U.S. behind Cuba, South Africa, and Philippines in gender equality

by Catherine Bodry on

Here’s something for you: if you’re looking to live in or visit a country where men and women are treated equally, don’t head to the U.S. Out of 128 countries, the U.S. only made it to 31st place, behind Cuba (22nd), South Africa (20th), and the Philippines (6th).

The World Economic Forum compared four areas: differences between men and women’s salaries, access to education, political representation, and health, including life expectancy. Nordic countries topped the list, with Sweden coming in first, followed by Norway, Finland, and Iceland. It’s worth noting, however, that the Forum reminds us that “no country has yet achieved gender equality.”

In last place were Yemen, Chad, Pakistan, Nepal and Saudi Arabia.

Read Reuters’ complete report here.

Yet, another reason to hit South Dakota: George McGovern

by Jamie Rhein on

With the presidential elections heating up, it’s difficult to gain the perspective of time. Depending on how old you are, there is a fuzzy recollection of some elections, and no memory of others. I do remember the name George McGovern. Both my parents liked him. Regardless of political parties, he seemed like an upstanding fellow and his running certainly must have put South Dakota on the map.

He was born in Avon, South Dakota in 1922 and kept his roots there. Last year The McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service opened in Mitchell, South Dakota. It includes a The Legacy Museum that highlights main points in McGovern’s life. When you think about someone who could remember the Depression, served as a in WWII and ran for president during the Vietnam War and also served in the U.N.– plus a whole lot of other things, that’s some career. The center also has the McGovern Library that is connected to Dakota Wesleyan University, McGovern’s alma matter and the site of The McGovern Center.

Part of the purpose of the center is to educate others to become stellar leaders. That’s not a bad idea. We kind of need those. By the way, McGovern is 85.

Robin Hood’s forest of mighty oaks needs saving by the rich–or the poor–or a miracle

by Jamie Rhein on

With half my roots in Southeastern Kentucky where coal mining has decimated great swatches of mountain tops, I’m easy to hook into environmental stories. Such was the case when I read about Sherwood Forest made famous by Robin Hood’s work of robbing the rich to pay the poor. As you know, that’s where he and his merry men hung out. There really is such a place in Nottinghamshire County, England, although the forest is becoming smaller and the mighty oaks are falling. See, here’s the problem. Oaks only live for 900 years. That’s a lot you might say. Time does fly, and it’s passing.

Since the landscape has been changed to accommodate more people over the centuries, trees have been cut down for buildings and fields to grow food. So, there is less space for the forest to rejuvenate itself. Plus, there’s the effects of global warming. The trees that are left sound like they have osteoporosis or something. A strong wind can knock them down. The solution is a reforestation project which costs money. Sherwood Forest is in the running for some grant money to plant thousands more. Here’s the thing where I see it might take some convincing of folks that this money will make a more wonderous world for their great, great, great, great, great, (surely that’s enough greats) grandchildren is that it takes 300 years for an oak to grow to its massive size. That’s a bit of delayed gratification for you. “I paid what for that dinky thing?”

Kate Shuman’s AP article where I found out about this forest woe is accompanied by some wonderful photos of movie scenes that have helped make Sherwood Forest famous.

Charge your electronics with a small, portable windmill

by Neil Woodburn on

We’ve posted here on Gadling a number of times about various solar travel toys that will help charge your camera, cell phone, iPod, or other handy gadgets while on the road.

The sun, however, is not the only source of energy provided to us by Mother Nature. The magic of wind power can also juice up your electronics.

It’s a little harder to capture the wind on a smaller scale, however. But that hasn’t stopped a company by the name of Orange from trying out a prototype they hope to shortly bring to market. The small device, weighing in at just 150 grams, is intended to capture enough wind energy to charge up a typical cell phone.

The designers envision that campers will attach the device to their tents so that they can chat away the whole weekend if they wanted to. If I had one, however, I’d strap it to the outside of my car–although with the speed of LA traffic these days, I’d be lucky to generate enough power to charge my electric toothbrush.

India to put an end to public defecating

by Catherine Bodry on

If you travel through India there’s a couple of bodily-function issues you might notice (outside your own, that is). One is that there’s a large poor population that doesn’t have access to any form of plumbing. Railroad tracks tend to become the local slum toilet — at least that’s what I noticed while traveling by rail. The other is that areas where public toilets are in place, the stench is often overwhelming (I’m thinking back to some roadside urinals I constantly passed en route to my guesthouse in Delhi).

The World Health Organization estimates that 2.6 million people live without access to a proper toilet, and more than half that number live in India. It’s difficult to imagine a solution to a problem that huge, but India is working on it. The government aims to eradicate “open-air defecating” by 2012, promised Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad at the World Toilet Summit.

Only problem is, he didn’t say how.

Read the report here.