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photographer Edward Burtynsky makes a wish: that his images -- stunning landscapes that document humanity's impact on the world -- help persuade millions to join a global conversation on sustainability. Burtynsky presents a riveting slideshow of his photographs, which show vividly how industrial development is altering the Earth's natural landscape. From mountains of tires to rivers of bright orange waste from a nickel mine, his images are simultaneously beautiful and horrifying.

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Hans Rosling demonstrates how developing countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He shows us the next generation of his Trendalyzer software -- which analyzes and displays data in amazingly accessible ways, allowing people to see patterns previously hidden behind mountains of stats. (Ten days later, he announced a deal with Google to acquire the software.) He also demos Dollar Street, a program that lets you peer in the windows of typical families worldwide living at different income levels.

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I came across a rather stupid comment the other day on YouTube about buying an Erhu. � $40-50 will get you a very poor quality instrument. Even in China.� This a typical upperclass opinion that only the best quality is more expensive. What the person here is doing is excluding the less weathy people from music and culture. I believe that music and culture belongs to all people regardless of wealth and status. In the 21 century the gap between the rich and the poor is rising especially true in Asia but you still see less weathy people on the streets in China playing music, playing music, polishing shoes and so on. Besides the weathy are really only concerned about making money and not the arts, they do not take it seriously - only as a hobby or past time while the people on the street are the really serious ones who depend on it for a living. Rather than saying �$40-50 will get you a very poor quality instrument.� which seems to only make it more impossible for the less wealthy who cannot get a 2000 dollar Erhu. What we need to do is make high quality instruments more accessible to everyone.

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