Miscellaneous
The activist guidebook you never knew you needed
Changing the world isn’t easy, and it’s much harder when you don’t know where to start. How does one begin a movement? And once it has begun, where should it go? Fortunately for us, editors Anthony J. Nocella II, the Co-Director of the Save the Kids Foundation, and Jason Del Gandio, an Read More...
Dust (yes, dust) may solve California’s drought
Dusty air may not sound like anything good. But what if it can help solve the extreme drought that large parts of California are suffering from? Researchers are now suggesting that dust, blown across the Pacific Ocean including tiny bacteria and molecules, could help fight the state’s water Read More...
Bamboo is the new “green steel” in architecture
Mostly known for its use in baskets and furniture, bamboo offers surprising qualities that make it perfect for use in architecture. An architecture firm from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is an international pioneer in constructing buildings with bamboo. Once soaked in mud and smoked, bamboo, which Read More...
Buildings will be able to harvest water
More on smart architecture… Usually, buildings shed the water away when it rains. But many houses—not the least in places in Africa or the Amazon—would benefit if the rainwater would be harvested and stored, so it can be used when needed. That’s what two architects have been working on. Read More...
A change of heart changes everything
All you need is love, sang John Lennon. The only challenge: How do you create love? A startlingly simple answer was found in the redwood forests of Boulder Creek, California. Since 1991, the Institute of HeartMath has generated a body of scientific evidence that shows it is possible to create love. Read More...
Retirement from work? Or from life?
Insurance companies paint a rosy picture about retirement in their ads and brochures. We see happy smiling people next to a golf cart. Their message: Life and freedom really begins when you turn 65. But is that so? Retirement from work more often means retirement from life. When you love your work Read More...
Fighting for freedom of the press
Freedom of the press is not a given in many African countries. In Liberia it was impossible for many, many years to write anything critical about government leaders. Now, in 2014, it’s getting better. That is in part due to the long fight for freedom of the press by the journalist Tom Kamara, who Read More...
Sharing economy expands to cities and states
The sharing economy works well for people, services like ride-sharing platform Lyft, and the apartment rental service Airbnb are showing. A new website, MuniRent, aims to bring municipalities into the sharing arena. MuniRent allows cities, counties, and states to rent, or rent-out large equipment Read More...
Digital currencies promise to serve and empower people
There’s hardly anything that can have a deeper impact when it comes to changing the world for the better than a more fair and just money system. The current financial system works best for established institutions and a few individuals—that 1% is not such a bad guess. But in this field as well Read More...
Global cooling and the need for kindness
Italian psychologist and author of The Power of Kindness, Piero Ferruci warns against the dangers of “global cooling”. As the pace of our lives increases and there’s more and more technology around us, our communication tends become less and less personal. The drive for efficiency and profit Read More...