She will let me complain about how heavy the weight is, just so long as I keep lifting it while I complain.

Losing weight is a lot of workbut doesn't feel as hard when you're not the only one working.

I've tried every diet out there.

I've done the soup diet and all the cleanses.

Every weekend I would tell myself change started Monday.

Every "quick fix" diet pill on the market, I've tried. They all make big claims and promise spectacular results and I believed them. When one didn't work, I'd work my way down the shelf to the next one.

I failed. Every time. Over and over again, I failed.

I didn't know what I was doing wrong and every morning when I looked in the mirror and saw the same thing, I felt like change was impossible. It was something other people did.

Turns out, success is more attainable when you accept help along the waymore enjoyable when you have people to celebrate it with.

Later, someone shared a quote with me: "You can't be your best self until you find your tribe."

In my tribe, there are those that take a "tough love" approach (looking at you, coach), those who are constant cheerleaders, and those who silently come alongside me and remind me I'm not going it alone. There are those who, when I am struggling, I can look across the gym to for instruction.

Sure, theres a certain amount of personal responsibility required (even my tribe doesnt follow me around to slap the french fries out of my hands).

But, theres comfort in knowing you have support.

September is National Self-Improvement Month. If you havent already, let this be the month you accept knowledge, guidance and supportthe month you find your tribe.

More:
Finding your tribe - Claremore Daily Progress