San Mateo County Fair : Usable Futures Pavilion

found out a friend of mine is managing the Usable Futures Pavilion of the San Mateo County Fair.

Looks like they're going to feature local businesses and technology for sustainability. Sounds pretty fun. Too bad I'm not out there then.

Re: MIT Sustainability Minor : Yang

Here are some responses I have. I realize this is a really awkward format, and this is exactly why I want to make thebeehive.mit.edu a forum format so we can have a discussion like this.

Prof Susskind says:

I'm a bit distressed that we didn't make the first core subject seem more important
to you. In the rest of the country, in the sustainability curricula that have already been
adopted, ecology is a centerpiece. MIT hasn't had a basic
ecology course available to undergraduates. Our approach is to embrace some
of the ethical issues concerning the responsibilities of humans for the stewardship
of the natural environment.

I don't know a whole lot about ecology. I think I had negative feelings about the words "ecology, ecologist, and conservation biology." I think there is probably a dissonance, though, between general usage of the word and academic usage of the word. In general usage, I think ecology has some negative connotations. It is often used to demonstrate that any living system is so complex that humans should never modify the natural environment since we never know the full extent of the consequences. While this idea is sometimes popular with the usual environmentalist crowd especially in developed countries, it has a different meaning for developing nations, especially rapid developing nations where conservation (of the rainforest, for example) sounds like a good idea, but it's impossible as long as people resort to logging the rainforest to improve their standard of living.

Now, I doubt that the class would have an antidevelopment message, but this is what I think of because of the mention of "conservation biology," although maybe I just don't even know what that is.

Regarding embracing ethical issues in the class, I would caution against putting too much focus on ethics. Most people who take the class would probably already agree that humans should not irreparably harm the environment, whether because of a moral obligation or because it ultimately threatens our own survival as a species. I think at some colleges it could be good to put more emphasis on ethics, but a lot of MIT students are cynical about talking about ethics and responsibilities in those terms. I think it's easier for a lot of us to think of things in terms of optimization of efficiency or utility or quality of life.

I think there is a subset of MIT students who are not activists or environmentalists but are interested in having a more fulfilling career that positively contributes to the natural world while still increasing quality of life for people. I think I'd be interested in

- tools for studying ecology rather than analyzing particular ecosystems

- tools for measuring human impact

- how ecology can help humans design better (biomimicry? perhaps this does not really count as ecology. I don't know)

- how human designs can work with ecological systems instead work against or completely separately from

- I don't really know what "population ecology and human demography...along with a review of important bio-physical cycles and the ways in which humans are affected by and shape these cycles" means, but they sound good.

MIT Sustainability Minor : Response from Susskind

I sent Professor Larry Susskind my comments, and these are his responses.

Many thanks for your comments on the sustainability minor. This is exactly
the kind of input we will use to shape the final version of the curriculum package
that goes to the full faculty for review.


I'm a bit distressed that we didn't make the first core subject seem more important
to you. In the rest of the country, in the sustainability curricula that have already been
adopted, ecology is a centerpiece. MIT hasn't had a basic
ecology course available to undergraduates. Our approach is to embrace some
of the ethical issues concerning the responsibilities of humans for the stewardship
of the natural environment.


We would love to get Course VI more involved. Who on the faculty in EECS
might we tap?

Of course, Let's continue the exchange in your blog. You can also cross reference
my blog (http://theconsensusbuildingapproach.blogspot.com) which deals
with sustainability issues as well.


I hope you'll look at the numerous undergraduate and graduate sub-specialities proposed by the various
MIT departments (or, in one case, by a set of departments) and offer your
feedback on the particular sets of subjects included. The sub-specialties are
as important to the undergraduate minor in Environment and Sustainability
as the new core subjects.


I wonder if you are right that most MIT graduates are going to work only in the
United States. My hunch is that in the future even US-born graduates will
spend at least part of their careers working in or for developing countries.
Certainly, if you look at the graduates of Course XI (Urban Studies and
Planning), you'll see that our alumni move back and forth from one part
of the world to another (and from the public sector to the private sector to
civil society) rather than stay in one position for a long time.


A lot of the skills that students learn ought to be applicable in both developing and developed
countries (particularly in mega-cities). My own interest, for example, in
wind energy, particularly the development of off-shore wind resources,
is an issue around the world. Knowing how to assess potential wind
development options, thinking through the roles that government can
play in supporting private investment in wind, understanding the best ways
of involving the public in wind development decisions, and being aware
of the best means of mitigating environmental impacts of various renewable energy
technologies are equally important in all geographical settings (even
if they are likely to produce very different results in different parts of
the world).


Sustainability@MIT did a survey last spring to get at the kinds of things
that students interested in the potential undergraduate minor and the
proposed Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Environment and
Sustainability wanted to learn. I was surprised to see how narrowly
some students framed their interests.

Biking Around

Yesterday, Alicia and I biked from MIT to Lexington Center and back for a total of 23 miles or so. It was fun!

Here are some trails around MA.

I need a better bike and a better backpack, though. I would like to spend less than $200 on a new bike. Is there anyone who can break down the costs of a bike for me? Why are some (like at Target) $100, some $500, and some $1000?

MIT Sustainability Minor : Review

So I've read through the proposal for the Sustainability minor.

Core Subjects
The Dynamics of Socio-Ecological Systems

This would be a new interdisciplinary class taught by an ecologist and ecological biologists... Key concepts from population ecology, conservation biology and human demography ... with a review of important bio-physical cycles.

-> Honestly, this class sounds kind of boring. I'm not sure how useful this information can be for a career except as basic background information. I'm also least familiar with this subject. Perhaps it would be good if the blurb mentioned what fields of study or careers these concepts lead into. It sounds like these are the kinds of tools that would be useful for measuring and tracking environmental data? Or perhaps these concepts are most useful for providing a new model of the relationship between humans and everything else so that it's easier to understand and explain to others the need for sustainability. At it is, this sounds like a typical old-school environmentalism class.

The Environmental Impacts of Engineered Systems: Designing Sustainable Mega-Cities

The focus would be on ways of designing more efficient and less environmentally damaging infrastructure in the largest cities in the developing world.

-> This seems pretty straightforward and makes sense to me. One thing, though, is I wonder if it can be also relevant to large in the developed world. That way, the knowledge and skills acquired can really be relevant to local issues. Most MIT graduates will still be working in the US after all, and plus the developed world is still the largest contributor to pollution and CO2 emissions, etc.

Governance and Markets: Law, International Regimes, and the Economics of Ecological Problems

This would be a new interdisciplinary class taught by economists, lawyers, political scientists and public policy specialists from various parts of the Institute. The focus would be on the ways in which markets and governance systems can be used to protect and create natural and social capital.

-> This class sounds really interesting, although difficult to implement.

Environmental and Occupational Health Implications of Sustainability

This would be a modification of an existing course in Biological Engineering and would be taught by Professor William Thilly and Dr. Robert McCunney.

-> This class sounds really good.

Comments on classes in general :
I noticed that there weren't any course 6 type classes except perhaps systems design. One issue with course 6 is that a lot of the material we are taught are in the context of making certain types of products: audio amplifiers, robotics, image processing. The material is most relevant to commercial electronics companies and defense contractors. What I really wish we had when I was an undergrad in course 6 are course 6 classes that are relevant to sustainability: energy harvesting (wind, solar), smart grid management, wireless sensor networks, low power design, systems modeling.

Sustainability Links

NREL - National Renewable Energy Lab - National Lab of the US DOE - Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy. It's in Denver, though.

MIT FENS - Faculty Environmental Network for Sustainability. They are submitting a proposal for an undergraduate Sustainability Minor. I should think about how I feel about that.

PRC vs World Uyghur Congress Media Blitz

Some American news organizations have been saying that China's handling of the media during the protests this time is more like the US's tactics. They kind of imply that this is a good thing but also a bad thing since it's more manipulative. It's a little bit of a paradox.

The Uyghurs don't trust what the Chinese say, and I can understand that. I mean, they sound so cheesy towing the party line. Although honestly, I still believe their main accounts of what happened and the casualty numbers the Chinese government has released. And I don't believe anything the World Uyghur Congress says even if I'd be willing to believe individual Uyghurs.

The World Uyghur Congress has been busy with their propaganda as well, though. They used photos of completely unrelated incidents as evidence of Chinese brutality. Even if they convince Turkey and perhaps other foreign countries, the Han Chinese now consider them complete liars, and I think this is really bad for Han-Uyghur relations. It's also bad because if all Uyghurs really believe things they say, then a lot of their grievances are not even real.

This is a good blog, though, about Xinjiang in general by American expatriots.

Killing Clams

yesterday I shucked a clam for the first time. today I bought six more clams and shucked them. I feel kind of bad for murdering them. It feels a little strange because they have two muscles and even when you cut one, you can tell the clam is not dead yet because the other muscle is still flexed.

Then I got a little obsessed about researching them.

Finally figured out what those clams I ate in China were called. Razor Clams.


Also, I didn't know quahog, cherrystone, and littlenecks were all the same species, just different sizes. Huh, I feel so tricked.

Look, clam babies.




Also, I did not actually know that these were scallops! Plus, they have eyes! What???!!

Rising Inequality in China

this is a good article about the nature of protests in China.

I also agree that it's a mistake for the government to blame unrest in Tibet in Xinjiang solely on exhile communities and separatist groups. While I do think they exacerbate problems, the local Tibetan and Uyghur populations are dissatisfied and that needs to be addressed.

Han Uighur relations

They are bad right now.

The biggest problem is that neither side believes things that the other side says. Then it is impossible to even report news about the facts since ultimately it depends who you're citing and what race the reporter is.

There have also been a lot of distortions to the nature of Han and Uighur relations in order to fit a narrative that Westerners can understand. The familiar narrative is that the Han are colonizers and are racist against the Uighurs the same way white Americans and other Europeans were/are racist against black people. However, many of the Han who moved to Xinjiang are poor also, but to be clear there are two kinds of Han moving to Xinjiang: the lower class peasants and middle class entrepreneurs.

They are not exploiting the Uighurs for their land or cheap labor. In fact, a big Uighur complaint is that the Han won't hire them. While this is a legitimate complaint, the Han could hardly be considered exploiters. The lower class Han themselves are being "exploited" for cheap labor all across China by other Han and foreigners.

Some complaints are really ridiculous and only confirm to Han Chinese that Uighurs don't make any sense. Then, instead of considering that there is a misunderstanding, Han Chinese get offended and feel the need to point out where Uighurs do have certain advantages. Then it becomes an argument over who has it worse instead of trying to clear anything up.

For example, some overseas Uighurs and people in Turkey claim that there is a governmental policy of driving Uighurs from Xinjiang to other parts of China for cheap labor. That would really be an elaborate plot, and doesn't even make sense given other complaints that Han won't hire Uighurs. Anyway, there is plenty of Han Chinese cheap labor, especially in the economic downturn.

While Han Chinese have a stereotype that Uighur culture and way of life is more primitive, it's not the same attitude that white settlers had towards Native Americans, which is that they're amoral heathens that need to be civilized. For one, Han Chinese are not religious and are not interested in proselytizing. In Han culture, there is a policy of "non-interference" into other people's affairs (that is, people not in your family). This policy was put on hold in the early years of Communism, which most people now consider a disaster, and so ever since the economic reform era, it's been reinstated. It is the Uighurs who are religious and probably think the Chinese are godless heathens.

Han Chinese people consider their own culture and way of life primitive. That is why there has been such a big drive to develop and live and dress like Western people. Indeed, Han Chinese people consider much of the lower class to also be behind in culture and lifestyle, not to mention the lifestyle of more isolated minorities. The developments that Han Chinese bring are not even Han, they're Western, and they're developments that Han themselves are still getting used to. That is why Han Chinese do not understand why Uighurs think Han are trying to supress their culture. The difference is that Han consider it progress while Uighurs simply feel culture shock. However, undoubtedly, when Uighurs move to Western countries they become assimilated to Western culture. It's like how Tibetans complain about cultural genocide, but when I see Tibetans in the states, they're not wearing traditional dress and collecting yak dung. The real issue, perhaps, is that the Uighurs as well as the Tibetans do not feel that they are in control or a part of the modernization.

Uighurs are upset that they have less opportunities if they don't know Mandarin and they also claim that the Chinese are forcing them to learn Mandarin. Well, it would seem that if it's such an advantage to know Mandarin, why are they upset about having to learn it? Actually, every region in China speaks a different dialect, and so in schools across China, there has been a drive to teach the official Mandarin dialect so that people across China can talk to each other. Also, because of the advantages of knowing English, Han Chinese are practically falling over themselves trying to learn English. In China, they start teaching English in elementary school and continue through high school. The Uighurs are understandably upset because they feel they have to know Mandarin to make a living even their own hometown. This is indeed sad, but many lower class Han Chinese actually have the same problem.

With that said, Han Chinese should try to be more understanding, but there is something of a culture difference, I think. In Han culture, there is an emphasis on reforming yourself and accepting your fate. Honestly, Han Chinese often take it to the extreme and are willing to endure a lot of humiliation in pursuit of a better life or better life for their children. Part of this is because of the lack of a strict religion and thus increased flexibility for lifestyles. Many Han are now unreligious, but even those who are not practice Buddhism or Taoism, which are not that strict. Actually in old society there used to be strict rites that families were to follow, but it is now considered reactionary and "superstitious." Another part, I think, is that there are so many Han people, even if you think doing something is against your principles, there are thousands of other people who will do it so you go with it or risk losing out on an opportunity. I think these reasons are why Han Chinese don't think it's such a big deal that there are restrictions placed on Uighur religious practices.

Consider that the Chinese government does not encourage developing Xinjiang or encouraging students, teachers, businesses, and doctors to move there. Then the Uighurs would be complaining that they are being ignored and left out of the economic development.

Han Chinese, on the other hand, should stop claiming that the Uighurs and Han have always lived together harmoniously. This impossibly rosy assessment of Uighur and Chinese relations may actually have been true in the past when there were fewer Han in Xinjiang, but of course when there is such a large demographic shift in such a short amount of time, there is bound to be increased tension, especially since Uighur and Han culture are so different. Ethnic policy should be debated but Han should be sensitive when calling to revoke privileges that Uighurs have. We need to consider what are the problems that need to be addressed? Anti-affirmative action sentiment is growing in China just as it is growing in the United states amongst white Americans. This rhetoric only fosters further mistrust and antipathy between the races.

As for calls by the World Uyghur Congress and Uyghur sympathizers for the creation of an East Turkestan nation, I'd like to remind everyone that the only states that have been created based on self-determination are Kosovo and Israel, both of which were created by force and are the cause of considerable strife. If the real grievances of Uighurs are about rights and way of life, then we should focus on addressing their concerns with changes in policy and fostering better mutual understanding. The creation of a nation is based on military and economic power, not a means for solving civil problems. There should be no reason to split Chinese territory.

In short, there are race relation problems, and solutions can only come from dialogue.