Bieinewsviews11.17.13

BIE iNews Views Climate change is threatening humans because polar bears are spending more time on land looking for food. Small cities along the Canadian coast of the Hudson Bay are being inundated with bears, especially at night. Many of the polar bears in Canada are experiencing symptoms of malnutrition because they haven’t been able to eat their normal number of seals. Reduced ice floes are the result of earlier than expected spring thaws. As the bears’ habitat melts away, their populations will dwindle because of higher than normal cub deaths. Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan are now dying in hospitals because of a lack of medicine, food, electricity, and potable water. Farmers rice crops were destroyed by the storm surge and coconut trees that provide basic sustenance will not be able to produce any coconuts for several years because of damage from the typhoon. Coconuts propelled by the wind caused extensive damage to people and property. Aid from neighboring countries and the U.S. Navy is reaching some victims but many remain isolated in small villages without power or communication. Facebook is powering its new electricity-hungry data center in Wellsburg, Iowa with huge wind turbines that will generate more than enough energy. Locating the servers in this area was a wise move since the conditions should produce a surplus of energy. Google is also looking into green wind-powered data centers and Microsoft is launching a facility powered by microbes. The Korean and Russian presidents met at the closing ceremony of a Korea-Russia Dialogue Forum where the theme was “Korea-Russia cooperation in the era of Eurasia.” Both leaders expressed the desire to achieve peace, stability and co-prosperity in Northeast Asia. Agenda items included security on the Korean Peninsula and cooperation in creative industries. The CIA is now “manned by” a host of female spies and executives that make up half of the total workforce. New roles for women at the CIA include targeting teams that helped take down al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking terrorist figures. The agency’s work/life balance has improved, which benefits both male and female employees. Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale 2013 is the world’s largest ceramic-themed festival. Hosted in Icheon, the spacious venue has a unique exhibit area for 20 international artists from China, Turkey, the U.S., France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. Also exhibited are traditional Korean and Chinese white porcelain. The festival runs through November 17.