Natalie's blog

When I saw the headline, “Divorced Before Puberty,” I assumed it would link to some kind of tabloid piece on a too-young married couple who were already divorced, commenting on something like the high divorce rate or teen pregnancy rate in America. Instead, I found an opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof, telling the story of a brave young girl in Yemen who was forced to marry a 30-year-old man when she was only 10. The girl was forced to drop out of school and suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her husband. Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. The girl took a taxi to see a judge, divorced her husband, made her way to America and penned a best-selling memoir. At age 12, she is supporting her family and is a beacon of hope and inspiration for other child-brides in Yemen.

Is the notoriously environmentally and socially unconscious megastore Walmart turning over a new leaf? The company announced plans on Thursday for some hefty emissions cuts from their supply chain by 2015. But is Walmart making this move out of consideration for their impact on the environment, or are they simply getting ready for “a world in which energy will only get more expensive,” as Walmart president Michael Duke stated in a web cast?

Last Thursday, while I was at work, my husband messaged me from home. He said he thought there must have been a car accident or something down the street. There was a loud noise, the apartment shook, and a bunch of emergency vehicles had arrived shortly after, he told me. A few minutes later, there was a flurry of chatter in my office. My co-workers were talking about what had really happened on our street that morning; not a car accident, but a small plane crashing into an office building.

Technological powerhouse IBM recently developed a new kind of solar cell which is more efficient than previous cells and is comprised mostly of inexpensive and abundant materials. This innovation is one of many that continue to make solar energy a thriving area of research. In fact, over the past few years, it seems like I've only read about innovative breakthrough after innovative breakthrough in solar energy research. And yet, somehow, I can't think of a single one of my daily activities which has any relationship to solar energy at all.

One of Obama's campaign promises seems to be on its way to becoming true. This week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has openly denounced the U.S. military's controversial “don't ask, don't tell” policy which prevents gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly in the military. Mullen and the rest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff plan to meet soon to discuss repealing the policy for good.