The world's resources go into the red, global mental health, biodegradable packaging in Brazil, and Newsweek's "Top 100 Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World."

October 16, 2007

Earth Trends: Environmental Information

• Global Environment in the Red. Ecological Debt Day is the date every year when annual human resource consumption exceeds what the planet produces or regenerates; that is, when resource use becomes unsustainable. In 2007, the date is October 6h. October 6, 2007.

• World Mental Health Day. Every year up to 30% of the global population suffers from some form of mental disorder, and at least two-thirds of those receive inadequate or no treatment, even in countries with the best resources. October 10, 2007.

NextBillion.net: Development Through Enterprise

• Global Social Venture Competition. The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is the largest student-run business plan contest in the world, which provides mentoring, exposure and prizes for social ventures from around the world. October 16, 2007.

• Exploring New Markets: The Base of the Pyramid. Five professors from the Indian School of Business, in Hyderabad, will deliver video lectures on topics such as marketing, microfinance and mobile telephony in a country such as India. October 15, 2007.

• NextBillion Goes to PopTech This Week. NextBillion.net is one of four English-language blogs that will be covering Pop!Tech 2007. October 15, 2007.

• Strategy in a Difficult Retail Market. Noted economist and consulting editor for The Economic Times, Swaminathan Aiyar has written an interesting article on strategy in retail markets. October 13, 2007.

New Ventures

• Rising Ventures: CBPAK. In a recent interview with New Ventures staff, CBPAK founder Claudio Bastos discusses how his company is bringing a unique solution to Brazil's massive packaging industry. October 10, 2007.

• Newsweek names NV Enterprises in "100 Entrepreneurs Who are Changing the World". Earlier this summer, Newsweek Japan released a special edition of its magazine entitled "Selling the Dream: 100 Entrepreneurs Who are Changing the World." In it, the news magazine names three New Ventures entrepreneurs as leaders in sustainable enterprise. October 10, 2007.

• World Resources Institute to Host a Panel on Sustainability Reporting at TBLI Europe. The panel, tentatively titled "Are We Making a Difference? Monitoring & Evaluation of Environmental and Social Impacts," will feature speakers from the IFC, E+Co and a New Ventures Indonesia entrepreneur, among others. October 15, 2007.

Environmental News

Climate & Energy

• CBS News.com. October 15, 2007. Compromising Our Planet's Future. Now that Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, will the U.S. Congress take the IPCC's scientific advice on how to fight global warming?

• KCRW (Los Angeles) To the Point. October 10, 2007. Explosive Growth in China Causes Explosive Pollution Problems. As China strives to be an economic colossus, hundreds of thousands of people are dying prematurely from unbreathable air and contaminated water.

• E/The Environmental Magazine. October 13, 2007. Commentary: Gore's Nobel Enterprise. Everybody loves Al Gore this week. But not everybody is popping the champagne corks.

• Yahoo! Asia. October 10, 2007. Teaching the New Carbon Math. The new math is carbon accounting and the GHG Management Institute is poised to teach it.

• The Times of India. Pachauri Made the Globe Wake Up to Climate Change. A colleague of Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri in the IPCC remembers travelling with him through Heathrow airport in London.

• Wired. October 12, 2007. Did Al Gore and the IPCC Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? Should the Nobel Prize for Peace go to a global warming activist?

• Web India123.com. October 10, 2007. U.S. Ranks Last on Environment; UK Ranks Ninth Out of 21 Countries. The United States ranks last of 21 rich countries on the environment component of the 2007 Commitment to Development Index (CDI). Norway ranks first on the environment component.

• The Electric New Paper (Singapore). October 8, 2007. Give Green a Chance. Being environmentally conscious is no longer limited to eating lentils.

Markets & Enterprise

• Yahoo! News India. October 8, 2007. Small Fish, Big Catch. Unreached. Unbanked. Unelectrified. Unserved. These are the new keywords for business leaders, who are working overtime to tap into the poor consumer market in a win-win deal for businesses as well as the poor.

• GreenBiz.com. October 12, 2007. Report from Wal-Mart Sustainability Summit: "In It For the Long Haul". At the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit, a gathering of more than 2,000 of its suppliers this week in Arkansas, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott proclaimed the benefits the company has reaped from its focus on sustainability.

• Nigerian Tribune. October 6, 2007. All Hail Okonjo-Iweala's Appointment as MD World Bank. Leading Nigerians lauded the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Managing Director of the World Bank.

People & Ecosystems

• Financial Times. October 12, 2007. Food Industry: Food Chain is Complex. While much consumer and media attention has recently focused on "food miles," transportation, it turns out, is only a small part of the carbon footprint of food.

• Wired. October 10, 2007. The Good Old-Fashioned World Future Society. The World Future Society has released a 10-page report forecasting more than 70 major global developments for the coming year and beyond.

• Biopact. October 14, 2007. Scientists Warn of Climate Change's Impact on Global River Flow. A global analysis of the potential effect of climate change on river basins indicates that many rivers impacted by dams or extensive development will require significant management interventions to protect ecosystems and people.