Friday, November 20, 2015
Google Apps for Work | Referral Programme
Hi PRAMOD KUMAR,
Want some quick talking points to glance at while speaking to referrals about Google Apps?
With Google Apps, you can:
Promote your company. Custom email addresses, like name@yourcompany.com, help your team look professional and build your brand.
Work from anywhere. Every team member gets 30GB of space for storing all their files in Google Drive and accessing them from any device.
Save money and time on travel. Connect from anywhere, anytime, by hosting video meetings with teammates and customers using Google Hangouts.
Increase security. Google Apps includes powerful admin controls for managing users, devices and settings, helping your business data stay safe.
Questions? Suggestions? Other talking points that really work for you? Post them in our Google+ community. You can also learn the basics about Google Apps in the resource portal.
Best,
The Google Apps Referral Team
Spread the word
about Google Apps and share your referral link: https://goo.gl/IxFBbO
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
The U.S. Government Has Invested $34 Billion in Renewable Energy—and It’s Making a Profit
http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/11/17/us-has-invested-34-billion-renewable-energy--and-making-profit?cmpid=tp-san November 17, 2014 By Todd Woody
Todd Woody is TakePart's senior editor for environment and wildlife.
full bio follow me
Is the United States government a savvier investor in green technology than Silicon Valley’s masters of the universe?
Were Your Solar Panels Made With Conflict Minerals?
It sure looks like it, judging from the U.S. Department of Energy’s new report on the performance of its $34.3 billion portfolio of investments in solar power plants, wind farms, and other renewable energy projects. The Obama administration in 2009 charged the DOE’s Loan Programs Office with jump-starting cutting-edge green technology ventures deemed too risky and expensive to attract cash from private investors.
As of September, that portfolio had a loss rate of 2.28 percent and has made a profit of $30 million.
The typical loss rate for a venture capital firm’s portfolio? As many as 40 percent of those companies fail, according to a 2012 Harvard Business School study.
There are now 20 projects funded by DOE up and running.
(U.S. Department of Energy)
“These projects currently produce enough clean energy to power more than 1 million American homes (roughly the size of Chicago), have supported the manufacturing of more than 8 million fuel-efficient vehicles, and have avoided carbon pollution equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road,” states the report, which notes that the program has created or saved 55,000 jobs.
The DOE has so far disbursed $21.7 billion and collected $3.5 billion in repayments and $810 million in interest. Losses have totaled $780 million.
A half-billion dollars of that loss came from the 2011 failure of Solyndra, a Silicon Valley solar panel manufacturer whose bankruptcy made it a poster child for Republican attacks on the loan program. (Private investors, including some of Silicon Valley’s most renowned venture capitalists, lost more than $600 million on the company.) Solyndra was one of several makers of advanced solar technology in the U.S. that found themselves unable to compete against a flood of cheap solar panels made in China.
As the DOE report indicates, Solyndra was an outlier rather than an indicator of its portfolio’s performance. The agency, meanwhile, still has $40 billion left to spend.
Todd Woody is TakePart's senior editor for environment and wildlife.
full bio follow me
Is the United States government a savvier investor in green technology than Silicon Valley’s masters of the universe?
Were Your Solar Panels Made With Conflict Minerals?
It sure looks like it, judging from the U.S. Department of Energy’s new report on the performance of its $34.3 billion portfolio of investments in solar power plants, wind farms, and other renewable energy projects. The Obama administration in 2009 charged the DOE’s Loan Programs Office with jump-starting cutting-edge green technology ventures deemed too risky and expensive to attract cash from private investors.
As of September, that portfolio had a loss rate of 2.28 percent and has made a profit of $30 million.
The typical loss rate for a venture capital firm’s portfolio? As many as 40 percent of those companies fail, according to a 2012 Harvard Business School study.
There are now 20 projects funded by DOE up and running.
(U.S. Department of Energy)
“These projects currently produce enough clean energy to power more than 1 million American homes (roughly the size of Chicago), have supported the manufacturing of more than 8 million fuel-efficient vehicles, and have avoided carbon pollution equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road,” states the report, which notes that the program has created or saved 55,000 jobs.
The DOE has so far disbursed $21.7 billion and collected $3.5 billion in repayments and $810 million in interest. Losses have totaled $780 million.
A half-billion dollars of that loss came from the 2011 failure of Solyndra, a Silicon Valley solar panel manufacturer whose bankruptcy made it a poster child for Republican attacks on the loan program. (Private investors, including some of Silicon Valley’s most renowned venture capitalists, lost more than $600 million on the company.) Solyndra was one of several makers of advanced solar technology in the U.S. that found themselves unable to compete against a flood of cheap solar panels made in China.
As the DOE report indicates, Solyndra was an outlier rather than an indicator of its portfolio’s performance. The agency, meanwhile, still has $40 billion left to spend.
Friday, November 21, 2014
United Nations News Centre - UN conference generates renewed global momentum to eradicate malnutrition
21 November 2014 – In a move hailed as renewed global momentum to
end hunger, leaders from over 170 countries attending a United Nations
nutrition conference which concluded today, pledged to establish
national policies aimed at eradicating malnutrition – in all its forms
from, hunger to obesity – and transform food systems to make nutritious
diets available to all.
The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and held at its Headquarters in Rome, Italy brought together over 2200 participants, including 100 ministers and vice ministers, 150 representatives from civil society and nearly 100 from the business community.
The three day summit opened with Governments adopting the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, along with a Framework for Action that gives recommendations for national policy-makers to combat malnutrition and put healthy diets and environmental sustainability at the centre of food, from farm to fork.
“Malnutrition is the number one cause of disease in the world. If hunger were a contagious disease, we would have already cured it,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva in his closing remarks.
“This Conference on nutrition is the beginning of our renewed effort,” he said. “It will be acknowledged for having brought nutrition into the public sphere, making it a public, not a private, good,” Mr. Graziano da Silva explained.
In an interview with UN Radio, FAO Deputy Director-General Marie Helena Semedo said that moving forward, the agency expected the aims of the Declaration and Framework for Action to be implemented in country action plans.
“The [delegations] were really committed, with very strong political will to create integrated nation plans to tackle all forms of malnutrition, including obesity and overweight,” she said, expressing the hope that countries themselves and the international community would implement the ICN2 outcomes and support the resource mechanism set up by FAO.
To support governments in transforming commitments into concrete actions, FAO established the Action for Nutrition Trust Fund. The fund will mobilize resources for programmes and projects that foster enabling environments for nutrition, promote sustainable food systems and nutrition-enhancing trade, increase nutrition information, improve food safety and make nutrition part of stronger social safety nets.
To ensure accountability post-ICN2, the fund will also help countries build robust mechanism to monitor progress on their nutrition commitments.
Oleg Chestnov, from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) the other co-organizer of the event, called today’s political commitments – the first to include solutions that will address malnutrition in all its forms, from hunger to obesity – landmark.
“We look forward to working with Member States and FAO to move ahead without delay, through policies and actions that will change the lives of millions,” Mr. Chestnov said.
Throughout the conference both the FAO and WHO stressed the importance of collaborating across sectors to respond to modern nutrition challenges, but also made it clear that the fight against malnutrition ought to be led by national governments through concrete commitments.
In the same vein, civil society and the private sector are essential allies in combatting malnutrition as they can hold governments accountable and deliver food to consumers.
The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and held at its Headquarters in Rome, Italy brought together over 2200 participants, including 100 ministers and vice ministers, 150 representatives from civil society and nearly 100 from the business community.
The three day summit opened with Governments adopting the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, along with a Framework for Action that gives recommendations for national policy-makers to combat malnutrition and put healthy diets and environmental sustainability at the centre of food, from farm to fork.
“Malnutrition is the number one cause of disease in the world. If hunger were a contagious disease, we would have already cured it,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva in his closing remarks.
“This Conference on nutrition is the beginning of our renewed effort,” he said. “It will be acknowledged for having brought nutrition into the public sphere, making it a public, not a private, good,” Mr. Graziano da Silva explained.
In an interview with UN Radio, FAO Deputy Director-General Marie Helena Semedo said that moving forward, the agency expected the aims of the Declaration and Framework for Action to be implemented in country action plans.
“The [delegations] were really committed, with very strong political will to create integrated nation plans to tackle all forms of malnutrition, including obesity and overweight,” she said, expressing the hope that countries themselves and the international community would implement the ICN2 outcomes and support the resource mechanism set up by FAO.
To support governments in transforming commitments into concrete actions, FAO established the Action for Nutrition Trust Fund. The fund will mobilize resources for programmes and projects that foster enabling environments for nutrition, promote sustainable food systems and nutrition-enhancing trade, increase nutrition information, improve food safety and make nutrition part of stronger social safety nets.
To ensure accountability post-ICN2, the fund will also help countries build robust mechanism to monitor progress on their nutrition commitments.
Oleg Chestnov, from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) the other co-organizer of the event, called today’s political commitments – the first to include solutions that will address malnutrition in all its forms, from hunger to obesity – landmark.
“We look forward to working with Member States and FAO to move ahead without delay, through policies and actions that will change the lives of millions,” Mr. Chestnov said.
Throughout the conference both the FAO and WHO stressed the importance of collaborating across sectors to respond to modern nutrition challenges, but also made it clear that the fight against malnutrition ought to be led by national governments through concrete commitments.
In the same vein, civil society and the private sector are essential allies in combatting malnutrition as they can hold governments accountable and deliver food to consumers.
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In-depth Interviews
Center for Resource Solutions Announces 2014 Green Power Leadership Award Winners
Awards to be presented during Renewable Energy Markets 2014 in Sacramento, CA. Apple Inc., SMUD, White House CEQ to receive top honors
CONTACT
Jeff Swenerton
Center for Resource Solutions
415-561-2119
jeff@resource-solutions.org
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 19, 2014)—Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) will recognize four organizations and two individuals for their role in building and shaping the market for renewable energy over the past year. The award recipients will be honored during the 2014 Green Power Leadership Awards ceremony held in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Markets 2014 conference taking place in Sacramento, CA from December 2–4. The CRS Market Development Award category recognizes organizations and individual renewable energy leaders that have helped increase the demand for clean energy through their actions.
CRS recognizes market leadership through three awards: the Green Power Market Development award recognizes organizations and individuals building and growing the voluntary market for green power; Leadership in Green Power Education recognizes effective and unique programs and organizations focusing on green power education; and Green Power Leader of the Year honors outstanding leadership by an individual who is leveraging his or her influence, power, position, or purchasing power to increase the prevalence of renewable energy.
An independent selection committee reviewed the nominations and awarded these Green Power Leadership Awards in Market Development:
Green Power Market Development
Apple Inc.
Mary Sotos, World Resources Institute (WRI)
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Leadership in Green Power Education
Puget Sound Energy
Green Power Leader of the Year
Robert Maddox, Sterling Planet
"In another year of incredible growth in renewable energy development, these award winners stand out for their dedication to building and promoting clean energy use by individuals and organizations nationwide," said Jennifer Martin, executive director of Center for Resource Solutions.
CRS co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize outstanding commitments and achievements in the green power marketplace in the following three categories: Market Development, Purchasers, and Suppliers. For more information about the awards, visit the 2014 Green Power Leadership Awards.
About Green‑e and Center for Resource Solutions
A program of the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions, Green‑e is North America's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green‑e offers certification and verification services through Green‑e Energy, a renewable energy certification program; Green‑e Climate, a greenhouse gas emission reduction certification program; and Green‑e Marketplace, a program that provides forward-thinking organizations a simple, nationally recognized logo they can use to communicate their renewable energy and climate commitment to their customers and stakeholders. To learn more about Green‑e Certified products and programs available in all 50 states and Canada, visit www.green‑e.org.
CONTACT
Jeff Swenerton
Center for Resource Solutions
415-561-2119
jeff@resource-solutions.org
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 19, 2014)—Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) will recognize four organizations and two individuals for their role in building and shaping the market for renewable energy over the past year. The award recipients will be honored during the 2014 Green Power Leadership Awards ceremony held in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Markets 2014 conference taking place in Sacramento, CA from December 2–4. The CRS Market Development Award category recognizes organizations and individual renewable energy leaders that have helped increase the demand for clean energy through their actions.
CRS recognizes market leadership through three awards: the Green Power Market Development award recognizes organizations and individuals building and growing the voluntary market for green power; Leadership in Green Power Education recognizes effective and unique programs and organizations focusing on green power education; and Green Power Leader of the Year honors outstanding leadership by an individual who is leveraging his or her influence, power, position, or purchasing power to increase the prevalence of renewable energy.
An independent selection committee reviewed the nominations and awarded these Green Power Leadership Awards in Market Development:
Green Power Market Development
Apple Inc.
Mary Sotos, World Resources Institute (WRI)
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Leadership in Green Power Education
Puget Sound Energy
Green Power Leader of the Year
Robert Maddox, Sterling Planet
"In another year of incredible growth in renewable energy development, these award winners stand out for their dedication to building and promoting clean energy use by individuals and organizations nationwide," said Jennifer Martin, executive director of Center for Resource Solutions.
CRS co-sponsors the Green Power Leadership Awards with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize outstanding commitments and achievements in the green power marketplace in the following three categories: Market Development, Purchasers, and Suppliers. For more information about the awards, visit the 2014 Green Power Leadership Awards.
About Green‑e and Center for Resource Solutions
A program of the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions, Green‑e is North America's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green‑e offers certification and verification services through Green‑e Energy, a renewable energy certification program; Green‑e Climate, a greenhouse gas emission reduction certification program; and Green‑e Marketplace, a program that provides forward-thinking organizations a simple, nationally recognized logo they can use to communicate their renewable energy and climate commitment to their customers and stakeholders. To learn more about Green‑e Certified products and programs available in all 50 states and Canada, visit www.green‑e.org.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
United Nations News Centre - UN spotlights children’s rights as world gears up to mark 25th anniversary of landmark treaty
United Nations News Centre - UN spotlights children’s rights as world gears up to mark 25th anniversary of landmark treaty
19 November 2014 – As the global human rights community readies to celebrate tomorrow the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations committee charged with monitoring its implementation highlighted the right of children to actively participate – and not just be heard – in discussions that affect their lives and communities.
“Let us stop talking about ‘allowing’ young people to participate – it is, firstly, a right of the child,” the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child emphasized today in a press release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“Secondly, when children take part in discussions on matters affecting their lives, problems they face are more likely to be addressed meaningfully if their views are taken into account,” the Committee added.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and to date has been ratified by 194 countries, making it the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. Its adoption marked the first time that children were explicitly recognized as having specific rights.
Noting that since the Convention’s adoption, it could point to improvement in children’s lives worldwide, the Committee underscored that too many children still “suffer violations of their rights and especially violence, exploitation and neglect, discrimination, denial of health services or a decent education.”
It is important to remember that children can be “active agents of change in their families, in their schools, in their communities and in their countries,” the Committee said. While children may at times have views different than those of adults, “this is as it should be. Children are valuable members of our societies as children,” the Committee stressed.
“Creating the future we want, the future that will shape the lives of children and their children, depends on how we act now, and for that children’s participation is as important as that of adults,” the Committee added.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child comprises 18 independent experts and monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties. It also monitors implementation of two Optional Protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
As part of celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Convention’s adoption, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York tomorrow morning on the promotion and protection of the rights of children. An interactive panel discussion on the theme of 25 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: is the world a better place for children?, co-chaired by Queen Silvia of Sweden and Ms. Laura Vargas Carrillo of Mexico, will be held in the afternoon.
Also tomorrow morning, a high-level panel discussion on the “25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: recalling its vision,” organized by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, will be held at the UN in New York. Several missions will also hold side events.
In addition, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will hold a musical celebration tomorrow morning at UN Headquarters to mark the anniversary of the Convention, as well as the 60th anniversary of the agency’s Goodwill Ambassador Programme and the 35th anniversary of the Music for UNICEF concert.
The occasion will also serve to launch the UNICEF #IMAGINE project, a musical and technological initiative to highlight the challenges children face the world over. The agency will also use the opportunity of the occasion to launch its latest State of the World’s Children report.
News Tracker: past stories on this issue
UN celebrates awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to children’s rights activists
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