Great articles on China's hukou system

That's Magazine - Pearl River Delta edition has two great articles about China's hukou system, the home registration system that has been called an "internal passport" and de facto caste system. The systems are much more complicated than I knew before, and the articles show how many idiosyncratic rules exist for getting a hukou from particular cities like Beijing. Point systems, fees, residency requirements, etc. It also looks at potential advantages to having a rural hukou, which is usually talked about in the media as a ticket to a tough life. Notably, it says:

"The points system is merely one in a series of reforms announced in 2014 that promised to 'phase out' the hukou altogether – something Xi Jinping himself allegedly advocated years ago in his doctoral thesis while serving as governor of Fujian."
The Hukou: Is China’s ‘Internal Passport’ System Here to Stay?
http://www.thatsmags.com/uploads/pdf/1703sz.pdf

A layer cake of jello in a jacuzzi

"Southeastern Louisiana might best be described as a layer cake made of Jell-O, floating in a swirling Jacuzzi of steadily warming, rising water. Scientists and engineers must prevent the Jell-O from melting — while having no access to the Jacuzzi controls."
-LSU College of Coast & Environment News

Louisiana has ambitious $50B plan to fight wetlands erosion, but will it work?
http://www.cce.lsu.edu/louisiana-ambitious-50b-plan-fight-wetlands-erosion-will-work/

The article outlines Louisiana's Master Plant for the Coast, which includes restoring wetlands and barrier islands as buffers and constructing levees.

Louisiana is the state with the largest share of coastal wetlands in the lower 48 states.

"Now, southeastern Louisiana is sinking at one of the fastest rates on the planet as the Gulf is rising... Already, 2,000 square miles have sloughed into the Gulf. Without action, the state could lose another 1,750 square miles over the next 50 years... If nothing is done, in 70 years New Orleans could be left on a razor-thin sliver of land extending into the open Gulf, battered by storms rolling over the watery graves of unprotected communities."



https://www.lacoast.gov/new/

Life in China's most polluted city: Baoding

Life in China's most polluted city: Baoding
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/18/asia/china-second-red-alert-smog/

China is the #1 polluter in the world but also the #1 investor in green energy. It's a race between the two, but unfortunately the pollution is tied to rapid "development," which has no sign of slowing down. This video shows a guy who lives in China's most polluted city, yet works in a plant there that makes solar panels.

See Jared Diamond's Collapse, chapter "China, Lurching Giant," on how China lurches back and forth between destroying its environment and cleaning it up.

The Arctic Frontier

A whole lot going on up in the Arctic--military, economic, environmental, wildlife.

The Arctic Frontier - CBS 60 minutes
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-arctic-frontier-lesley-stahl/

Chinese success story in Zambia

With over one million Chinese moving to Africa, so many individual stories have played out--good, bad, ugly, and everything in between.

This is is a good one: a sharp Chinese man moved to Zambia and found a beautiful wife, now has three kids.

Faces of China - When Chinese Meet Zambians - CGTN Africa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_UhlZgBo8E

The money lovers

In 2014 I interviewed this wildlife scientist Dr. Benson Okita in his office in Kenya Wildlife Service in Nairobi about poaching of elephants and rhinos. Learned a ton over the two hours, about the mechanics of poaching, the ethnic groups involved, the complex cartels, etc.

Benson has given many talks, and in this video from a conference in South Africa, he spends most of the talk giving stats etc. about poaching and the unintended consequences of legalizing wildlife trade. But at minute 24, he opens up a can on the wide variety of "money lovers" who are at the root of poaching:

"You have the money lovers in different forms... If you have a money lover who is your Chief Justice or your Attorney General, where do you go?"

Dr. Benson Okita -speaker
2014 OSCAP (Outrages South African Citizens Against Rhino Poaching) conference
http://www.oscap.co.za/oscap-rhino-conference-2014/speakers-videos-day-1/benson-okita/

A Map Against the World

Saw a great movie on a plane, South Korea's Best Foreign Film nominee for the Oscars:

A Map Against the World
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5973508/

"On roads, there are no ranks or classes. Only the men who travel."

Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RikFHUvlFGM