Miscellaneous
Australia takes first step toward Bitcoin as currency
In a positive sign for financial technology startups, a government inquiry has set the stage for the digital currency Bitcoin to be treated like a regular currency in Australia. A Senate Economics References Committee review into digital currencies in Australia has found they should be treated Read More...
Lawsuits in the public interest now have their own crowdfunding site
Legal aid in the U.K is in a crisis. Government funds that used to be available to people who couldn’t afford to go to court were eviscerated, according to lawyer Julia Salasky. She founded Crowdjustice, a crowdfunding platform where anyone can donate to fund civil cases involving a community Read More...
Giant pulp and paper maker renounces deforestation in Indonesia
Three years ago the rainforests of Indonesia, and the species that rely on them, seemed doomed. This week they received a great piece of news — the latest in a series of recent developments that has the trend now leaning heavily toward their conservation and restoration: Asia Pacific Resources Read More...
Drones to spy on illegal loggers in Peru’s Amazon
Global deforestation has been slowing down in recent years. But the encouraging news doesn’t tell the full story. Illegal logging is on the rise, hard to control and impossible to measure. Until now, that is. Drones are about to become the eyes in the sky of forest guardians in the Peru’s Read More...
Ditch the plastic, drink through a rye straw
500 million plastic straws are used every single day in the world, enough to fill 127 school buses headed for the landfill. They are ubiquitous. Unlike plastic cutlery, no compostable or otherwise sustainable alternative is available to consumers. This may change if the Kickstarter campaign Read More...
What if Bitcoin could help mitigate climate change?
How do you like a juicy story with a brilliant and creative free-spirited character as its main protagonist, and a crazy plot to solve humanity’s biggest challenge—the very same one that has had governments dragging their feet for decades? The free spirit is James d’Angelo, who started his Read More...
Community Supported Art allows artists to find their audience around the U.S.
Inspired by the success of the CSA movement, the artist-led economic development agency Springboard for the Arts created a twist on the usual CSA in 2010, substituting “Art” for “Agriculture.” Boxes may include paintings, limited-edition prints, textiles, fine art photographs, and Read More...
Innocent
What he does in prison is less mysterious than you might think: he teachesliterature to inmates.And what he accomplishes with those classes needs to be told. Almost none of the inmates who take Wareham’s classes commit crimes again after being released. His 13-week course consists of reading Read More...
Talking is very primitive
I have the time. “Also, in talking, we can never be precise. It’s really hard to convey ideas, especially when we speak in different languages. You and I now talk in English. Yet, you are fluent in Dutch, I am fluent in Spanish. I’m sure that we’ll soon have a misunderstanding.” So what Read More...
Optimism: There's always a way
That unfounded optimism always infuriated me. Nor is it the kind of optimism this magazine espouses. Optimism doesn’t mean denying reality. Or seeing sunshine when it’s raining. According to the dictionary, the everyday meaning of optimism is "hopefulness and confidence about the future or the Read More...