links for 2010-02-25

• HEPCA – Caring for the Red Sea on Vimeo
  (tags: egypt environment marine conservation video)
• Plan B for Energy: 8 Revolutionary Energy Sources: Scientific American
  (tags: energy environment carbon technology)
• BBC News – Google bosses convicted in Italy
  (tags: google law privacy italy internet youtube)
• BBC News – ElBaradei to form 'national association for change'
  has said he is to form what he called "a national association for change" in Egypt.

  The announcement comes days after he returned to Egypt, and after he said he might run for president.

  The association will not be the same as a political party, as the formation of parties is tightly controlled.

  But Mr ElBaradei said anyone who wanted a change to the ruling party of President Hosni Mubarak could join him.

  (tags: ElBaradie egypt politics)
• EGYPT: Minimum Wage Not Enough
  When minimum wage is related to per capita GNP, it appears that this rate has decreased from nearly 60 percent in 1984 to 19.4 percent in 1991/92 and further to 13 percent in 2007," a study issued last June by the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies (ECES) concluded.

  Egypt's minimum wage is just 13 percent of per capita GNP, the study said. By comparison, the rate is 26 percent in Spain, 51 percent in France and 78 percent in Turkey.

  [..]
  The trade unions want to set the minimum wage around 1,200 Egyptian pounds (222 dollars) per month, while business associations want a maximum of 400 Egyptian pounds (74 dollars)."

  The authors of the ECES study recommended setting the minimum wage at 733.2 Egyptian pounds (136 dollars) per month. They argue that in most countries the minimum wage represents about 25 percent of per capita GNP. Their proposed wage factors in Egypt's per capita GNP, average household size, percentage of household members employed and ratio of dependents.

  (tags: egypt labor union economy economics)
• Reuters AlertNet – EGYPT: End of free health care hits poor hardest
  (tags: egypt health poverty government)
• BBC News – Plastic rubbish blights Atlantic Ocean
  (tags: environment plastics waste garbage marine)
• EGYNews.net | حبس سائق شهرا و‏ تغريمه 5‏ آلاف جنيه لإلقاء مخلفات بالشارع
  (tags: egypt garbage waste behavior law)
• ecooptionsegypt.com » Blog Archive » Upcoming Event: The Great Squeeze: Surviving the Human Project
  (tags: environment climatechange auc event movie)