Throughout the semester, Radius has been exploring a wide range of topics, including housing and gentrification (particularly right here in Cambridge), nuclear non-proliferation, the food supply, prison reform, omnivorism vs veganism, military spending, US government research dollars and how that money is spent in the nation's universities, sexual harrassment and gender issues, gaming, drone warfare, developments in the Middle East, with emphasis on Iran, and many more.
Wise Words
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, May 4, 2015
All semester, we've been having substantive and challenging conversations in our Tuesday evening ethics seminar. Usually, a guest talks about his or her area of expertise and then we launch into questions and answers and lively discussion. Last week, we invited 4 MIT students to talk about their active participation in social, environmental, or political issues. The presentations were fascinating and inspiring. What we learned was that the presenters had chosen a specific arena in which to be active.
Speak Up!!
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, April 20, 2015
Awareness has been building around the issue of fossil fuel divestment. Not only here in Cambridge, at MIT and Harvard, but across the country and the globe. According to GoFossilFree, universities and colleges, religious institutions and other organizations are examining the way their funds are being invested and are calling for divestment from fossil fuels.
Heating Up!
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, April 6, 2015
Today I had the opportunity to attend a panel featuring faculty from the MIT Energy Initiative, hosted by the MIT's MISTI program. The speakers (Francis O'Sullivan, Howard Herzog, Jacobo Buongiorno, and Ignacio Perez-Arriaga) presented on various energy options and developments that can help mitigate the effects of CO2 in our atmosphere (i.e.--global climate change).
"Unplugging Without FOMO"
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, March 30, 2015
In a recent article in the New York Times, Laura Holson reports on an increase in the number of people who are taking breaks from social media. People, "seemingly weary" of half-minute news cycles, inane Twitter posts and viral distractions, are disabling social apps and other media feeds from their phones. Some researchers are suggesting that this may be a backlash (or just sheer exhaustion) from the dreaded FOMO ("fear of missing out").
Nuclear Proliferation and the Black Freedom Movement
To recover our best selves, sometimes all we need to do is to stop and take a breath.
Join Us This Semester!
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, February 2, 2015
It was reported in the Sunday New York Times, February 1st edition that JPMorgan has agreed to pay $99.5 million to settle its portion of an antitrust lawsuit. This past November, JPMorgan also agreed to pay almost $1billion in civil penalties to resolve related claims by regulators in the US and Europe. My question: Is this considered the "cost of doing business", an ethical framework gone wrong? Or is anyone at JPMorgan, starting with CEO Jamie Dimon, thinking about their actions and perhaps considering a change in behavior? Mmm...
A Little More Vegan
Posted by:
Thea Keith-Lucas
Monday, January 26, 2015
Even organic, more-humane dairy operations have negative effects. But I’d rather make my own compromise and stick with it than become another ex-vegan.
Join the Conversation!
Posted by:
Patricia-Maria Weinmann
Monday, January 19, 2015
Last semester, on September 19th, Vice President for Research, Maria Zuber, announced the launching of MIT's Conversation on Climate Change. The mission is " to explore and assess the broad range of actions that MIT could take to make a significant positive contribution to confront climate change." This campus-wide initiative seeks input from the MIT community on how best we can effect change, in both large and small ways.