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Situations like these are a daily occurrence in the South American 6-million-inhabitant metropolis. Especially the World Cup and the upcoming Olympic Games have intensified the conflict between the Brazilian government and the drug cartels ruling the favelas. In fact, the local residents appreciate some of their government’s more recent concessions like the garbage disposal or public transportation. However, what they appreciate even more is the form of personal independency that they managed to preserve over the years. Simply calling the favelas a slum would not do justice to them.

Of all the science conferences and think tanks I've attended or presented in around the world, the one I've enjoyed and look forward to most each year is the Google Science Fair.

This being election time in the Unites States,  I was complaining to my social media friends  that any candidate who is primarily sponsored by companies whose profits come from the extraction and sale of fossil fuels would not be likely to create a business environment favorable to those of us in the decentralized energy/renewable energy sector.  I went so far as to suggest that an administration backed by big oil would have a negative effect on small scale producers of clean energy.