A couple weeks ago we mentioned that the combination of a growing population and poor math and science scores among high schoolers presented a challenge: how can the U.S. education system handle more students and teach them well at the same time?

Now, according to a new study, it turns out that not only is the average teen falling behind in math and science, but the number of top performers is shrinking as well. Janet Mertz, a professor at University of Wisconsin recently published a report that claims the stereotype of mathematics as being “uncool” is not only keeping some boys from developing their mathematical prowess, but is also hurting girls (perhaps more so). The study also finds that those who do excel at math come predominantly from immigrant families, whose countries value math much more than the United States. We need mathematicians, scientists, and engineers to help power this country’s economy now and in the future. Importing them from abroad is one way to address this, but sources of human capital need to come from within as well.

How can you make math cool? Lindsay Lohan was Cady Heron, a math star in Mean Girls. Sure, in the movie she came from South Africa, and yeah, she’s not real. But what about Winnie from The Wonder Years? That’s right, Danica McKellar, the actress that played Frank Savage’s true love, has her own mathematical theorem (or at least 1/3 of it). Now, how can math be “uncool?”

Buying local and in season needs to become standard operating procedure if we want to prevent the world from catastrophically overheating.  This comes from a report by the Food Climate Research Network that argues that people need to limit themselves to four portions of meat and one liter of milk per week if the world is to evade run-away climate change.  The report follows a four year study on the impact of food on climate change.  Researchers found that the food sector in the UK was responsible for 33m tons of carbon, a figure that increases to 43.3m tons or one fifth of the country’s total emissions when you factor in consumption and transportation costs.  Of this, over half is attributable to the meat and dairy sectors alone.  Farmers are making some changes – using fertilizers more efficiently, switching to feed that require less energy to produce – but the National Farmers’ Union argues that net emissions can only be cut reasonably by up to 50%.  In the end, the report agues that much of the onus is on the consumer.  Check out Guardian’s article for a comparison of how the average Brit eats now (you can only imagine how the average American eats in comparison – think Supersize Me) and how he or she should eat to comply with the report’s recommendations. Also check out Jeff Lyu’s recent blog post on “insourcing” farming (and perhaps ranching) to major metropolitan areas.

You can read the full report here (pdf file).

The face of war is changing, it is undeniable. The US Army’s first major encounter with “unconventional” guerilla warfare came in Vietnam, and our horrific experiences there led many to avow to never again enter such a war. However, looking back from our present engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, through wars in Africa and Latin America, it seems that “unconventional warfare” has become the convention. In light of this new reality, argues Secretary of the Army Peter Geren, the army needs to do some serious soul searching if it wants to be prepared and well-equiped for the military engagements of the future.

According to Mr. Geren, the long-term challenge to the US Army is tri-fold. First, the army needs to prepare itself for the full spectrum of military engagements. This means that the army must prepare for modern, unconventional warfare, the likes of which we see in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rank and file has been adapting to the realities on the ground, but military leaders need to be amenable as well and jettison failed polices in order to succeed in the long run (a notion supported by Lt. Col. Yingling in his article). In Iraq and Afghanistan, the military’s job has shifted toward nation building rather than “winning the war,” and the army will need to focus more attention on development to ensure security in the region.

To achieve this goal of preparing the army for the 21st century, Geren argues that leaders need to focus more on the less tangibles. Leaders need to encourage out of the box thinking and promote officer development and education. A soldier who can speak Arabic or Dari is becoming more valuable than one who can drive a tank. This leads into his second point that the army needs to focus on strategic communication. The proliferation of cheap technology to everyday citizens and terrorist organizations has leveled the communications playing field. The War on Terror spills over onto the airwaves as networks like Al Jazeera propagate information that wins over the hearts and minds of the region’s forgotten and disenchanted. The US Army needs to effectively use media to counter enemy forces and to boost support for its operations.

Andrew Bacevich, in his article in the Atlantic, warns against going too far in restructuring our army. He refers to Colonel Gian Gentile, a professor at West Point, who generally takes a more conservative approach to the future of military engagements. According to Bacevich, “an infatuation with stability operations will lead the Army to reinvent itself as ‘a constabulary,’ adept perhaps at nation-building but shorn of adequate capacity for conventional war-fighting.” Gentile discredits the “Petraeus Doctrine” (that future wars will be ambiguous and protracted and require less force for victory) as hubris and resists the idea that American military might alone can shape global events. The Colonel fears that the military is charting a course from which it cannot retreat even if events require a traditionally trained and equipped army and one that precludes disengagement from the Long War.

The final challenge facing the Army is providing for military families. The loved ones of our all volunteer army really do bear the brunt of this war and should be provided with adequate support and financial compensation. Check out this article from the Washington Post for one woman’s perspective on what military families endure while their loved ones are at war.

UPDATE:

The Army launched their new Field Manual yesterday at CSIS outlining the role of the Army in stabilization and reconstruction operations. It will be interesting to see how this affects the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next couple of months (and years!). There will undoubtedly continue to be naysayers, however, who will argue that the military has crossed the Rubicon at its own peril.

Unlike a farmers’ market, many of the fruits and vegetables you buy in the grocery store travel over a thousand miles just to reach the shelves. Just think, only pumpkins and mushrooms were transported less than 500 miles to buyers in Chicago as reported by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture!

But, why does this matter? Since cities are far removed from rural production areas, the necessary transport uses fuel and releases greenhouse gases, further damaging our environment. But, consider the other impacts that agriculture has on our natural resources. The USDA says that agriculture is straining our water supply.  It already uses up over 80% of water reserves in the United States.  What should be done?

Dickson Despommier, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, believes he has a solution. He has developed an idea called “vertical farming,” which encloses farms on multi-level greenhouses in the middle of cities. This not only reduces transport distances and costs, but also greatly reduces water use. Evaporated water from plants and soil is collected by the building and reused. Despommier’s plan also utilizes abandoned buildings in urban centers, reducing the land use needed for agriculture.

If this sounds far-fetched, you may be right. But, consider this: Mithun, a Seattle-based architecture firm, recently won an award for a vertical farm concept design. There is already interest in Las Vegas and in Abu Dhabi, huge urban areas in the middle of deserts. Here is a story on vertical farms.

New ideas and technological advances are helping address resource management issues. As the world population continues to grow and move into cities, perhaps vertical farms will have a greater role to play in feeding the globe.

Complete Genomics, a human genome sequencing company, today announced that it plans to start offering DNA sequencing for $5,000 starting in 2009 (press release here – pdf file).  This bargain basement price is the result of a dramatic decrease in the cost of genome sequencing - the Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, cost hundreds of millions of dollars.  The years since the completion of the Human Genome Project have seen some great advances, especially in the improved efficiency and the miniaturization of equipment.  They have also seen the proliferation of sequencing technology, today allowing many different biotech companies to provide an array of services to both large companies and private citizens.  The emergence of Complete Genomics represents the next step for the industry – diversification.  The company will focus on the science - sequencing the DNA - encouraging all-in-one companies, like Knome, which offers sequencing, data analysis, and customer service, to outsource part of their operations to specialized companies.  Knome currently charges $350,000 for its services, but President Jorge C. Conde predicts that price would drop significantly if it farmed out some of its sequencing.

However, Complete Genomics still expects most of its customers will be pharmaceutical companies and research laboratories.  The company has ambitious goals for itself, hoping to complete 1,000 sequences next year and 1 million by 2013.  They also predict prices will decrease and Dr. Clifford Reid, President of Complete Genomics, anticipates his will be the first company to sequence complete human genomes for $1,000.  At that price it might be more common for individuals to pay for the service, to determine predisposition to disease and effective drug treatments, or to make a nice gift.

Click here (pdf file) for Complete Genomics’ technical guide to their services and here for a dubiously helpful guide to DNA sequencing.

In the next 40 years, nine countries are expected to provide half of the world’s growth in population, and one of them is the United States (the US also happens to be the only one in the developed world). So what kind of challenges does this trend bring?

In 2006 the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) administered a test for international science and math literacy among 15 year-olds, and found the United States placing in the bottom half for both. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment in high schools in fall 2007 was at an all-time high, and with growing populations can only be expected to continue increasing.

How can the US’ growing population be kept competitive in an age of economic integration, high-speed communication, and ever-changing technology?

The Clinton Global Initiative held its annual meeting in New York this past week, bringing together leaders from around the world to discuss solutions to global challenges. Attendees discussed a host of issues ranging from education to climate change. One of the strongest financial commitments of the event went to water.

More than a dozen donors and organizations pledged over $400 million to programs promoting access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world. Napo Parmaceuticals Inc. came out on top with its commitment of $210 million to provide anti-diarrheal drugs to children in Africa. Diarrhea kills an estimated 2.5 million children every year, especially in areas of the world with little to no access to clean drinking water. This figure is all the more shocking when you take into consideration indirect effects of water scarcity on the economy – time lost searching for water, crop failures due to drought – that exacerbate the deleterious health effects of unsafe drinking water. Participants at the CGI meeting recognized the many dimensions to the water crisis and accordingly appropriated financial resources to other programs, like ones in microfinance and insurance. LeapFrog Investments Ltd. made a $100 million commitment to deliver low-cost insurance to nearly 25 million people in the developing world. They believe that access to insurance would encourage local entrepreneurs to take more risks that could lead to bigger pay offs.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest names were also in attendance. Matt Damon pledged $1 million through his H20 Africa Foundation while Drew Barrymore and Wyclef Jean promoted a $80 million commitment by Yum! Brands Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company, and UNWFP to provide school meals and deworming programs to 20 million children.

The private sector is playing an increasingly important role in supplying the developing world with clean water. The money raised in one day by CGI participants surpasses the U.S. government’s commitment of $300 million to the Water for the Poor Act in FY2008. It is refreshing to see the private sector stepping up to the plate on water issues, but the U.S. government needs to do its part to ensure that developing nations have access to clean water. Read more about GSI’s proposals in the recently released Global Water Futures white paper.

Click here for more information on the “Global Health Mega-Commitment on Water and Sanitation” at CGI.