first Judicial appointments in Trump’s first three years: Myths and realities By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:59:35 +0000 A December 24 presidential tweet boasted “187 new Federal Judges have been confirmed under the Trump Administration, including two great new United States Supreme Court Justices. We are shattering every record!” That boast has some truth but, to put it charitably, a lot of exaggeration. Compared to recent previous administrations at this same early-fourth-year point… Full Article
first U.S. Embassy Pakistan: First to Pass One Million Fans on Facebook By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan has just cracked a diplomatic milestone: becoming the first mission in the world to pass one million fans on Facebook. Its rise to top spot has been swift. The embassy only decided to make social media a priority in late 2011. Following a request to Washington for technical assistance… Full Article Uncategorized
first First Step to Literacy: Getting Books in the Hands of Children By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:07:00 -0500 Being able to read and write is the most basic foundation of knowledge accumulation and further skill development. Without literacy, there can be no quality education. Presently, 1 in 5 adults is illiterate, two-thirds of whom are women. At the current pace, over 700 million adults worldwide will still not be able to read in 2015. [1] In global education discussions, literacy rates are most often reported for adolescents and adults, an ex post facto measure of the failure of primary school systems to impart basic skills in the most formative schooling years. It is clear that much needs to be done to provide these adolescents and adults with access to successful literacy programs. But we must also ensure that children with access to schooling are not growing up to be illiterate.Children enrolled and regularly attending school for the first three grades should be able to read basic text. Evidence shows that acquiring this ability to read sets students up for further learning, enabling them to read and comprehend progressively more advanced materials and acquire additional knowledge.As explained in our earlier policy brief, data from numerous countries show that children in school are failing to acquire the most basic of skills, measured as the ability to read words of connected text. We called for a global paradigm shift that places learning at the center of the global education discourse. This shift requires the major bilateral and multilateral actors to refocus their own efforts on supporting learning in the classroom and measuring progress by increased learning outcomes. There has been some progress here, such as USAID’s goal to improve reading skills for primary school children in its new education strategy and the World Bank’s Education Strategy 2020, Learning for All: investing in people’s knowledge and skills to promote development.This shift of focus also requires substantial changes on the ground, including encouraging and supporting a culture of literacy and learning at the community level. For example, Gove and Cvelich highlight some main factors contributing to low reading levels, including a lack of support for teachers, limited instructional time, poorly resourced schools, the absence of books in the home and policies regarding the language of instruction. [2] In Mali, a recent survey found that three-quarters of grade 2 students did not have a textbook and no student had supplementary reading books at school. [3] In The Gambia, the vast majority of students who demonstrated a level of reading fluency said that they had books at home. Globally, in both developed and developing economies, a relatively consistent proxy for “parental commitment to education” is the number of books in the home. A 20-year study of 27 countries found that children growing up in homes with many books get three years more schooling than their peers who come from homes without books. [4] There is no one-size-fits-all solution to improving the quality of education in developing countries. However, there is plenty of room for innovation to address some of the biggest barriers to improving reading levels, including availability of appropriate reading materials at school and at home. In disadvantaged communities, where there are relatively few books and even fewer books in local languages and that deal with culturally-relevant topics, innovation is needed to help develop a robust culture of literacy.One such innovation is Worldreader.org’s iRead pilot in Ghana, which has put hundreds of e-readers into children’s hands. A lot has been written on similar classroom technology in developing countries, which cite examples of supplying hardware to schools without plans for its educational use, promoting technology from a single company, insufficient planning for sustainability, and inadequate investment in time to train teachers and administrators who will be the purveyors of the technology initiatives in the classrooms. [5]However, the important difference between this e-reader program and similar projects focused on putting computers in classrooms is that e-readers usually operate on the mobile phone system, which has exploded in developing regions over the last few years. In Kenya, more than 80 percent of the population has mobile phone network coverage and more than half of the population has purchased a mobile phone subscription. The GSM compatibility of e-readers allows for downloading of new reading materials wherever there is mobile phone coverage and sufficient funds available to purchase new texts. E-readers also have relatively low levels of energy consumption (a one-hour charge can last more than a week). In addition to gaining the support of community leaders and teachers from the beginning, the pilot began with intense in-service training for teachers in how to use e-readers to complement their existing curricula. While Worldreader.org has not solved all of the challenges posed by technology initiatives in education, it has taken some important steps toward addressing the barriers to project success. [6]The organization has also tackled specific challenges that are impeding reading success in the early primary grades:Additional support for emergent readers. E-readers provide additional support to teachers in teaching children how to read, an important supplement in primary school classrooms in low-income countries where there may be 40 or 50 students per teacher. In such cases, students are required to work independently or in small groups while the teacher is working with other students. The text-to-speech feature on e-readers can read books aloud to the student, exposing her to the written text as she hears it read aloud. Students can also use the downloaded dictionary while reading to look up unfamiliar words and continue to read without adult assistance.Students and teachers get to choose. While paper books donated by schools, libraries, and individuals from around the world have helped to get written materials into low-resource schools in developing countries, e-books allow students and teachers in developing countries to choose which books they teach and read. Although choices now are restricted by the dominance of English in the e-book market, the potential for the expansion of the digital market represents a step toward greater agency for teachers and students. Working with local publishers to increase access to books for emergent readers. Children learning to read need access to the types of books that engage their imagination and spark their interest. For children learning to read, this means stories with simple sentences in their local language. Yet, traditionally children’s books are not a good economic bet for publishers, particularly in developing countries. The high cost of printing the books are not recouped since so many families cannot purchase copies for their own household use. However, distributing books in e-reader format will actually allow publishers to reach more customers at a lower cost. To bring more books to the developing world through e-readers and e-books, Worldreader.org seeks to support a self-sustaining reading and publishing culture by working with local publishers to digitize books and materials to support local language curricula.Portability can increase reading opportunities. Anecdotal reports from classroom teachers in the Ghanaian pilot frequently reference how students would not stop reading, pulling out their e-readers in between lessons, during recess and lunch, and after school with friends, parents and siblings. An International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement study on reading literacy in 32 countries found that the amount of voluntary book reading that students did during out-of-school time was strongly positively related to students’ achievement levels. [7]While the pilot is still in the early stages, the founders of the project are focused on the essential outcomes. Their USAID-funded impact study seeks to find out whether children are reading more than they were before the program and whether children read better than they were before the program. Measuring program success by understanding the impact on learning outcomes is a critical step for shifting the global education paradigm to one focused on learning. [1] UNESCO. (2010). EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010: Reaching the Marginalized. Paris: UNESCO. [2] Gove, A., and P. Cvelich, (2010). Early Reading: Igniting Education for All. A report by the Early Grades Learning Community of Practice. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute. [3] Evans, 2010[4] M.D.R. Evans, Jonathan Kelley, Joanna Sikora, Donald J. Treiman. “Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.rssm.2010.01.002 The study controls for education levels, occupations, and socio-economic status of the parents. [5] For example, Trucano, M. “Worst practice in ICT use in education,” 2010, accessed at http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/worst-practice [6] Some of the core challenges identified by Worldreader.org and others include the upfront costs of e-readers, need for on-going training and support to teachers, students, and communities, buy-in of school systems and local governments to deploy technology and content, insufficient relevant materials in e-book format, and consistent access to electricity and mobile networks. [7] Elley, W.B. (Ed.). (1994). The IEA Study of Reading Literacy: Achievement and Instruction in Thirty-two School Systems. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Downloads Download Paper Authors Anda AdamsJacques van der Gaag Image Source: © Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters Full Article
first Which city economies did COVID-19 damage first? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 20:42:45 +0000 Since the United States first witnessed significant community spread of the coronavirus in March, each week has brought a fresh round of devastating economic news. From skyrocketing unemployment claims to new estimates of contracting GDP in the first quarter of 2020, there has been little respite from the growing awareness that COVID-19 is exacting unprecedented… Full Article
first The First 100 Hours: A Preview of the New Congress and its Agenda By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Democrats, who reclaimed a majority in Congress for the first time in 12 years, have planned an ambitious slate of new business in the House of Representatives.House-speaker elect Nancy Pelosi of California has vowed to address key policy areas such as the budget, ethics, minimum wage, homeland security, and higher education in the first 100… Full Article
first First Thing We Do, Let’s Deregulate All the Lawyers By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 14 May 2013 20:02:51 +0000 Not many Americans think of the legal profession as a monopoly, but it is. Abraham Lincoln, who practiced law for nearly twenty-five years, would likely not have been allowed to practice today. Without a law degree from an American Bar Association–sanctioned institution, a would-be lawyer is allowed to practice law in only a few states. […] Full Article
first First Steps Toward a Quality of Climate Finance Scorecard (QUODA-CF): Creating a Comparative Index to Assess International Climate Finance Contributions By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Executive Summary Are climate finance contributor countries, multilateral aid agencies and specialized funds using widely accepted best practices in foreign assistance? How is it possible to measure and compare international climate finance contributions when there are as yet no established metrics or agreed definitions of the quality of climate finance? As a subjective metric, quality… Full Article
first Presidential leadership in the first year By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 02 Dec 2016 19:12:23 +0000 The first year in office presents a unique window of opportunity for a new president to advance his agenda and pass signature legislation. President Obama’s first year for instance saw the passage of the economic stimulus, Dodd-Frank, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, along with new ethics guidelines designed to curtail the influence of… Full Article
first First Packaging-Free, Zero-Waste Grocery Store In US Coming To Austin, Texas By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:51:05 -0400 It's gotten harder and harder over the years to avoid excess packaging when shopping for everyday items, but plans are in the works for a store in Austin (also the home of Whole Foods) that will specialize in local and organic Full Article Living
first First residential building certified to the Fitwel standard By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 03 May 2018 11:15:36 -0400 Fitwel is all about healthy living, and it's going to be big. Full Article Design
first California Utility Opens First Sustainable Campus as Model Utility Site By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:44:45 -0500 Burbank Water & Power opens a sustainable power plant campus as a model for re-adapting industrial sites from water reclamation to solar Full Article Design
first A major U.S. utility company just pledged to go carbon-free for the first time in American history By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 06 Dec 2018 09:00:00 -0500 Are the tables finally starting to turn? Full Article Business
first Sydney Becomes Australia's First Carbon-Neutral Government Body By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:41:29 -0400 Last month the City of Sydney declared that it had become Australia’s first carbon neutral government. It is important to note that whilst the total area of this southern metropolis is said to be equal to the size of London Full Article Business
first Australia's First Green Star Public Housing Project Opens in Sydney By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 07:38:53 -0500 Green Star is to Australian commercial and government buildings, what LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is to American structures of a similar ilk. The 5 Green Star rated Lilyfield Housing Redevelopment in inner Full Article Design
first First-Ever Geoengineering Research Ban Considered by Convention on Biological Diversity By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:05:00 -0400 While preservation of the planet's dwindling biodiversity itself has rightly grabbed the headlines at the ongoing Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan, Science Insider points out an important geoengineering Full Article Science
first Not much to see in Vancouver's first Passive House apartment block By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 27 Apr 2018 10:36:02 -0400 And that's just the way the architect and developer like it. Full Article Design
first First ever United Nations Environment Assembly to shape Sustainable Development Goals By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:30:01 -0400 Delegates from United Nations member states meet to discuss a global environmental agenda. Full Article Business
first Norway Becomes First Country to Ban Fur from Fashion Week By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Jan 2011 08:39:49 -0500 It is now 2011 which means Fashion Week in New York is just around the corner. Making news abroad, Norway has banned fur from the biannual Oslo Fashion Week, Ecouterre reports (via Huffington Post) making them the first country to Full Article Living
first Feds Grant Ocean Power Technologies Permit to Build First Commercial Wave Farm in U.S. By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:06:30 -0400 Wave power is a promising source of clean energy, but it is usually overlooked because wind and solar power are farther along. Full Article Energy
first World's first hybrid wind/current generator could generate double the power By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 12:43:51 -0400 A new kind of hybrid generator promises to double the power output for the same surface area, by also harvesting energy from ocean currents. Full Article Technology
first Tennessee Town Passes Nation's First Green Food Resolution By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:47:00 -0500 Beating out New York City, the small Tennessee town of Signal Mountain is the first in the nation to pass a Green Food Resolution. But, just what does a Green Food Resolution mean for farmers, consumers, and Full Article Living
first Surprise! UT First To Electrify Bike Sharing in the U.S. By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:11:13 -0400 The obvious goodness of pairing pedal assist electric bikes with a bike sharing infrastructure is one of these great ideas whose time has come. In Tokyo, Sanyo recently installed 100 of their eneloop battery powered e-bikes at a "community" bike share Full Article Transportation
first World First: Environmental Law Appeal To Be Argued Over Twitter By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:45:00 -0500 A "moot court" will be held over Twitter for the first time ever, and students from 5 major Canadian law schools will argue an environmental law. Full Article Technology
first What we can learn from the first genetically engineered food By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 14 Oct 2013 18:10:31 -0400 Retro Report revisits the Flavr Savr, the first genetically engineered food to hit American grocery stores. Full Article Living
first Palau becomes first nation to ban chemical sunscreens By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:59:00 -0400 The island nation in the western Pacific wants to protect its coral reefs from toxic sunscreen runoff. Full Article Science
first Detroit Auto Show 2009: First Look at Toyota FT-EV Electric Car Concept By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:35:56 -0500 Diminutive but Electrifying The Toyota FT-EV electric car concept that debuted at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show is based on the platform of the 57 MPG Toyota iQ microcar that recently went on sale in Europe and that is apparently already a hit in Full Article Transportation
first First-Ever Recycled Vinyl Wallcovering By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 29 May 2007 08:48:38 -0400 Wallpaper for commercial applications must be a hardy, sturdy product to withstand daily wear and tear. But vinyl is a TreeHugger no-way…unless it is recycled. LSI Wallcovering is making wallcovering waves with the market's first ever recycled vinyl Full Article Design
first The First 3290% Energy Self-Sufficient Town In Japan By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:46:16 -0400 Yanaizu Town, Kawanuma District, Fukushima Prefecture is rural-at-best and about as far away as you can get from the big cities. The town recently made the news when Chiba Full Article Energy
first World's First Solar-Geothermal Hybrid Plant Opens in the Nevada Desert By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:00:00 -0400 A recently opened power plant in the Nevada desert uses two types of renewable energy. Full Article Technology
first First ever 'magma-enhanced' geothermal system created in Iceland, breaks record for geothermal heat By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:04:26 -0500 Geothermal energy constantly gets overshadowed by other sources of clean energy, like wind and solar, because it's still more expensive. But with every passing year, it gets closer to its time in the spotlight. Full Article Energy
first Grateful Dog is Sacramento's First Green Dog Day Care By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:52:00 -0400 The name may give you visions of dogs mellowed out, but the Grateful Dog wants to make sure your dog is both happy and healthy throughout their entire stay. You can leave your dog for the day or the week, knowing that Full Article Science
first First in South America: Uruguay to Test Cultivation of Industrial Hemp By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:45:06 -0500 Great news for TreeHuggers in South America: Uruguay could become the first country in the region to authorize the cultivation of industrial hemp, according to El Pais newspaper. The national Ministry of Cattle, Full Article Business
first University of New Hampshire is First School in US to Run Off Landfill Gas By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 21 May 2009 12:58:00 -0400 A few months back we heard about Middlebury College's efforts to green their electricity and heating. Well, over at the University of New Hampshire they're Full Article Energy
first Irish county becomes first in English speaking world to make Passive House standard mandatory By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Feb 2016 10:31:49 -0500 It may lead to as many as 20,000 passive houses being built over the next five years. Full Article Design
first Project Milestone pitched as the first 3D printed housing project By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 05 Jun 2018 12:42:19 -0400 They are building "five great houses that are comfortable to live in and will have happy occupants." Full Article Design
first World's first floating dairy farm comes to Rotterdam By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:21:00 -0400 Let's hope cows don't get seasick. Full Article Science
first From bottles to bike lanes: the first PlasticRoad opens in the Netherlands By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 17 Sep 2018 15:41:04 -0400 We have lots of waste plastic and not much use for it, so why not use it instead of asphalt or concrete? Full Article Science
first First 3D printed hotel suite built in the Phillipines By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 09 Sep 2015 10:37:45 -0400 It even has a giant 3D printed Jacuzzi tub Full Article Design
first Cleveland Indians Score Another Green Hit With Innovative Helix Turbine, A Baseball First By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 07:00:00 -0400 A 18-foot-wide helix turbine specially designed for urban spaces has been installed on the roof of Progressive Field, ready to begin churning out energy on opening day. Full Article Energy
first Don’t miss this year’s first (and last) supermoon By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:57:20 -0500 When the splendid full moon rises this weekend, she’ll look a bit bigger and brighter than usual. Full Article Science
first Welcome to Hondupalma, the world’s first sustainable certified palm oil cooperative! By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:00:00 -0400 Several years ago, this established cooperative in Honduras decided to pursue Rainforest Alliance certification for its palm oil. Find out what it looks like today. Full Article Business
first 'Headless chicken monster' filmed for the first time near Antarctica By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Oct 2018 11:42:47 -0400 Scientists hope the technology that filmed it can make fishing more sustainable. Full Article Science
first For first time ever, solar dominates UK power supply By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 09 May 2018 06:21:56 -0400 These spikes might be intermittent. But they are getting bigger and more frequent. Full Article Energy
first World's first floating wind farm now operating in Scotland By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 19 Oct 2017 06:51:39 -0400 This technology might open up many new areas to offshore wind. Full Article Energy
first France plants first solar eTree in midst of heat wave By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 30 May 2017 08:00:00 -0400 With temperatures soaring even before the calendar turns to June, the shade of the solar tree will be as welcome as its many functions Full Article Science
first First there was the London Whale, and now there is the Greenpeace Whale, as the charity blows over US$ 5 million By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:55:12 -0400 The charity loses millions in rogue currency swap, just like the big boys. Full Article Business
first Saltygloo: World's first structure 3D printed out of salt (Video) By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 07:00:00 -0500 Using an additive, powder-based 3D printing process, experiments with abundant and renewable salt have created this translucent and lightweight structure. Full Article Design
first San Francisco becomes first major US city to mandate rooftop solar on new buildings By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 16:54:37 -0400 In which the City requires new buildings to go from 'solar ready' rooftops to solar actual. Full Article Energy
first White Castle becomes first fast food chain to serve plant-based Impossible Burger By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 17 Apr 2018 06:37:26 -0400 The so-called "bleeding" veggie burger is bleedin' everywhere these days. Full Article Living
first Solar Panels, Reforestation Project in Works for Armenia's First Green Pilgrimage Site By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:46:00 -0500 The Echmiadzin Cathedral complex in Armenia is one of 12 spiritual destinations that are becoming more sustainable. Full Article Living
