Re: [Wikimedia-l] California drought and WMF

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
When the WMF is to consider the environment, investing in green energy is
the most obvious priority. As it is the locations do use standard grid
energy. Most of the big boys on the Internet, Google, Apple, Microsoft,
Facebook have committed themselves to going green. The Internet if it were
a country would be the eigth country in the world comparatively...

This is only for our servers..

As we are moving into endowments, why not invest in green energy worldwide?
The objective being in two.

   - Invest money
   - offset the use of our projects by our servers and our user communities

When we do this in a collaborative manor we build a large body of knowledge
on green energy and green energy investment opportunities. In the process
we will expose many scams that abuse subsidies for green energy and do not
have the desired positive effect. We would also demonstrate that old ideas
about energy are no longer true. Among them the need for oil from the North
Pole.

Yes, we will make a profit that IS the purpose of an endowment fund.

Thanks,

  GerardM

On 15 September 2015 at 23:41, James Salsman  wrote:

> One thing the Foundation could do to help with climate change and
> water issues other than move office locations, and which is on topic
> because the Foundation has chosen to purchase renewable energy through
> contracting with suppliers in the past, is if the Foundation attempted
> to secure desalinated water from electrodialysis through contracting
> with San Francisco Public Utilities:
>
>
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B73LgocyHQnfV1Q4VE45RmFFeFlPSDlKalctVS1nRlYyY3lR
>
> There are two benefits: first, electrodialysis is much less expensive
> than reverse osmosis, in which almost all existing desalination
> companies have a huge amount of institutional inertia-causing
> investments of expert personnel, time, money, tooling, and effort;
> secondly, the same process can directly remove carbon from seawater:
>
> http://talknicer.com/co2extraction.pdf
>
> That is the least expensive method of removing carbon from the
> atmosphere other than collecting it at the smokestack, flare, exhaust,
> and tailpipe. And it pays for itself because it produces fresh water
> as a side effect.
>
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] California drought and WMF

[Tim Starling]

On 15/09/15 22:32, Milos Rancic wrote:
> For the last few years I am thinking about this issue, and as I didn't see
> anybody talking about that, I think we should start a kind of low level
> discussion, as it doesn't require immediate action.
> 
> From what I read, Bay Area is not particularly endangered (although it
> could be in the future). Even so, I am sure all WMF employees have enough
> money to buy bottled water. I know, of course, they are not in the same
> position as Google or Facebook employees, but I think the whole story is
> not about water safety of our headquarters.
> 
> It's about responsibility. WMF shouldn't spend resources unreasonably if it
> doesn't have to. And it's not just about possible "fund for water", which
> could become a standard for every Bay Area employer, but also about the
> environmental harm of the attitude of keeping yourself in hostile place if
> not necessary.

California is not a "hostile place" in terms of water resources. And
according to [1], no long-term trend is evident in the historical
record, and preciptation is forecast to drop by only 10% through to
the late 21st century.

California has by far the cleanest power in the US, and could easily
afford to desalinate its way out of a drought if it chose to do so.
Although it may be more efficient to use groundwater recharge as a
multi-year reservoir instead of allowing farmers to make unrestricted
withdrawals as is currently the case.

-- Tim Starling

[1] Our Changing Climate 2012 Vulnerability & Adaptation to the
Increasing Risks from Climate Change in California - Brochure
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2012publications/CEC-500-2012-007/CEC-500-2012-007.pdf


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Re: [Wikimedia-l] internet-in-a-boxs to the refugee camps?

[Simon Knight]

Hi all
https://openideo.com/challenge/refugee-education/brief  may be of interest
looking for innovation around: 'How might we improve education and expand
learning opportunities for refugees around the world? '

The call for that has now closed, but it may be useful to look at how
people intend to actually implement, who people are working with (and who
has submitted proposals), and where Kiwix (or other open knowledge
resources) could be effectively used.

Cheers

Simon

On 12 September 2015 at 15:48, Theo10011  wrote:

> Hiya Lodewijk :)
>
> I apologize if this is going off-topic.
>
> On Sat, Sep 12, 2015, Lodewijk  wrote:
>
> > Interesting. Over here, the 'experts' are adjusting the image exactly the
> > other way around: that smartphones are much more common there than we
> would
> > expect, and that we underestimate the inventivity of people to get access
> > to information/the internet. Especially in the context of people being
> > suspicious of all those refugees being photographed with a smartphone.
> >
>
> Those "experts" seem to be building a narrative, I suppose. There might be
> political motivations or general apathy at play there so I won't know what
> image people are formulating in Europe. There are two groups of refugees at
> the moment, one that are making their way through Europe and fleeing
> constantly and the other, that are stuck in overcrowded refugee camps in
> Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The original post seemed directed towards the
> second group. So, those entering through Greece pay as much $2500 per
> person to smugglers, they take huge risks with their lives, and physically
> carry all they own in this world on their backs, in comparison, smartphones
> cost less than $100[1]. It starts becoming a necessity for a family to stay
> together and keep in touch with relatives - phones become quite necessary
> for this group of refugees fleeing across borders. The article does state
> that human rights group in Serbia are setting up free wifi, and UN agencies
> are handing out thousands of free SIMs, similar to what Teemu envisions -
> but you have to remember that is mostly in Europe.
>
> The other group in refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, which is
> more than half of the total number of refugees, have more dire concerns -
> Food, being the most prominent one[2][3]. They are usually the poorest and
> most vulnerable group of refugees in the situation. Things are getting so
> close to rock bottom in fact that the refugees are considering going back
> to the Warzone in Syria instead of starving in the camps.[2]
>
>
> > I don't know what is the truth, and why this difference of understanding
> > exists - just adding to the noise here.
>
>
> It's certainly a bad situation all around.
>
> Coming back to my on-topic suggestion, Wikipedia Zero is a much better
> alternative. Partnering with other agencies and setting these devices up
> physically in sometimes hostile areas, is a huge undertaking that I believe
> we are not set up for. WP Zero already exists in a dozen markets in the
> developing world, all it needs is a single agreement with a local carrier -
> it just makes access to Wikipedia free for everyone with a phone (smart or
> not). It's a better fit in my opinion.
>
> Kind regards
> Theo
>
>
> [1]
>
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/for-syrian-refugees-smartphones-are-a-lifeline-not-a-toy-1.3221349
> [2]
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/sep/11/destitute-syrian-refugees-jordan-lebanon-may-return-to-warzone
>
> [3] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34220590
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[Wikimedia-l] [x-post] Reminder: Language Engineering Office Hour is on September 16, 2015 (today) at 1500 UTC

[Runa Bhattacharjee]

Hello,

A reminder that the online office hour hosted by the Wikimedia Language
Engineering team is scheduled for later today at 1500 UTC. You can join the
hangout or watch the session from:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c1c0msurhua7enopsu3q8l42j3s

Please note, due to the limitation of Google Hangouts there are few seats
available. So do let us know before hand if you would like to participate
on the hangout. We will also be on the IRC channel #wikimedia-office to
take questions. Please see below for the event details, local time and
original announcement.

Thanks
Runa

== Details ==

# Event: Wikimedia Language Engineering office hour session

# When: September 16th, 2015 (Wednesday) at 15:00 UTC (check local time
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20150916T1500)

# Where: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c1c0msurhua7enopsu3q8l42j3s and
on IRC #wikimedia-office (Freenode)

# Agenda: Content Translation updates and Q & A


-- Forwarded message --
From: Runa Bhattacharjee 
Date: Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 5:21 PM
Subject: Language Engineering office hour and online meeting on 16
September 2015 (Wednesday) at 1500 UTC
To: Wikimedia developers , MediaWiki
internationalisation , "Wikimedia &
GLAM collaboration [Public]" , Wikimedia Mailing
List 


[x-posted announcement]

Hello,

The next office hour of the Wikimedia Language Engineering team is
scheduled for next Wednesday, September 16th at 15:00 UTC. Like our last
office hour, this time also we are hosting it as an online discussion over
Hangout/Youtube with a simultaneous IRC conversation. Due to the limitation
of Google Hangouts, only a limited number of slots are available. Hence, do
let us know (on the event page
) if you
would like to participate on the Hangout. The IRC channel #wikimedia-office
and the Q channel for the youtube broadcast will be open for interactions
during the session.

Our last online round-table session was held in June 2015. You can watch
the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbXyHmpZJGE

Please read below for the event details and do let us know if you have any
questions.

Thank you
Runa

== Details ==

# Event: Wikimedia Language Engineering office hour session

# When: September 16th, 2015 (Wednesday) at 15:00 UTC (check local time
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20150916T1500)

# Where: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c1c0msurhua7enopsu3q8l42j3s and
on IRC #wikimedia-office (Freenode)

# Agenda: Content Translation updates and Q & A


-- 
Language Engineering Manager
Outreach and QA Coordinator
Wikimedia Foundation
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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] ‘Save the date’ for Wikipedia’s 15th birthday

[Katherine Maher]

Hello everyone,

**Wikipedia’s 15th birthday is coming. We want to celebrate with you. Read
this whole email for more information about resources and plans, and join
us on the Meta page to participate and coordinate:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_15**

As many of you know, the first Wikipedia was created January 15, 2001. That
means that the idea of our movement is nearly 15 years old! After the
celebration of Wikipedia’s 10th birthday  five
years back, we’re eager to coordinate celebrating this upcoming milestone
with you on January 15, 2016.

Wikipedia’s 10th birthday 
resulted in 470 events across 113 countries, providing our global community
with an opportunity to gather, share stories, and bake many, many cakes
.

As a way to kickstart planning around the 15th, there is a page on
Meta for Wikipedia
15  (thanks to User:Pharos
and User:JSutherland (WMF)) for coordination. Eventually, we plan for the
page will have resources including:


   1.

   Resources plan events and meetups locally to celebrate the 15th.
   2.

   More information on sharing birthday photos, videos, stories, Wikipedia
   content, and other media.
   3.

   Tips for pitching to local media to cover your event.


Many of the sections on the meta page are blank for now, but we’ll be
working with you to add more information to the page over the next few
months leading up to the birthday celebration in January. Please feel free
to add, edit, and discuss what you’d like to see for Wikipedia’s 15th
birthday!

We look forward to working with you to celebrate Wikipedia’s 15th!

-The Wikimedia Foundation Communications team

If you have any questions, please feel free to send an email to Joe
Sutherland (jsutherl...@wikimedia.org) and Sam Lien (sl...@wikimedia.org).


-- 
Katherine Maher
Chief Communications Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kma...@wikimedia.org
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