Topic: Energy, Environment

On this episode of IEEE Spectrum, learn about controlling a computer mouse by voice, a better alternative to electroshock therapy, and citizen clean water activism. A new software program designed to compliment voice recognition software lets users control a mouse by making vowel sounds and clicks. Also, magnetic seizure therapy has been as effective as electroshock therapy in patients who don't respond to medication, but without the threat of amnesia.

A panel of experts -- Thomas Deichmann of Novo magazine, Julie Hill of Green Alliance, author Julia Hailes, and spiked magazine's Rob Lyons -- debate the importance of recycling. Those against argue that recycling at the household level doesn't lead to the perceived benefits, but instead wastes more money and precious time. Those in favor argue that we are nearing a resource crisis that can be mitigated by the re-use of recycled material. Due to brief profanity, this program may not be appropriate for work or family listening.

People in the developing world expend more than a quarter of their potential earnings on energy. Economic development, environmental health and global stability all hinge on wise management of global energy resources. David Goldwyn and David Dollar paint a positive picture on what developing countries and governments in the west can do to improve energy use abroad and at home.

A high speed wireless network deployed throughout rural areas of San Diego county has changed both the quantity and quality of research done there. Most prominent is the repurposing of the Palomar telescope to rapidly respond to astronomical events. Following that is a review of some of the best tech toys of 2007.

How does an organization not only promote green and sustainable products but also conduct business in a socially responsible way? As part of Stanford's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, leaders of three pioneering enterprises talk about how they integrate fair trade, sustainable design, green purchasing, and public/private partnerships into every aspect of their business. They offer advice for other organizations, and share how they are working to promote social responsibility in their respective industries.

The Gap monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries, and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually to make sure its suppliers are operating according to ethical guidelines. In this talk, part of Stanford's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, the executive who oversees this inspection process, as well as the company's community investment and environmental affairs efforts, outlines the Gap's corporate responsibility programs--highlighting progress, challenges, and where the organization hopes to be in the future.

Reconstruction of the electric grid in Iraq is seen as the most important project in that country. Over $60 billion have been pledged, but even three years after the end of the war, there is still a long ways to go. IEEE Spectrum executive editor Glenn Zorpette discusses the progress and challenges, both technological and political, facing the reconstruction effort there.

Now that global warming is recognized as a real and serious problem, discussion is turning to practical challenges of reducing emissions in the long term. In this talk, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Rick Duke, director of the Center for Market Innovation, discusses a new report by McKinsey & Company that considers how to address the problem affordably. Duke outlines some of the emerging technologies and public policy changes that will be needed to support such a process.

According to Yale University Professor Charles Perrow, it is time to start learning from recent natural disasters in the United States like Hurricane Katrina. On this edition of IEEE Spectrum Radio, Perrow asserts that instead of simply responding to natural disasters, we should be reducing our vulnerability to them.

In parts of Nicaragua, nearly 80 percent of the population goes without electricity, leaving them cut off from critical opportunities for betterment and development. Kriss Deiglmeier, executive director of the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, interviews Mathias Craig, founder of blueEnergy, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing electricity to marginalized communities in this region of the world. The project won the 2007 Accenture Award for economic development, administered by the Tech Museum.