by Preety Sharma | 18 Apr 2024 | Asia, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Environment, Politics, Technology, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
Meeting a growing energy demand can go hand-in-hand with the green transition. This is what India could show the world. Workers carry a solar panel for installation at the under-construction Adani Green Energy Limited’s Renewable Energy Park in Gujarat, India,...
India’s position as a growing global economic leader, a leading producer of renewable energy and as a large consumer of energy puts it at the center of the debate on climate-friendly energy transition. Preety Sharma looks at how if India successfully manages the move towards greener energies, it will serve as a model for low and middle-income countries as they develop economically while striving to meet climate goals.
Exercise: Individually, or in groups, students put their research skills to the test. Use the following questions as a guide to finding out more about this topic.
What is energy transition? How does it relate to the UN SDGs? What energies should we transition to and what are the issues surrounding using each of these? What would a ‘model for low and middle-income countries’ look like?
Find examples of countries that have grown and managed energy transition well.
by Enock Wanderema | 26 Mar 2024 | Africa, Media Literacy, Technology
Courts around the world are considering promises made via text message as legally-binding contracts. Text messsages depict a reneged deal. (Illustration by News Decoder) This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s global news service. It is through...
by Haley Davis | 14 Mar 2024 | Health and Wellness, Indiana University, Science, Student Posts, Technology, Youth Voices
It can spot cancer, answer medical questions and help develop drugs. But we don’t trust artificial intelligence to be our primary doctor just yet. A masked robot next to an MRI machine. (Photo illustration by News Decoder) You’re lying in a hospital bed about to enter...
by Malcolm Davidson | 29 Jan 2024 | Environment, Europe, Technology
A heat pump isn’t nearly as sexy as an electric BMW or a floating wind turbine. But on an individual level, it might make a big difference. Flowers grow next to a heat pump installed at a residential house. (Photo by one pony/Getty Images) This article was...
by Ama Okigbo | 23 Jan 2024 | Education, Student Posts, Technology, Thacher School, Youth Voices
We turn to technology to solve our problems but most of it is designed by men. One woman believes girls can program their own solutions. Girls sit in front of computers as they learn to code. (Photo illustration by News Decoder) This article, by high school student...
by Ivy Lam and Andie Korenge | 6 Jun 2023 | Climate champion profile, Contests, Technology, Writing's on the Wall, Youth Voices
Andrea Kritcher has done something that seemed impossible: Conducted a successful laboratory test that showed that fusion energy could work. Andrea Kritcher. Photo courtesy of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. This article, by authors Ivy Lam and Andie Korenge, was a...
by Shefali Malhotra | 3 Mar 2023 | Africa, Educators' Catalog, Government, Technology, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
If a government agency stores the DNA and fingerprints of its residents can it serve them more efficiently or control them more effectively? (Image: News Decoder) A year after Kenya’s historic digital identity program was declared illegal, the Kenyan government is...
As more countries around the world adopt digital identification systems, concerns about the legality of such programs have come to the fore. This month, University of Toronto global journalism fellow Shefali Malhotra walks us through arguments for and against the implementation of digital IDs in Kenya.
Exercise: As students are reading the article, have them create a list of arguments for and against the implementation of digital IDs. Then, have students write a paragraph on whether or not they support adopting digital IDs in your country. The paragraph should include arguments around at least two of the following subtopics: data protection (legal), privacy (personal & commercial), internet penetration/the digital divide, potential discrimination against vulnerable groups. To extend the activity, students can engage in a structured debate with classmates after writing their paragraphs.
by Tira Shubart | 1 Mar 2023 | Science, Space, Technology
Many of the more than five thousand satellites orbiting the earth are capable of producing high-resolution images. International agreements aren’t as clear. A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the...
by Shefali Malhotra | 27 Jan 2023 | Technology, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
New biometric systems scan your face or fingerprint as proof of ID, but many governments require an official card. For some people that’s a problem. Facial Recognition System starts its operation at JR Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo on 30 August 2021....
by Alexandra Gray | 21 Dec 2022 | Media Literacy, Technology
Algorithms that track the terms we plug into search engines determine what appears on the pages we pull up. Why does that feel so creepy? SEO concept by Anya Berkut/Getty Images More and more, we seem to get ads related to topics we plug into a search engine — long...
