Tip: Communicate Effectively by Emotional Intelligence (The ability to deal w/ other’s emotions & reactions to understand & manage your own reactions)

There’s a new online tool to help employers improve mental health in the workplace. “Managing Emotions” was developed by mental health researchers and commissioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace; it provides an assessment of emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to deal with other people’s emotions and reactions, to understand and manage your own reactions, and to communicate effectively—skills that are crucial for maintaining a psychologically healthy workplace.

The launch is timely for Canadian employers, following the federal government’s announcement in June to fund the creation of the voluntary National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, expected to be released in summer 2012. Once completed, the voluntary standard will provide organizations with tools to achieve measurable improvement in psychological health and safety for Canadian employees."

Note: According to Statistics Canada (2003), approximately 20% of Canadian workers experience a stress-related illness every year, and it has been estimated that 10% of the Canadian working population have a diagnosable mental illness, resulting in billions of dollars every year in workplace losses.
Web tool assesses emotional intelligence in the workplace | Benefits Canada: "
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Ways to Mitigate Climate Change: Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies will speed investment and growth of renewable energy industries

"Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, said G20 countries have made little real progress in eliminating those types of subsidies since 2009. “As we strive to develop alternatives to oil we must recognize that alternative fuels are not competing on a level playing field,” he said in a statement. “These massive multi-billion dollar crude oil subsidies completely outweigh current biofuel incentives and are a serious obstacle to the development of cleaner, greener alternatives. Oil has a huge competitive advantage financed by global taxpayers. It is time for the G20 to show leadership and reverse this practice of never-ending subsidies to Big Oil. They must put their money where their mouth is and invest in renewable alternatives.”"

Note: The International Energy Agency and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development again came out in favor of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies worldwide on Oct. 4 with the release of the first Inventory of Estimated Budgetary Support and Tax Expenditures for Fossil Fuels. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies will speed investment and growth of renewable energy industries, but policymakers often do not have clear information on the policies currently enacted, according to the groups. With this in mind, the inventory was created to assist governments’ understanding of fossil fuel policies. The inventory currently covers 24 countries and 250 mechanisms and will be expanded in the future to include more.

Ethanol Producer Magazine | EthanolProducer.com:
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Climate Change Update: China world's biggest CO2 emitter will meet near-term goals to fight Climate Change

"China is set to not only meet its Cancun Agreement emissions intensity pledge, but is likely to go beyond it," the independent research group said, referring to the December 2010 global climate change accord."However, at the same time, largely due to faster than expected economic growth, emissions in 2020 are likely to be higher than previous estimates."

The study underscores the uncertain value of global pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions meant to meet the international goal of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise over pre-industrial levels which most scientists agree is required to avoid potentially catastrophic climate events.

"We're heading toward a warming of well over three degrees at present unless there are major improvements in the pledges," said Bill Hare, the director of Climate Analytics, a research group based in Germany that took part in the study.

China's concrete steps to curb carbon emissions go further than the pledges made by other big polluter nations such as the United States, the world's second-largest CO2 emitter, said Hare."
China climate goals run against growth: report | Reuters:
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Tip: Build the Future by Producing Emotionally Healthy Climate Change Ready Kids - And it Starts with Parent's Stable Relationship

Stable Relationships. Every child needs a stable relationship with a loving adult. Without one, the brain has trouble making necessary connections to grow and develop. Parents need to provide a healthy environment socially and emotionally as well as physically in which a child can explore and learn with guidance. When a child can observe healthy relationships between adults, they also learn how to build healthy relationships of their own.

Human touch from others and their need to touch everything should not be overlooked. Touch is how young infants know they are loved. It sends signals to the brain, causing it to grow (or develop) fully.

Interaction. A relationship between a child and their parent is vital to the child’s development. The earlier you engage, the more impact you will have on the growth and development of a child’s brain. The key to interaction is matching your behavior to your baby/child."

Child's health starts now | emporiagazette.com:
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Ways to Mitigate Climate Change: Supporting Wind Power, e.g. Canada is among the world leaders in the production and use of renewable energy

GE Milestone: 1,000th Wind Turbine Installed in Canada - MarketWatch: "Canada has a long history of supporting wind power. We are committed to working with developers such as Cartier to continue installing and improving technology that will help harness the country's abundant wind resources," said Simon Olivier, general manager of sales for GE's renewable energy business in Canada.

Canada is among the world leaders in the production and use of renewable energy. Currently, about 16 percent of the country's total energy supply comes from renewable resources including small hydro, biomass, wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy.

Wind farms presently operating in Canada have a total capacity of 4,611 megawatts, enough clean, wind-generated electricity to supply more than 1 million homes, or about 2 percent of Canada's total electricity demand."

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Climate Change Update: Issues on Tests to Mimic Cooling Effect of Volcanoes or Stationing Orbiting Mirrors in Space to Reflect Sunlight, do u agree?

Members said they hoped that such extreme engineering techniques, which include scattering particles in the air to mimic the cooling effect of volcanoes or stationing orbiting mirrors in space to reflect sunlight, would never be needed. But in its report, to be released on Tuesday, the panel said it is time to begin researching and testing such ideas in case “the climate system reaches a ‘tipping point’ and swift remedial action is required.”

The 18-member panel was convened by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a research organization based in Washington founded by four senators — Democrats and Republicans — to offer policy advice to the government. In interviews, some of the panel members said they hoped that the mere discussion of such drastic steps would jolt the public and policy makers into meaningful action in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which they called the highest priority."

What's your opinion on this?

Ways to Mitigate Climate Change stated below:

The first is carbon dioxide removal, in which the gas is absorbed by plants, trapped and stored underground or otherwise removed from the atmosphere. The methods are “generally uncontroversial and don’t introduce new global risks,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate expert at Stanford University and a panel member. “It’s mostly a question of how much do these things cost.”

The second group of techniques, solar radiation management, involves increasing the amount of solar energy that bounces back into space before it can be absorbed by the Earth. They include seeding the atmosphere with reflective particles, launching giant mirrors above the earth or spewing ocean water into the air to form clouds.

At the influential blog Climate Progress, Joe Romm, a fellow at the Center for American Progress, has made a similar point, likening geo-engineering to a dangerous course of chemotherapy and radiation to treat a condition curable through diet and exercise — or, in this case, emissions reduction.

These techniques are thought to pose a risk of upsetting earth’s natural rhythms. With them, Dr. Caldeira said, “the real question is what are the unknown unknowns: Are you creating more risk than you are alleviating?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/science/earth/04climate.html?_r=1

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Tip: Women find lack of response unbearable (a negative response is better than no response at all). So, answer her question clearly, either Yes or No

Gender Differences, Female Hormones & Human Brain | PMS,Female Brain Book & Gender Studies | LiveScience: "Women may have evolved extra-sensitivity to interpersonal cues as a way to avoid conflict, a state that can feel intolerable to women, according to Brizendine. The flood of chemicals that takes over the female brain during a conflict -- especially within an intimate relationship — is almost on the same order as a seizure, she explains.

Possibly because of their overachievement in "mind reading," women often find blank expressions, or a lack of response, completely unbearable. For females in particular, a negative response may be better than no response at all."

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