No drilling here for now.
Ecuador had agreed last year to accept money in exchange for not drilling foroil in Yasuní National Park, an area of the Amazon rainforest that last year set a record for the most mammal, bird, amphibian and plant species in the world.
But a fundraiser was held last night that collected the $116 million necessary to temporarily halt exploitation of the area for oil…
Continue reading… “Crowdfunding temporarily halts oil extraction in Ecuador”
Renters have flexibility that homeowners don’t.
Buying a home is seen by most people as part of the “American Dream”, but for most it’s become a nightmare. Buying a home is pretty much the best way to throw your money away and here’s why.
Continue reading… “6 reasons why renting is better than buying a home”
Who is and is not the best one to head up the fundraising?
Company founders are the quintessential cheerleaders, promoting their vision and company every chance they get. But that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily the best at two core functions: selling and fundraising (and many are bad at both but excel at other functions, like technology).
While generating revenue and raising capital require a lot of the same traits, in my experience those who are good at one tend to be poor at the other…
Continue reading… “Why salespeople make bad fundraisers”
Non-resident visitors to the United States wait in line at immigration control at a U.S. airport.
Businesses salivate over the kind of foreign traveler Agustina Ocamp is. He is a 22-year-old Argentine who recently dropped more than $5,000 on food, hotels and clothes in Las Vegas during a trip that also took her to Seattle’s Space Needle, Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo. But she doubts she will return soon.
Continue reading… “Foreign tourists could help the U.S. economy”
What significant advances can we expect in 2012?
In 2011 some great medical feats were accomplished. Dallas Wiens became the first recipient of a full-face transplant in the United States, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survived a gunshot to her brain, and HIV researchers found a way to lower an infected person’s chance of transmitting the virus to sexual partners by 96 percent.
Continue reading… “5 advanced in medicine predicted for 2012”
Ugh!
Yippee! Let’s poison ourselves with beverages that will make us violently ill! It was your battle cry last night, and today you’re paying the price. But what is that hangover you’re experiencing, exactly?
A hangover is your body’s reaction to drinking too much alcohol.
Everyone has a different tolerance (it’s usually lower for women than men), but anyone who drinks enough is sure to experience a cornucopia of symptoms which might include headache, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, trembling and a general sense of misery. It gets worse the more you drink, when you drink on an empty stomach, when you haven’t slept, or if you imbibe while shakin’ that thang on the dance floor (or rock climbing, or jazzercizing)…
Continue reading… “What Is a hangover?”
Futurist Thomas Frey: The sixth law of the future states, “The “unknowability” of the future is what gives us our drive and motivation.”
The fact that the future is unknowable is a good thing. Our involvement in the game of life is based on our notion that we as individuals can make a difference. If we somehow remove the mystery of what results our actions will have, we also dismantle our individual drives and motivations for moving forward.
Continue reading… “Year in Review: Top 10 Articles on FuturistSpeaker.com”
“High expectations are the key to everything” – – Sam Walton
Futurist Thomas Frey: On a recent shopping trip, I went to three separate stores and had difficulty finding what I was looking for. On each of these occasions I talked with a staff person and they told me about an option that either wasn’t apparent to most customers, or that I hadn’t considered.
Continue reading… “Flooring the customer: Retail 2.0, the rebirth is coming”
Are you giving the gift that won’t get used?
Gift cards are the laziest, lousiest, most convenient, popular and widely given present. And this is your yearly reminder of just how much they stink. Since 2005, we’vetossed out more value in gift cards than the entire GNP of Ghana…
Continue reading… “We’ve bought $41 billion in unused gift cards since 2005”
A beach in Samoa, where clocks are set to go forward by a whole day.
Samoa is making Dec. 30 disappear, just this once.
It’s the key step in the Pacific island nation’s plan to move from the eastern to the western side of the International Date Line and mesh its work week with two of its primary trading partners, New Zealand and Australia. The New Zealand territory of Tokelau is making the switch as well.
Continue reading… “Samoa will skip Friday this week”
Will your future job will be doing online contingent work?
Wondering where all the future jobs are going to be? Online of course! But maybe not exactly in the format you were expecting.
Despite a stagnant employment market in 2011, online hiring has grown at a record pace, up more than 100% from 2010. Elance, the leading platform for online work, released its 2011 Online Employment Review today, which reveals that the future of work will be contingent, global and online. As more companies seek instant access to talent and greater flexibility to run their businesses, individuals are taking control of their future by building careers as independent professionals…
Continue reading… “Elance predicts market for online contingent work to double again in 2012”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.