Extractd

This week begins the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Representatives from around the world will convene in Copenhagen for two weeks to deliberate ways to curb worldwide greenhouse emissions.

You will find a list of the negotiating positions of countries crucial to the process here.

The stakes are high and so is the jargon. Sorting through the bevy of news reports can be difficult if you are unfamiliar with some basic terms.

Below is a list of some important terms you’re likely to hear over the next two weeks. 

Government 2.0, a growing expression that promotes the adoption of new technologies by governments, so they can become an open platform to share information and data. This data covers topics such as real-time crime feeds, school test scores and health statistics.

One of the innovations requested by those who advocate Government 2.0, is the opening of government datasets using an Application Programming Interface (API). API is a generic term used to describe computer programming formats (e.g., XML or JSON) that make it easier for computer applications to share and index data.

A benefit of government adoption of open protocols is programmers can build applications and user interfaces that provide important information to people in innovative and useful ways. It could be a stylish and easily navigable website, an application for your mobile phone, or a database that can quickly display multiple layers of government data about your area.

E-waste, or electronic waste, is a growing social issue around the world. Many components in electronic devices pose hazardous disposal problems. Devices that contain toxic elements such as lead, mercury and nickel can contaminate soil and drinking water. It is not uncommon for developed nations to transfer their discarded computers, cell phones and other electronic [...]