Changing prices of food

Change in price of items since 1978, relative to overall inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The price of carbonated drinks, for example, has fallen 34 percent relative to all other prices.

Via NY Times

Welcome to the aging world

In 19 countries, from Singapore to Iceland, people have a life expectancy of about 80 years. Of all the people in human history who ever reached the age of 65, half are alive now. Meanwhile, women around the world have half as many children as their mothers. And if Japan is the model, their daughters may have half as many as they do.

Read more in the Scientific American

Canadian Internet usage surpasses TV

An interesting piece of research came out this morning about habits of Canadian media users:

The average Canadian now spends more time on the Internet than watching television, according to a new survey from Ipsos Reid, a shift in digital habits that reflects the increasing prevalence of computers in our lives.

The findings in this study reinforce my previous calls for investment in better Internet access for Canadian users. Not only that, but this study really brings to light the inequality in traditional vs. digital media spending on behalf of advertisers and marketers. I don’t believe that traditional media is dead. However, this new data should pave the way for better and fair funding of commercial and non-profit initiatives online.

Canadians now spend more than 18 hours a week online, compared to just under 17 hours watching television.

Although those aged 55 and over were still more likely to spend a longer time watching TV than younger generations, Canadians as a whole were spending more time online for the first time, Ipsos said.

Read the rest of the article in the Globe and Mail

The strange new world of Nanoscience, narrated by Stephen Fry

Last 12 Naturally Silent Places in the US

Gordon Hempton is an audio ecologist (how many of those have you met?) who, due to a profound love of nature, has made documenting the way it sounds his life’s work. In the course of his work, he’s come across a startling phenomenon–the quiet places in the world are vanishing.

Hempton argues that “silence is rapidly disappearing…[and] there are a fewer than a dozen places of silence [in America].” He believes that such silence — found in natural settings undisturbed by human activity and sound — is completely underrated, yet it profoundly contributes to our well-being.

Read the rest on Planet Green