Self-Motivation
David Goggins
Former Navy Seal
Career Development
Bryan Cranston
Actor
Critical Thinking
Liv Boeree
International Poker Champion
Emotional Intelligence
Amaryllis Fox
Former CIA Clandestine Operative
Management
Chris Hadfield
Retired Canadian Astronaut & Author
Learn
from the world's big
thinkers
Start Learningfrom the world's big
thinkers
You want to stop child abuse? Here's how you can actually help.
Sharing QAnon disinformation is harming the children devotees purport to help.
14 August, 2020
Photo: Atjanan Charoensiri / Shutterstock
- The conspiracy theory, QAnon, is doing more harm than good in the battle to end child trafficking.
- Foster youth expert, Regan Williams, says there are 25-29k missing children every year, not 800k, as marketed by QAnon.
- Real ways to help abused children include donating to nonprofits, taking educational workshops, and becoming a foster parent.
<p>Though Marjorie Taylor Greene is scrubbing her social media conspiracy theory mongering clean after her <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/12/901628541/qanon-supporter-who-made-bigoted-videos-wins-ga-primary-likely-heading-to-congre" target="_blank">victory</a> in Georgia's 14th Congressional District's Republican primary, the internet's graveyard is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rtYok4fdbQ&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">vast</a>. Greene appears to be distancing from her belief in QAnon, an online "movement" founded on the idea that Donald Trump is secretly battling an elite cabal of pedophiles. She went so far to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/11/marjorie-taylor-greene-georgia-qanon/" target="_blank">call</a> the secretive Q "a patriot."</p><p>Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/here-are-qanon-supporters-running-congress-2020" target="_blank">counts</a> at least 75 current or former GOP congressional candidates that support the QAnon conspiracy theory. Thus far, 600,000 Americans have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/01/nearly-600000-people-have-voted-candidates-who-support-qanon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">voted</a> for Q-endorsing candidates. As with "Pizzagate"—the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/technology/qanon-save-the-children-trafficking.html" target="_blank">origin myth</a> of QAnon—there have been real-world consequences. Q adherents have been tied to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/gambino-shooting-anthony-comello-frank-cali.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">murders</a> and <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-mom-charged-with-kidnapping-her-kids" target="_blank">kidnappings</a>. The group also traffics in <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-dark-virality-of-a-hollywood-blood-harvesting-conspiracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">anti-Semitic rhetoric</a>. </p><p>While our president is tied to an <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/why-are-right-wing-conspiracies-so-obsessed-with-pedophilia/" target="_blank">actual pedophile ring</a> via his longtime friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell ("<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2020/jul/22/donald-trump-on-ghislaine-maxwell-video-i-wish-her-well" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">I wish her well</a>"), the QAnon conspiracy theory has been little more than a dangerous distraction. Popular "QAnon researchers" like Jordan Sather uses his rhetorical bombast, in a page stolen from Alex Jones, to sell supplements and, I kid you not, pendants that provide "powerful protection from EMFs" (electromagnetic fields). </p><p>What's a good conspiracy theory if you can't monetize it?</p><p>One group that isn't monetizing anything from QAnon—a group being actively harmed by it—is traumatized children, the very people these clicktivists somehow believe they're helping. Sharing a conspiracy theory on social media is easy. Working to actually help victims of sexual abuse and child trafficking, not so much. In fact, if you want to "do the research," it takes years of hard work, which is why I talked to Regan Williams earlier this week. </p>
Real ways you can help stop child trafficking
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21fc2dc85391501eec28c4bf46d7db15"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AXL0q9jNZGU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Williams is the founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.seenandheard.org/" target="_blank">Seen and Heard</a>, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps foster youth develop character through the performing arts. She's been involved with foster youth for years; I <a href="https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/child-sex-trafficking" target="_self">wrote about her work</a> in child trafficking just over a year ago. Tragically, since that time, the situation for these children has only gotten worse, in large part because of QAnon.</p><p>Williams says child trafficking is an easy cause to rally people together. Fear is also a powerful unifying force, one that QAnon believers are already primed for via the news they consume. Almost every parent cares about their children, making them the ideal target to solidify groups. </p><p>The real problem, she says, is that the youth she works with are falling for these conspiracy theories. Trauma is a particularly powerful tool for indoctrination. If you're a teenager that's been abducted or abused, your trust level is already extremely low. Then you read about a global cabal of powerful men (and a few women) secretly abusing children, and the narrative seems ready-made for your personal history.</p><p>When Williams tried to "lovingly and kindly correct" the youth she was working with after learning about the Wayfair conspiracy, the girls' response was, "well, who owns the media?" </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"She goes from this small little thing to a QAnon talking point. I've been thinking about why she would believe such a preposterous idea—and there are others; it's not just one student, and they're in in deep. I think that when something horrific happens to you as a child, it's a lot easier to distance yourself from the immediate reality that it was an uncle or a parent or a sibling that hurt you. By detaching from that immediate person, they project it onto Bill Gates or Chrissy Teigen. Then it's not so personal, it's global." </p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU1OTA1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTQ5NjU0MX0.YURinVpKeknLypoY2aIQc45HjSDN-I8hv6kifut1V8o/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C87%2C0%2C36&height=700" id="5d16d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1708c66e792b4b3bf4bf37502a4e195a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="man wearing" />
A man wear a shirt with the words Q Anon as he attends a rally for President Donald Trump at the Make America Great Again Rally being held in the Florida State Fair Grounds Expo Hall on July 31, 2018 in Tampa, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
<p>As Williams mentions, there are over 30,000 kids in foster care in the Los Angeles area alone. It's easy to fall through the cracks. The systems in place aren't perfect; they're certainly underfunded. When you're in a system trying to support you yet isn't capable of doing so, viewing the world as imperfect, and even harmful, becomes the lens through which you see reality. Again, this makes for a perfect indoctrination tool.</p><p>One popular QAnon talking point is that 800,000 children are missing. As Williams says, child trafficking experts "don't buy this for a minute." The number makes for a good meme but a poor representation of the problem. </p><p>To source better data, Williams turns to the <a href="https://www.missingkids.org/" target="_blank">National Center for Missing and Exploited Children</a> (NCMEC) and the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ncic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">National Crime Information Center</a> (NCIC). An important factor when reading data: if a teacher <em>and</em> a caregiver report a missing child to NCIC, that counts as two children, not one, which accounts for some of the fluctuations in numbers. In total, between 25,000 and 29,000 kids go missing every year. Importantly, 94 percent of those children are recovered within four to six weeks. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"They're not documenting the recovery rate. It's not like these numbers are perpetually hanging out there. So this 800,000 number is just ludicrous." </p><p>Williams compares what's going on to Black Lives Matter. Blacking out your Instagram profile picture is performative. It signals that you actually care, which is great, but if you're not supporting Black-owned businesses, for example, there are no teeth to your activism. </p><p>Of course, blacking out your profile doesn't cause the real-world harm the QAnon virus does. Sharing misinformation is ultimately harmful to the children in need of help. Williams offers the resources below—ranging from donations to nonprofits to educational trainings to becoming a foster parent—for people that actually want to do something to help victims of sexual and physical abuse. They might not make a great Twitter meme, but in the actual world, this support makes all the difference. </p><p><strong>To report abuse/neglect, call the child abuse hotline: 800.540.4000 (LA county) / 800.422.4453 (National)</strong></p><ul><li>Support anti-trafficking organizations by donating to <a rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" href="http://savinginnocence.org/" target="_blank">Saving Innocence</a>, which runs the continuum of care from rescue to recovery, <a href="http://gozoe.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">Zoe</a>, a reputable faith-based organization, and <a rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" href="https://withtwowings.org/" target="_blank">Two Wings</a>, which helps to rehabilitate female survivors</li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" href="http://www.nolabrantleyspeaks.org/" target="_blank">Nola Brantley</a> offers in-person and online trainings to help combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children</li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" href="http://instagram.com/imrebeccabender" target="_blank">Rebecca Bender</a> is a trafficking survivor that runs "Myth Busters," which combats conspiracy theory disinformation</li><li>The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/missingkids/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">National Center</a> of Missing and Exploited Children</li><li>Operation <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ourrescue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">Underground Railroad </a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/defendinnocence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">Defend Innocence</a> offers tips for parents and caregivers to keep kids safe</li></ul><p><span></span>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
Keep reading
Show less
'A world with no ice': Confronting the horrors of climate change
The complacent majority needs to step up and call for action on climate change.
27 July, 2020
- Climate change is often framed as a debate that has split society down the middle and that requires more evidence before we can act. In reality, 97 percent of scientists agree that it is real and only 3 percent are skeptical. A sticking point for some is the estimated timeline, but as Columbia University professor Philip Kitcher points out, a 4-5 Celsius temperature increase that makes the planet uninhabitable is a disaster no matter when it happens.
- In this video, 9 experts (including professors, astronomers, authors, and historians) explain what climate change looks like, how humans have already and are continuing to contribute to it, how and why it has become politicized, and what needs to happen moving forward for real progress to be made.
- David Wallace-Wells, journalist and New America Foundation National Fellow, says that the main goal of climate action is not to win over the skeptical minority, but to "make those people who are concerned but still fundamentally complacent about the issue to be really engaged in a way that they prioritize climate change in their politics and their voting and make sure that our leaders think of climate change as a first-order political priority."
<p class="media-headline"><br></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="d1653c69ed88460fb3040e81c9e95e0b" contenteditable="false">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525576711?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31ewOFn7KuL.jpg" class="amazon-assets-widget__image widget__image">
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__description">
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__title" style="display: block;">The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming</div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__by-amazon"><!-- <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525576711?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">by now at amazone</a> --></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__list-price"><span class="grey">List Price: </span><span class="list-price">$10.73</span></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__new-price"><span class="grey">New From: </span><span class="new-price">$11.62</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div>
<div class="amazon-assets-widget__used-price"><span class="grey">Used From: </span><span class="used-price">$10.73</span> <span class="grey">in Stock</span></div>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<p><br></p>
Keep reading
Show less
This is now the world’s greatest threat – and it’s not coronavirus
Affluence could be our real downfall.
25 July, 2020
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A detailed analysis of environmental research has revealed the greatest threat to the world: affluence.
<ul class="ee-ul">
<li>Affluence is the biggest threat to our world, according to a new scientific report.</li>
<li>True sustainability will only be achieved through drastic lifestyle changes, it argues.</li>
<li>The World Economic Forum has called for a great reset of capitalism in the wake of the pandemic.</li>
</ul><p>
That's one of the main conclusions of a team of scientists from Australia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, who have warned that tackling overconsumption has to become a priority. Their report, titled Scientists' Warning on Affluence, explains that
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-y#citeas" target="_blank">true sustainability calls for significant lifestyle changes</a>, rather than hoping that more efficient use of resources will be enough.
</p><p>
"We
<a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-06-overconsumption-growth-economy-key-drivers.html" target="_blank">cannot rely on technology alone to solve existential environmental problems</a> – like climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution," writes the report's lead author, Professor Tommy Wiedmann from Australia's University of New South Wales Engineering, in an article on Phys.org. "We also have to change our affluent lifestyles and reduce overconsumption, in combination with structural change."
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-y/figures/2" target="_blank"><img alt="Sustainable lifestyles are situated between an upper limit or 'environmental ceiling' and a lower limit or 'social foundation'." src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/dV_rIZLOwb8QRpsu2njqWYjrtTWgRuza8jLrE64QoTM.png"></a></p><p>Sustainable lifestyles are situated between an upper limit or 'environmental ceiling' and a lower limit or 'social foundation'. Image: Nature
</p>
<h3>A growing global challenge</h3><p>There is widespread acceptance that the planet faces an ecological tipping point. "To care for humanity, we must care for nature," said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on World Environment Day in June. He stressed the importance of making changes as the world recovers from the recent pandemic: " <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/time-nature-world-environment-day-shines-spotlight-biodiversity" target="_blank">As we work to build back better, let's put nature where it belongs</a> – at the heart of our decision making."</p><p>Approximately half of global GDP is bound up in the natural world, according to the UN. In addition to the many millions of jobs dependent on nature, there are also billions of people intimately connected to and wholly reliant upon natural remedies and medicines.</p><p>Plus, the use of tree-planting and reforesting programmes could reduce the impact of global emissions and help meet the Paris Agreement target to <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement" target="_blank">keep global temperature increase below 1.5C</a>.</p>
<h3>Call for systemic changes</h3><p>The threat of human-made environmental harm was highlighted in the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report 2020, where it is in the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020" target="_blank">top 10 of both the most-likely and the greatest-impact risks</a>.</p><p>The chief problem outlined by the report is that any gains in resource efficiency and environmental protection offered by technology-based solutions have been outrun by the growth of consumption. The report also posits that it might be time to rethink traditional ideas about supply and demand</p><p>In capitalist societies, the theory goes that consumer need drives the rest of the economy – businesses will only produce things for which there is a demand. But the reality of 21st-century global capitalism is a little more complex than that – <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/02/12/economists-slow-economic-growth" target="_blank">some economists argue that growth itself is the problem</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-y/figures/2" target="_blank"><img alt="Global emissions, shown as the green dotted line, keep pace with the rise in production (purple) and global GDP (orange)." src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/4QZjxlCwJv2nH0a7lQuHCVXBMj70Hk1VgagmyhiiUOU.png"></a></p><p>Global emissions, shown as the green dotted line, keep pace with the rise in production (purple) and global GDP (orange). Image: Nature</p>
<h3>Time for a great reset</h3><p>Writing shortly before World Environment Day, the Forum's founder and executive chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, called for a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/now-is-the-time-for-a-great-reset" target="_blank">great reset of capitalism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic</a>. His vision of the great reset includes creating a stakeholder economy, where the market pursues fairer outcomes for all, underpinned by changes to tax, regulatory and fiscal policies, and new trade arrangements.</p><p>Schwab also calls for investments that advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability. This is something that is already taking place in parts of the world where economic-stimulus programmes are being enacted.</p><p>In addition, Schwab urges us to address health and social challenges with the innovations made possible by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. That means more public/private collaboration in pursuit of the public good.</p><p>The pandemic has devastated families and brought major economies to a standstill. But by directing resources into new and improved systems and processes, rather than shoring up the existing ones, Schwab believes a lasting change for the better is possible.</p><p>That belief is echoed by the scientists' report, which shows that affluence is "actually dangerous and leads to planetary-scale destruction," says co-author Julia Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds. "To protect ourselves from the worsening climate crisis, we must reduce inequality and challenge the notion that riches, and those who possess them, are inherently good."</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/affluence-bigger-threat-than-coronavirus-scientists-capitalism/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
The sun is setting on unsustainable long-haul, short-stay tourism — regional travel bubbles are the future
The trans-Tasman and Pacific bubbles will likely be among the first safe international travel zones in the world.
22 July, 2020
Photo by Bambi Corro on Unsplash
Unprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand's $40.9 billion a year tourism industry.
<p> In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed. </p><p>While New Zealand's handling of the pandemic has been hailed as a global masterclass, and the prospect of travel bubbles <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/300019194/as-politicians-weigh-risk-of-reopening-the-bubble-a-top-pandemic-expert-says-hed-happily-get-on-a-plane-to-australia-tomorrow" target="_blank">promoted</a> as a way to restart the tourism economy and save jobs, it is clear there is no quick fix.</p><p>The inherent dangers of reinfection from travel to and from countries with uncontrolled community transition, and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/new-zealand-brings-in-military-after-covid-19-quarantine-fiasco" target="_blank">challenge</a> of protecting New Zealand's borders, mean international tourism is grounded for the time being.</p><p>Nevertheless, planning for recovery is underway. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) wants to <a href="https://www.unwto.org/news/unwto-launches-global-guidelines-to-restart-tourism" target="_blank">restore confidence</a> and restart tourism without delay. The European Union recently <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/25/which-european-countries-have-opened-their-borders-ahead-of-the-summer-holiday-season" target="_blank">opened its borders</a> to travellers from certain countries, including New Zealand. </p><p>But the proposed trans-Tasman and Pacific bubbles will likely be among the first safe international travel zones in the world.</p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props='{"tweetId":"1272341854592184320"}'></div>
<h2>A Tasman-Pacific bubble is good for the planet</h2><p>The economic benefits are obvious. A recent study using <a href="http://globehunters.ca/top-spending-tourists/" target="_blank">UNWTO data</a> identified Australian tourists, who spend on average $7,490 on holidays, as the top spending tourists in the world. Of the 3.8 million international tourists who visited New Zealand in 2018, nearly 40% were from Australia.</p><p>By the end of 2019, Australian tourists had spent $NZ 2.5 billion in the New Zealand economy. Of course, that figure is offset by the $NZ 1.6 billion spent by Kiwis visiting Australia in 2019.</p><p>Simply wishing for a return to normal, however, is not enough. The tourism rebuild must negotiate a delicate balance between immediate recovery and long term sustainability. A new steady-state equilibrium that generates employment and income while driving down tourism carbon emissions is required.<br></p><p>Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic it was widely recognised that the global tourism system is economically and environmentally flawed. Our research has highlighted three main structural failures:</p><ol><li>low value (caused by growth in arrivals combined with declining spending)</li><li>economic "leakage" (due to outbound tourism and the concentration of profit flowing to a few global players)</li><li>high carbon emissions (from high-carbon transport dependence, increasing distance of travel and falling average length of stay).</li></ol>
<h2>Reducing travel distances is key</h2><p>
In the case of a geographically distant destination like New Zealand, there is no ignoring the last of those problems, as a
<a href="https://www.pce.parliament.nz/our-work/news-insights/media-release-pristine-popular-imperilled" target="_blank">report</a> by the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment highlighted in late 2019.
</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VBDR2E-V_rM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p>
The fact is, high carbon emissions are embedded in New Zealand's tourism GDP. In the rebuild we must commit to measuring the carbon footprint of tourism, and actively manage forms of tourism that come with a disproportionately high carbon cost.
</p><p>
In practice, this will mean more tourism from the regional medium-haul markets that fall within the proposed Australia-New Zealand-Pacific travel bubble. Increasing reliance on Australian states rather than long-haul markets will result in a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions per dollar of tourism GDP.
<br>
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421508006502" target="_blank">Research</a> published in 2010 showed that while Australian tourists made up 37% of international visitors to New Zealand they were responsible for 13% of air travel emissions. By contrast, visitors from Europe made up 18% of total visitors but 43% of emissions.
</p><p>
Fewer long haul arrivals, more Australian tourists, more domestic tourism and less outbound travel will dramatically reduce tourism carbon emissions.
</p><p>
COVID-19 has already kickstarted the domestic part of this equation. New Zealand hasn't targeted local tourists since 1984's iconic "<a href="https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/set/item/173" target="_blank">Don't leave town till you've seen the country</a>" campaign. But the regions are now competing for the <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/tourism-satellite-account-2019" target="_blank">roughly 60% of all tourist dollars</a> that New Zealanders spend in their own country each year.
</p><p>
The closure of international borders has also, for now, stopped the significant economic drain caused by outbound travel. In 2019 Kiwis spent nearly $5 billion travelling overseas.
</p>
<h2>Time to stop marketing long-haul tourism</h2><p>Most trade (including tourism exports) comes from markets closest to us. It is <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/management/2018/11/09/can-brexit-defy-gravity-it-is-still-much-cheaper-to-trade-with-neighbouring-countries/" target="_blank">much cheaper</a> to trade with neighbours, and it is far more sustainable to have tourists arrive from closer rather than distant countries.</p><p>New tourism models have to be found that can reduce the sector's emissions while maintaining as much as possible its income and employment benefits.</p><p>Tourism carbon analysis is likely to point towards the growing importance of long-stay visitors, such as international students, who already provide 23% of total international tourist spending in New Zealand.</p><p>Equally it will be necessary to "de-market" and reduce long-haul, high-carbon, short-duration, and low economic yield tourist arrivals. Passengers who arrive on enormous carbon intensive cruise ships – <a href="https://nzier.org.nz/publication/tourism-beyond-covid-19-is-the-future-local-and-green" target="_blank">9% of visitors but only 3% of tourism earnings</a> – fall firmly into the least desirable category.</p><p>An Australia-New Zealand-Pacific travel bubble clearly fits the new model. The tourism rebuild must involve all measures being taken to create a high-value, low-leakage and low-emissions tourism future.</p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-higham-134567" target="_blank">James Higham</a>, Professor of Tourism, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304" target="_blank">University of Otago</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sun-is-setting-on-unsustainable-long-haul-short-stay-tourism-regional-travel-bubbles-are-the-future-140926" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Google to fund 100,000 online certificate scholarships
The Silicon Valley titan has promised scholarships for its tech-focused certificate courses alongside $10 million in job training grants.
17 July, 2020
<p>American has a "middle skills" gap. Good jobs requiring a high school diploma have contracted since the 1990s, while workers wielding a college education continue to excel. But according to <a href="https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/3pathways/" target="_blank">a report out of Georgetown University</a>, two out of three entry-level jobs today require some training and education beyond high school but not a bachelor's degree. This demand for middle-skilled workers has resulted from the assimilation of work by the digital revolution, while people have been outpaced by the technology they rely on.</p><p>As Stephane Kasriel, former CEO of Upwork, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/jobs-of-next-20-years-how-to-prepare/" target="_blank">wrote for the World Economic Forum</a>: "Our current education system adapts to change too slowly and operates too ineffectively for this new world. […] Skills, not college pedigree, will be what matters for the future workforce" To bridge the skills gap, many employers and institutions have turned to <a href="https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2019/08/solve-the-nations-biggest-skills-gap" target="_blank">online education</a> and <a href="https://bigthink.com/kenzie-academy/software-engineering-school" target="_self">other non-traditional models</a>. One such employer is Google. </p><p>Unable to find enough qualified candidates to fill necessary positions, the Silicon Valley titan created its own <a href="https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-it-support" target="_blank">certification course of Coursera</a> to teach people IT support skills. The program proved so successful that earlier this week, Google announced it would expand the program to include three new courses. It's also offering scholarships to help in-need people enroll.</p>
An improved educational pipeline?
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTkxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDYyMTg5MX0.TVNqimPHbfhkKlIN9DTP5yp2pIawOnw3wY8JftScL7Q/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=19%2C0%2C40%2C0&height=700" id="97f7f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9604c323cf271eea7f9e8280560522ac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="color-coded jobs versus education chart" />A chart showing the increase and decrease of "good jobs" based on level of education required.
<p>The new suite of courses will train students in skills necessary for data analyst, project manager, and UX design positions. While Google has released no specifics on these courses, they will likely follow the current certificate course template. This means they won't require a degree to enroll, will be entirely online, and will be taught by Google Staff.</p><p>Like other massive open online courses (or MOOCs), they will likely be self-paced. According to Coursera, Google's current IT support course takes between three to six months to complete at $49 a month. To offset those costs, Google is also offering 100,000 need-based scholarships.</p><p>"College degrees are out of reach for many Americans, and you shouldn't need a college diploma to have economic security. We need new, accessible job-training solutions—from enhanced vocational programs to online education—to help America recover and build," wrote Kent Walker, SVP of Global Affairs at Google, <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/grow-with-google/digital-jobs-program-help-americas-economic-recovery/" target="_blank">in a release</a>.</p><p>By the courses' end, students will have created hands-on projects to build their portfolio and will receive a certificate of completion. In the release, Walker states that Goggle will consider the certification as "equivalent of a four-year degree" for job seekers. The current IT support course has credit recommendation from the American Council on Education, meaning it may be possible for students to translate the certificate into some college credits. No word on whether the new courses will also have credit recommendation.</p><p>"Launched in 2018, the Google IT Certificate program has become the single most popular certificate on Coursera, and thousands of people have found new jobs and increased their earnings after completing the course," Walker added. </p><p>As part of the initiative, <a href="https://www.google.org/" target="_blank">Google.org</a>, the company's charity branch, has committed $10 million in job training grants. The grants will go to Google's nonprofit partners, such as YWCA, JFF, and NPower, to help women, veterans, and underrepresented groups obtain jobs skills relevant to today's in-demand positions.</p>An improved educational pipeline?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77b5b15734c284f2a93fc07f568490b6"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QQYm_XI8n20?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The need for middle-skills will grow as the American workforce continues to digitize at an extraordinary rate. <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/digitalization-and-the-american-workforce/" target="_blank">According to the Brookings Institution</a>, in 2002 just 5 percent of jobs studied—which covered 90 percent of the workforce—required high-digital skills while 40 percent required medium-level skills. By 2016, that percentage rose to 23 and 48 respectively. In the same period, jobs requiring low-digital skills fell precipitously, from 56 to 30 percent. Beyond rapid job growth and competitive advantage, those with the skills are set to reap the economic rewards.</p><p>But more needs to be done. </p><p>As of this writing, more than 275,000 people have enrolled in Google's IT Support course, but it's unclear how many companies will accept the certificate as proof of capability. While Google and its <a href="https://grow.google/employers/" target="_blank">Employer Consortium</a>, a group of employers who connect with Google to find prospective candidates, may consider the certificate equivalent to a four-year degree, <a href="https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/do-employers-take-massive-open-online-courses-seriously/" target="_blank">MOOC certifications lack the universality</a> of either associate's or bachelor's degrees. <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED571496.pdf" target="_blank">Without mainstream acceptance</a>, graduates may be contending with each other within a puddle of prospective companies, not the vast, oceanic marketplace of corporate America.</p><p>And the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't halted but accelerated digitalization as companies widely adopt new <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/the-coronavirus-fueled-tech-trends-that-will-continue-to-dominate.html" target="_blank">technological trends to survive</a>. Many of the 20 million unemployed Americans may suddenly need to upskill or even find their jobs outsourced to the digital realm. They'll need a quick, yet employer recognized, means to acquire new skills to help find work. </p><p>Ten million dollars will buy Google—a company valued at <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-parent-alphabet-joins-1-trillion-in-market-value-for-first-time-2020-01-16" target="_blank">one trillion dollars</a>—a nice commemorative brick in the path to a solution and hopefully help many lives. But we have many miles of work to go.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Popular
