Jobs of the Future Will Not Support Basic Standard of Living in U.S.

Back to School Family Finances 

Fewer than 13 percent of jobs to be created by 2018 will meet the economic security threshold for a single parent with two kids.

It’s most welcome news that job growth seems to be picking up again–even if we’ll need a whole lot more of it to get back to where we were before the Great Recession.

 

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Exposure to Violence Increases Aggression in Children: Studies

video game study

Monkey See, Monkey Do when it comes to children and violence.

Two world-wide studies published within a year of each other have looked at the increase of violence among children. They came, not surprisingly, to the same conclusion, one which seems like common sense to many of us, but which has been challenged time and time again by propagandists for TV and video game manufacturers.  The conclusion? Violence begets violence, no matter where it comes from.

 

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Ozone Levels Over the Arctic Dropped By Half in the Past Year

arctic ozone

Much more ozone (in red) is shown over the Arctic in the left image than the right image.

Check out the stark difference between these two satellite images, taken on March 19, 2010 and March 19, 2011. The left image shows much more ozone (in red) over the Arctic than the right image. What’s happened?

 

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‘Litte Emperor’ Syndrome – China Struggling with Growing Obesity as Economy Sky Rockets

Lu Zhihao

China’s more affluent generation of middle class families have been raising more and more pampered children  bringing a growing blight of obesity to Chinese society.

In a sleepy riverside village in Southern China, three-year-old Lu Zhihao tears around his home; his belly, arms and legs wobbling with fat as he stuffs a pear into his mouth.

 

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‘Blue Petroleum’ Fuel Could Be the Fuel of the Future

petroleum

Scientists in Spain hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.

In a forest of tubes eight metres high in eastern Spain scientists hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.

 

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Krestel – The First Car Built Out of Hemp

krestel

Krestel

Marijuana’s fibrous cousin hemp has a long history with auto makers. in 1941 Henry Ford unveiled a car body made primarily out of organic fibers, hemp included. seventy years later, the world’s first production-ready biocomposite electric car—with hemp as the “bio”—will finally hit the streets. The Kestrel, a three-door hatchback, is made of a “hemp composite as strong as the fiberglass in boats, yet incredibly lightweight,” says Nathan Armstrong, the president of Motive industries, Kestrel’s manufacturer.

 

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UK’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Black Cab Hits the Streets of London

london-blackcab-03-30-2011

The First Fuel Cell-Powered Black Cab

It may not look much different than your average black cab on the outside (decals aside), but it’s quite a different story under the hood of this taxi, which has just been deemed road legal in the UK. Developed by Intelligent Energy, the cab actually includes both a fuel cell with a 30 kW net output and a 14 kWh lithium polymer battery pack, which combined promise to provide enough juice for a full day of operation — along with a top speed of 81 MPH and acceleration from zero to sixty in fourteen seconds. Londoners won’t be seeing them everywhere just yet, however, as the company only expects the first fleet to be ready sometime next year in time for the 2012 Olympics.

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Is Your Meat Made With Meat Glue?

composite meat product Picture-2-475x356

If you see “composite meat product” on the label, it might be fish slurry slapped together with an enzyme from cow’s blood.

Almost every country in the EU last week approved the use of Meat Glue in food. Technically called thrombian, or transglutaminase (TG), it is an enzyme that food processors use to hold different kinds of meat together.

Imitation crab meat is one of the more common applications: it’s made from surimi, a “fish-based food product” made by pulverizing white fish like pollock or hake into a paste, which is then mixed with meat glue so that the shreds stick together and hold the shape wanted for it by its creator…

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The $50K Formula One Steering Wheel That Even Pours Drinks

race car steeing wheel

The steering wheel of the McLaren Mercedes MP4-26.

It wouldn’t be Formula 1 without some kind of constant friction between racers, team owners and organizers, and this year’s kerfuffle involves steering wheels that force drivers to push more buttons than a 747 pilot having a seizure. (video)

 

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