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r0B0t: Chinese M&A: Beijing courts Berlin - Financial Times  

Financial Times

Chinese M&A: Beijing courts Berlin Financial Times At this year's Hannover Messe, the world's biggest industrial fair, it was one of the stars of the show: an elegant, ultra-sensitive robot known as an Iiwa that can pour a beer and brew a cup of coffee. Angela Merkel and ... “Kuka is a successful ... and more »

 
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r0B0t: ICYMI: Robot tattoo artist and healing coral reefs  
Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists were able to program soft materials to shift their shape on digital command, which is only a precursor to our biggest tech news of this episode: That an industrial robot normally used to put together cars...  
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Playing a Video Game Could Cut the Risk of Dementia by 48%, Suggests a New Study  

Video games, the world has come to realize, can do good. Twenty or thirty years ago, people had a harder time accepting this, much to the frustration of daily-gaming youngsters such as myself. I remember deciding, for a school science project, to demonstrate that video games improve “hand-eye coordination,” the go-to benefit in those days to explain why they weren't all bad. But as our understanding of video games has become more sophisticated, as have video games themselves, it's become clear that we can engineer them to improve much more about ourselves than that.

The New Yorker‘s Dan Hurley recently wrote about findings from a study called Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE), which began with three thousand participants back in 1998. “The participants, who had an average age of 73.6 at the beginning of the trial, were randomly divided into four groups. The first group, which served as control, received no brain training at all. The next two were given ten hours of classroom instruction on how to improve memory or reasoning. The last group performed something called speed-of-processing training” by playing a kind of video game for ten hour-long sessions spread over five weeks.

A decade into the study, some of the participants received extra training. 14 percent of the group who received no training met the criteria for dementia, 12.1 percent did in the group who received speed-of-processing training, and only 8.2 percent did in the group who received all possible training. “In all, the researchers calculated, those who completed at least some of these booster sessions were forty-eight-per-cent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia after ten years than their peers in the control group.”

Intriguing findings, and ones that have set off a good deal of media coverage. What sort of video game did ACTIVE use to get these results? The Wall Street Journal‘s Sumathi Reddy reports that “the exercise used in the study was developed by researchers but acquired by Posit Science, of San Francisco, in 2007,” who have gone on to market a version of it called Double Decision. In it, the player “must identify an object at the center of their gaze and simultaneously identify an object in the periphery,” like cars, signs, and other objects on a variety of landscapes. “As players get correct answers, the presentation time speeds up, distractors are introduced and the targets become more difficult to differentiate.”

You can see that game in action, and learn a little more about the study, in the Wall Street Journal video above. Effective brain-training video games remain in their infancy (and a few of the articles about ACTIVE's findings fail to mention Lumos Labs' $2 million payment to the government to settle charges that the company falsely claimed that their games could stave off dementia) but if the ones that work can harness the addictive power of an Angry Birds or a Candy Crush, we must prepare ourselves for a sharp generation of senior citizens indeed.

Note: The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Related Content:

This Is Your Brain on Exercise: Why Physical Exercise (Not Mental Games) Might Be the Best Way to Keep Your Mind Sharp

Daily Meditation Boosts & Revitalizes the Brain and Reduces Stress, Harvard Study Finds

Becoming Bilingual Can Give Your Brain a Boost: What Recent Research Has to Say

Dementia Patients Find Some Eternal Youth in the Sounds of AC/DC

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. He's at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer, the video series The City in Cinema, the crowdfunded journalism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los Angeles Review of Books' Korea Blog. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.

Playing a Video Game Could Cut the Risk of Dementia by 48%, Suggests a New Study is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooks, Free Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

 
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Photos of the Day: Aug. 9, 2016  

Explore the news of the day with these images from around the world.  
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Snapchat, Instagram Stories And The Internet Of Forgetting  
It's a response to a demand: on an internet that always remembers, we are fighting for places we can go to forget.  
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The Person In Charge Of Making Sure Our First Contact With Aliens Goes Well  
It's looking more and more likely that Mars might already be inhabited — by Martians. Very tiny ones. Which concerns Cassie Conley, whose full-time job at NASA is to make sure that we don't royally screw up our first encounter with aliens, however small.  
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Scoping Out Comic-Con With 'Lord Of The Rings' Superfan Margaret Atwood  
"Oh, there's Gandalf!” Margaret Atwood says in the closest her soft alto voice gets to a shout, pointing at a costumed nerd with a staff and a wizard's hat. She's on the floor of the annual Day-Glo carnivalslashtrade show that is Comic-Con International: San Diego, and the 76-year-old author is surprisingly calm among the hordes.  
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... by Jürgen Kramer  

... by Jürgen Kramer

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Jürgen Kramer: Photos

 
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Fears That 'Diverse & Qualified are Mutually Exclusive' Paralyze Change in Park Service  
A comprehensive assessment of the National Park Service in 2012 to determine how prepared it is to achieve its vision of a racially diverse and inclusive workforce, found the Service at Stage 2 (Awareness) on the six-stage Diversity Continuum. The Service identified workforce diversity as a key component for our national parks to remain relevant to the changing demographics and interests of the American public.

"...the time for action is now! By acting on the assessment's findings and recommendations today, the NPS will be strengthened for long term success, relevance, and sustainability," the report concluded urgently.

Today, on the eve of its 100th anniversary August 25, 2016, the Service and its sister agencies in the Department of Interior have made zero percentage gains in moving diversity forward, according to high ranking officials.

Many land managers hearing this news might roll their eyes and think it is inevitable, since for years they've told us that non-white Americans do not care about the national parks or nature. Executives have told me and Frank and other diversity leaders to our face,

"It's a 'problem' we really want to address but we don't know how. . . it is so difficult to know what to do... the community is not responding to us...." etc.


These images accompanying Dr.Carolyn Finney's current article in Outsideonline show a small cross section of game changing environmentalists of color.

It has become increasingly difficult to balance this viewpoint with the reality we know - that growing numbers of diverse land management professionals and youth are clamoring at the door for opportunity and most often being turned away. The Green 2.0 Report of 2014 identified a persistent "green ceiling" that keeps participation of non-whites in environmental employment or decision making around 16%, while we're approaching 40% of the general population.

While the park service and other land managers posit non-white Americans as the problems, turning the lens inside the service shows the shocking reality. The 2012 assessment of approximately one third of the Park Service's workforce revealed:

"Diversity" and "Qualified" are seen as mutually exclusive.

Many respondents view the NPS culture as risk averse, highly bureaucratic, and too hierarchical to implement change.

Employees assessed felt that the agency's 100 year-old traditions determine rather than influence today's decision.

The NPS "experience" from cradle to grave is almost a requirement for success at the NPS and is highly valued.

Inclusion and diversity are not consistently seen as a priority at the park level...

Employees expressed a lack of confidence that changes will be made, based on past experience.

As a lover of the Park System, it could break my heart that four years since this assessment and recommendations, only minimal progress has been made in diversifying the workforce upon which the sustainability of the system depends. President Obama has made tremendous gains in expanding the System to include units that honor the contributions of a diverse spectrum of America, including the Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez and Stonewall National Monuments; promoting Every Kid in a Park that privileges 4th Graders to take their families to the parks for free, and programs such as Fresh Tracks enabling young urbanites from the Lower 48 to connect with their peers and environment in Alaska.

But the structural/cultural underpinning of the Service that determines who gets to know about our parks, who gets to work in them, what stories are told and who gets to feel intimately that they "belong" to us, urgently needs to change. Trumpeting the Centennial when this vital sustainability change has not been made makes me think of caretakers at the Tower of London throwing themselves a big anniversary party while the Crown Jewels are in jeopardy. It wouldn't happen.


Members of the Next100 Coalition including Angelou Ezeilo (4th from left) and members of her Greening Youth Foundation Historically Black Colleges & Universities Initiative (HBCUI) Leaders met with Secretary Sally Jewell (center) at the Department of the Interior last Friday and asked her to support our request for a Presidential Memo.

I am very appreciative of the great job the Park Service does in taking care of our parks, and some of my best friends are among these high caliber public servants. Yet from the vantage point of 20 years' involvement with our national parks and the desire to see my fellow Americans' lives and the future of our parks improved through a mutual relationship, I must insist on changes being made. We cannot risk 'more of the same' that will leave us at the same place of aspiration in 2116. We know this is possible as we today we are hearing exactly the same statements made about "goals," and "challenges" that we've heard since 1995.


Devin Lightner, a member of the HBCUI which works in partnership with the Park Service is interning at the Statue of Liberty and looking forward to a career protecting our public lands. Founder Ezeilo said that with approximately 40 positions in the 3-year old program, she had more than 2000 eager applicants this year.


It's an arduous process to secure a job with the National Park Service, involving navigating the daunting JobsUSA application platform which managers tell us challenge even them. It often requires serving as volunteers or working on a seasonal basis for many years, and includes a preference for Veterans of our Armed Forces. The retirement of almost 25% of its workforce projected for the end of this year creates opportunities to employ a wider spectrum of the American public, but it will not happen if the current environment persists inside the service.

Bottom line is that our national parks - the source of the jobs that current leaders seem to feel are only suited to white Americans - will disappear if we do not develop a more inclusive constituency that loves and supports them.

For the benefit of our parks, our people and our country, it's time for park leaders to have a "come to Jesus" moment where we embrace long overdue change and refuse to enter the second 100 years with the same pejorative attitudes. That's why Frank and I have joined the Next100 Coalition asking President Obama to issue a Presidential Memo on the Centennial, laying out a vision for the next century of parks. The Memo proposes proven ways for the Service to become more inclusive and to be held accountable.

Please join me in helping create that change by supporting the Next 100 Coalition's petition to President Obama here.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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Plan to replant millions of trees in central England in trouble  
Some 8.5 million trees have been planted in central England under the National Forest scheme, but the rate of planting has dwindled here's why  
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Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bridge  

The death of a family pet is difficult, especially when you have to make the awful decision to put your pet down. When the time came for my family to make that decision last month, I was not expecting it to be as difficult for me as it was, and the moment we made it, shit got real — cue the Flo Rida song, “Going Down For Real” (too soon?).

If you have ever read anything I've written, or talked to me at any length, you will know I am not a proponent of extending life just because we can. Having been a critical care nurse for a short while, I have seen the suffering that is caused by doing “everything possible.” Animals are lucky; they are allowed to be humanely euthanized when they no longer enjoy any quality of life. As firm believers in this, my wife and I knew we had to make that difficult end-of-life decision for our dog. If it was me, I'd beg to be humanely put down, so please remember this post when my time comes!

Almost 15 years ago, my wife decided to surprise me with a puppy. She had been searching the pet adoption site, Petfinder.com, for months for the “perfect” dog, and she found her in Staten Island, NY. So, one brisk, clear weekend morning in October, with me sick with the flu, we drove 1.5 hours north from Philly to NY. When we pulled up, we spotted ourselves an adorable 9-week-old, fawn-colored pit bull puppy waddling along outside. It was love at first sight and a forever home for that puppy.

We spotted ourselves an adorable 9-week-old, fawn-colored pit bull puppy waddling along outside. It was love at first sight and a forever home for that puppy.

Like all excited new parents, we showed her off to everyone we could think of that day, going from place to place. We ended up at my in-law's house, where she was given the name Scout, after the character in Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird (our daughter, born 10 years later was to be named Harper after Ms. Lee herself). 

For the first few weeks we did nothing but sit on the floor with Scout for hours playing with her and loving on her. For us, she was the epitome of a perfect puppy. But we have a biased home when it comes to pit bulls. As anyone who has owned a pit bull can attest, they truly are the sweetest of dogs. Dating back to the 1900s, pit bulls were considered “nanny dogs,” due to their sweet temperament and intelligence. And our Scout was no exception!

Over the years Scout grew to become a 75-lb. lap dog who just wanted to be with her people. She loved to sit up front with us in the car, lay on top of us on the couch, and sleep between us in our bed! She was gentle to the point of complete passiveness with kids and people alike, she adored cats, and she loved the dogs who had grown up with her. The only time Scout ever growled at a person was when she sensed her people were in trouble and needed protecting. We had a visitor outstay their welcome in our home once and the situation became tense; Scout let the visitor know it was time to go! We were so proud of her and from then on we knew she would always protect us — as we would her!

When our daughter was born, the love affair between dog and child began. Scout and Harper loved each unconditionally from the time Harper was born until the day Scout passed. After Scout died, we went through our old photos. One after the other was of Harper and Scout — hugging each other in the car, in the back yard, on the couch, at the park — different locations, but same big smiles, same embrace, same unconditional love. They did this together for more than 10 years. The sweetest, most genuine of relationships: a girl and her dog. A dog and her girl. 

Scout started visibly declining in November of last year, and then slowly over the following months she became less and less mobile and having more and more visits to the vet. Then finally, after a week of not eating, not going for walks, throwing up and having diarrhea, we came home one evening to find Scout sitting in a puddle of diarrhea, either unable to get up or unaware, or maybe a little of both. It was then we knew it was time.

We decided to euthanize Scout at home, in the place she knew and felt most safe. I called Lap of Love Hospice Care to come to the house that next day and do the deed. Not wanting Scout to be alone that night, I slept in the kitchen on the floor with her, wishing she would just die in her sleep.

It was the hardest decision of my adult life. But in the end, it was the best decision we could have made for Scout...

The next day she was visited, and utterly spoiled, by many of the people who knew her as a puppy and who loved her over the many years of her life. When 5 o'clock rolled around, and the fateful knock at the door came, I lost it — we all did! It was the hardest decision of my adult life. But in the end, it was the best decision we could have made for Scout, and as my sister stated on her Facebook page later that day: “Steak and potatoes and vanilla ice cream surrounded by friends and family, not a bad last day on earth! Love you Scout Dog!”

I wasn't expecting to be so emotional, and was completely caught off guard by the depth of sadness I felt in the hours and days following. After all, Scout lived a long, happy life and it was time. I pride myself on being a realist and understanding the doctrine of impermanence. I also have a pretty good grasp of the realities of life and death being a resuscitation scientist. But all of that was out the window, I was a hot mess! I missed her and that was all there was to it. I still do. It has taken me multiple tries to even write this post. 

After Scout died and her body was taken away, we were sitting in our kitchen, looking out at our back yard through our sliding glass doors. A cardinal flew into our yard, sat for a moment and then flew away. My wife became quite excited — apparently seeing a cardinal is a sign of hope when someone dies... momentary solace for a bunch of skeptics! 

When we are ready, our family has decided to foster shelter dogs instead of adopting, at least at first. In the U.S., approximately 2.4 million adoptable dogs (and cats) are put down every year, about one EVERY 13 seconds! Which means there are many dogs that need a good home and we have a good home that will always need a dog (or two)!  

For now, we will remember our incredible dog Scout, knowing that she has gone over the Rainbow Bridge — a term I just learned during this ordeal taken from a poem of the same name — and as the poem says, “So long gone from [our] life but never absent from [our] heart[s].”

We love you Scout dog!

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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A Day In The Operating Room -- Time Warps For A Cardiac Bypass Patient  


In medicine, there is a saying that the training is onerous but the rewards are many. More often than not, these rewards come coated in a myriad of shapes, including lucrative incentives, personal gratification, warm contentment, and a sated joy among many others. For many physicians, a last wound-closure of the day, a smile on their patients' faces, and warm, heartfelt regards from them carry immense significance. Yet, for many others, lucrative incentives seal their fate, becoming a bane to the integrity of the medical profession as a whole.

Medicine ought to be a profession of compassion, empathy and sincerity, first and foremost. Focus too much on medicine's lucrative decoys, and you reap the worst possible crop: a warped focus. For many physicians in Pakistan--especially those that work in the private sector--this certainly seems to be the case. Delving into the 4 months I spent shadowing a Cardiothoracic surgeon, who I will not name, will delineate a picture of Pakistan's medical care sector that is astoundingly perturbing but simultaneously essential to highlight.

On my first day of shadowing, I entered the OR where a cardiac-bypass procedure was underway. With the surgical tools all lined up neatly on the surgeon's desk, I keenly observed the surgeon deftly make his first incision, focusing and precociously planning his next move, much like a chess player at work. As I watched the process take place seamlessly, a frenetic banging on the OR door rendered me agape--startled. Midway through the procedure, a hospital chief surgeon interrupted, "This patient has not paid all his dues. In addition, there is no guarantee that he will be able to afford the cost later either since his cosigner has now declined to afford the costs of his treatment". With my jaw wide agape, still, I noted the befuddled expression on the surgeon's face. In response, the surgeon exclaimed, "Let me finish the procedure; we can talk about this issue later on." Yet, despite the surgeon's response, which boasted a hint of disappointment, the chief kept arguing, subtracting from the crucial time the patient had left. However, despite the chief's order to stop the surgery midway through due to non-payment, the surgeon carried on, undeterred. There are two types of physicians, I assume. There are physicians that lust solely for lucrative incentives that come entrenched in medicine; yet, at the same time, there are physicians that have an empathic conscience. The chief surgeon indubitably belonged to the first category, and so, midway through the procedure, walked out the OR, ordered the staff, I assume, to turn off the life-support machine for the OR we were in, and then continued with his daily roaster, assured--and proud, no less--of his ostensible boldness.

Within the OR I was in, I promise, a hubbub besieged us. With scalpels clattering, hands a blur, and the surgeon's cacophonous shrieks now omnipresent, I fell into a reverie of brooding, introspection and perusal, feeling a sense of doom which was novel to me. "Why on earth would someone actively do, or even come close to doing something as cold-blooded as what the chief surgeon did? What could be his rationale? Is money more important than a poor man's life? Or was this man's blood, who was now about to evaporate from earth, cheaper than mine, or the chief surgeon's?" But the more potential reasons I came up with to see any sane justification in the chief's doing, the more I despised the chief's repugnant, vile course of action.

In the end, like an autumn tree, bare and dejected--on the verge of collapse--I left the OR with the realization that I had seen a man die in front of myself--not because of his disease, but because of his financial status.

For me, the word medicine thus conjures images of selfishness, apathy and indifference--traits that even every individual should expunge from his/her persona, leave alone a physician. But at the same time, the word medicine also brings a ray of hope, and a realization of the amends that must be made. Maybe if not now, later. If not me, maybe someone else. But such brutality must terminate eventually, for it can not possibly sustain a people of any nation, race or sect.

For me, medicine is a double-edged word; while it hurls such obscure images of cold-bloodedness towards my face, it also motivates me to grow, to observe, and to learn so that I may be able to positively contribute--even if to an infinitesimal extent--toward overcoming this wrongdoing someway, somehow, someday.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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How the Microbes Inside Us Went From Enemies To Purported Superhealers  

Science writer Ed Yong talks about his new book, which looks at diet and the microbiome and whether poop transplants and probiotics are all they're cracked up to be.

 
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Watch hot 'stars' shower ... again. It's Perseid meteor showtime  

Pretty than normal with a little help from friendly gas giant

Glowing meteors streaking across the night sky marks the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower which is expected to be an even more striking spectacle this year, thanks to Jupiter.…

 
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r0B0t: The Science Guy - Big Think  

Big Think

The Science Guy Big Think People already use automated trains, elevators, and most planes have some kind of autopilot system. In the more developed countries, that is. In less developed countries, the idea of robots taking over isn't nearly as scary. Outside of major cities ... and more »

 
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r0B0t: Four ways that artificial intelligence can benefit universities - Times Higher Education (THE) (blog)  

Times Higher Education (THE) (blog)

Four ways that artificial intelligence can benefit universities Times Higher Education (THE) (blog) We need AI systems that move beyond the machine learning and neural network techniques that dominate the work of the main AI protagonists within and beyond education, such as "robot tutor" Knewton and Google's game-playing algorithm, DeepMind. and more »

 
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Why You Should Give Yourself One Night Each Week  
One of the more recent steps I've taken to increase my happiness is to start going to a regular dance class. I sat down and wrote a list of things that made me happy, and then considered how I could do more of them. Climbing and dancing were right up there on the list. Then I was lucky enough to find this total beginners dance class which is very silly and very fun. I also started swing dancing and found a gang of people to climb with.

I'd say spending one evening a week dancing and one evening climbing has made a massive difference to my happiness. I feel much better in my skin because my body is used to exercise, and I've also made some really nice new friends. It also has a lasting effect across the rest of the week. Even when the rest of my life feels a bit gloomy, I'm looking forward to Tuesday evenings to get my swag on. (That's what Beyoncé calls it. I'm not 100% sure I've used the term correctly. Don't judge.)

Can I encourage you all to take a moment out of your day to watch this cockatoo getting his swag on to Backstreet's Back. You might have watched it before, but it's worth a repeat. Apparently there are very few animals that can actually dance, i.e. move spontaneously to a beat - mainly different types of parrot and the odd Asian elephant. But we humans are at it all over the world. Dance seems to be a natural instinct for us, with almost all human cultures having developed some form of dance. Apparently the evolutionary reason for this may be to spot genetically robust mates, to ward off other people from your mate, and/or to foster a sense of community.

To be honest, none of these fully feel like they capture the whole picture. For me, there is something about switching off the analytical part of my brain and putting my focus into moving instead that feels amazing. Also, there is a big difference between how I feel practicing a dance move to a teacher saying "ONE two three four, ONE two three four" to when they play the music and switch it up loud. Suddenly I get a jolt of energy and joy and just let rip.

There is a lot of evidence that dancing is good for you, physically and mentally. In fact, one study even indicated an 8-week tango course has comparable effects to an 8-week meditation course, decreasing depression and increasing satisfaction with life, effects that were maintained even a month after the courses ended. Another study showed reduced depression following salsa lessons, though over half the participants dropped out - a common problem in my experience with dance classes.

I've also seen evidence that dancing can help with cognitive health, as anything does which requires you to learn new stuff, and memorise things, e.g. complicated moves. It also helps with decision making as you have to decide which move to make next, and seems to delay dementia. And the range of movement and balance required in most dances mean it is particularly good exercise for the body.

Although there is lots of research implying dance is the bees knees, I don't think it has to be dance to get the happiness hit. If anything, my climbing evening is more important to me. I just think the key is to spend one night a week doing something purely for your own enjoyment, especially if you feel like you are improving at it. We can be blocked by the fear of having to face a class full of new people or worrying we won't know the right steps. But it can transform your week, even when you have to drag yourself out after a tough day at work.  
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Books We Digg: What To Read Before Summer Is Over  
Here are some of our very favorite books to soak up and squeeze out the last bits of summer.  
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ExxonMobil Takes the Olympic Gold in Deceitful Advertising  
ExxonMobil wants you to know that it has a long "to-do" list.

In an ad it debuted during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on Friday night, the world's largest oil company presented itself as nothing more than a merry band of do-gooders who were "mapping the oceans," "turning algae into biofuel," and "defeating malaria."

"And you thought we just made the gas," joked a woman at the end, giving us a knowing smile.

And you thought we just made the gas. #EnergyLivesHere pic.twitter.com/4328aORwot

— ExxonMobil (@exxonmobil) August 5, 2016

By now we've learned that Exxon does a lot more than make the gas: they make a lot of hot air, as well. Thanks to an expose last fall by journalists at InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times, we learned that as early as the 1970s, Exxon scientists had concluded that the continued use of their product, fossil fuels, would have a devastating impact on the climate.

Instead of warning the public--say, by buying an ad during the Olympics--company executives buried the results and pumped millions of dollars into misleading the public about global warming, while lobbying against political efforts to deal with the problem.

Exxon didn't admit what they knew about global warming because addressing the crisis would require them to change their core business: drilling for more oil and gas. Exxon was a fossil fuel company, full stop, and despite any fancy advertising, that's exactly what they are today. At their 2015 shareholder meeting Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson famously batted down shareholder requests to diversify the company's portfolio to include renewable energy, saying simply, "We choose not to lose money on purpose." (Exxon then went on to post its lowest profits in years as oil prices plummeted). This year, the company defeated similar shareholder resolutions urging them to move away from fossil fuels or even just report on the company's climate impact.

None of this has stopped Exxon from pretending it's really just a philanthropic entity with a little oil business on the side. It's a textbook move of corporate greenwashing, just like BP renaming itself "Beyond Petroleum" or Chevron touting their efforts in energy efficiency.

With Exxon under investigation by multiple state Attorneys General for potentially lying about climate change, it's no wonder they're investing so heavily in advertising.

"Having a prominent corporate responsibility message helps you defend against people who are attacking you in the court of public opinion," a marketing consultant told the New York Times back in 2009, when oil companies were rushing to improve their image around the Copenhagen climate talks. "Companies realize the court of public opinion is very important to them. They need in a sense to project their virtues."

Those virtues are often grossly overstated. While it's laudable that Exxon puts millions into fighting malaria, for instance, the money is fractions-of-pennies on the dollar when it comes to the amount they're spending on searching for more fossil fuels. And in the long run, it's those fossil fuels that may have the larger impact on the disease: numerous studies have shown that unchecked climate change will expand the range of mosquito born diseases and other health disasters.

Exxon deserves some credit for its good deeds, but those few acts of altruism don't outweigh the company's crimes. We don't give a bankrobber a Get Out of Jail Free card for planting a couple daisies on his way back from the heist. We're not going to let Exxon off the hook for producing a few nice advertisements while they continue to try and rob us of a safe climate future.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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Contamination from marine mammals may hamper recovery of California condors  
Biologists have discovered high levels of pesticides and other contaminants from marine mammals in the tissues of endangered California condors living near the coast that they say could complicate recovery efforts for the largest land bird in North America.  
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WATCH: Lessons In Wound Healing From Our Favorite Fly  

You may know the caddis fly as a fishing lure. But bioengineers hunting a better way to seal wounds and set bones say the larvae of these insects have a few tricks we should try to mimic.

 
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Thomas Telford Scientist of the Day Thomas Telford, a British...  











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Thomas Telford Scientist of the Day

Thomas Telford, a British civil engineer, was born Aug. 9, 1757.  

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“Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), and counter-proposals by Namibia and Zimbabwe to…” https://t.co/iJ5tAEyDIB 
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r0B0t: This robot lawyer helps the newly evicted file for housing aid - Washington Post  

Washington Post

This robot lawyer helps the newly evicted file for housing aid Washington Post He's the creator of DoNotPay, an online robot that has successfully challenged over 160,000 parking tickets for drivers in London and New York City. Following the success of ... “Automation can be helpful, but it can also be incredibly flawed. A lot of ...

 
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r0B0t: Dyson 360 Eye vacuum review: the robot that sucks (but in a good way)  

British cleaner maker's first robot vacuum was worth waiting for, but costs a lot, can't do the stairs and isn't perfect despite being the best available right now

Dyson's 360 Eye robot vacuum cleaner has finally been released in the UK after an extensive trial in Japan and it claims to be the best available. How does it stack up against the market leading Roomba and is it really worth buying?

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