The recycled technology of Ranjana Mitra
Ranjana Mitra founded Share-IT, which keeps used computers out of the waste stream by refurbishing them and donating them to poor families. Launched in Toronto in 2004, Share-IT has so far given away more than 75 complete computer systems and kept 23,000 pounds of electronic waste out of landfills, Read More...
Let peace and justice ring
In Africa, cell phones call for social change Andi McDaniel | April 2006 Read More...
Water, water everywhere
New technology lowers the cost of making salt water drinkable Tijn Touber | April 2006 issue It sounds strange, but even with 70 percent of the Earth’s surface covered by water, our blue planet is in the grip of a drinking-water shortage. The reason: only 2.5 percent of all that water is fresh, Read More...
A bridge not too far
The path to peace runs right past our enemies Jay Walljasper | April 2006 issue One of the great unsolved mysteries of the universe, at least from a geopolitical perspective, is why America is so fixated on enemies. No other nation on Earth has faced so few threats from the outside. There’s not Read More...
Hip hop = freedom
Don Popo raps about a better future for Colombia's kids. Marco Visscher| June 2007 issue Halfway through our conversation, Don Popo's eyes suddenly begin to sparkle. Don't you get it? they seem to ask. "To us, hip hop isn't simply a music style," he patiently explains. "To us, hip hop is a way of Read More...
The power of many
From the alternative global movement to the Wikipedians, the key word today is "self-organization": not doing what you're told to do, but contributing what you can and wish to for the greater good. Marco Visscher describes the emergence of the participatory culture. Marco Visscher | May 2007 Read More...
Let them in!
Why rich countries should open their borders to less-skilled migrants. Philippe Legrain | April 2007 issue We take it for granted that restrictions on the movement of people should exist. In particular, we assume that it is normal and desirable that people in poor countries should be confined Read More...
Give non-violence a chance
Achieving your aims without warfare is a dangerous idea that terrifies the established order. Mark Kurlansky | April 2007 issue Lesson No. 1 on the subject of non-violence is that there is no definitive word for it. The concept has been praised by all major religions, yet while every language has a Read More...
Seeking the truth in Louisiana
The case of the Angola 3 raises disturbing questions about race, justice and the fate of two imprisoned activists. Anita Roddick | April 2007 issue I am certainly not the only one on the airplane headed to New Orleans with a knot in my stomach, wondering what I might find. It's a little over a year Read More...
And then we started a movement
Jaya Arunachalam is leading a movement for women's independence in India. Ode spoke with her about why mircrocredit is not enough. Marco Visscher | March 2007 issue On the table between us is a copy of Ode. "Turning poverty into peace," reads the cover, showing a photograph of a beaming Muhammad Read More...