Dutch go into space to help farmers on Earth

Drones have been helping farmers map their land, identify pest invasions and detect crop stress for several years. Now, the Netherlands is taking aerial agricultural data to a new level — hundreds of miles above the Earth. The Dutch government is spending €1.4 million ($1.5 million) on satellite data to “do its bit to solve the global food crisis.”

Follow the people: J.D. Vance to Revolution, Nick O’Donohoe to CDC

J.D. Vance has joined AOL founder Steve Case’s billion-dollar Revolution LLC to invest in companies in U.S. states that attract little venture capital. Vance is the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a look at the economic and cultural plight of America’s white working class. The former marine and Yale Law School graduate just moved back to Ohio (where

Can artificial intelligence help Johnny learn?

“Quality education will always require active engagement by human teacher,” write researchers from the Stanford One Hundred Study on Artificial Intelligence. But artificial intelligence will inform the teaching processes of the future as pressure builds on educators to “contain costs while serving a larger number of students and moving students through school more quickly.” This

Australia’s first Gender Equality Bond raises $384 million for ‘employers of choice’

Australia’s first Gender Equality Bond has raised $384 million for ‘employers of choice.’ Funds raised from the National Australia Bank’s five-year gender equality bonds will be used to “refinance loans made to a portfolio of businesses” that are recognized by the Australian government for their commitment to boosting female leadership and closing the gender pay gap.

Follow the people: J.D. Vance to Revolution, Nick O’Donohoe to CDC

Beyond Aid: How the private sector can drive change in global development

The Western world is leaning away from a globalized perspective and leaning inward toward a nationalist point of view. From the UK’s looming Brexit from the European Union to U.S. President Trump’s proposed 28 percent budget cut to diplomacy and foreign aid, global development funding and priorities are due for a profound shift in the

BlackRock launches euro-based green bond fund

Climate Finance BlackRock has launched a euro-based green bond fund. “A few specific clients” prompted the global asset manager to scope the new fund last year, according to BlackRock’s Ashley Schulten (paywall). We don’t know how big the fund will be, but it will track the MSCI/Barclays/Bloomberg index of “investment-grade corporate, government-related, treasury and securitised bonds”