Jul 5, 08
Do small steps actually lead anywhere? We all know the theory that small steps lead to bigger steps, which lead in turn to real change. And there are certainly a lot of small steps on offer these days, from the latest home energy tracker to the solar bikini. But...
Resilient Community
I think pretty highly of John Robb. I don't always agree with him -- and sometimes I think he's way off base -- but I think he's really grappling with the new realities of violence, conflict and system instability in our times. In particular, I find his on-going series of posts on Resilient Community a source of both worry and insight. First, the insight. John's posts themselves tend to focus on work-arounds for brittle infrastructure, things like smart local networks (sort of the information equivalent of energy smart grids), community scrip and local fabrication. There are some really thought-provoking ideas here, new thinking applied in new ways, many of which fit well with a strategy of increasing neighborhood survivability. The world is getting bumpier, and preparedness, learning and innovation are...
Summer Books
Summer has finally arrived here in Seattle. And the abundance of daylight means more time for things like barbecues, lawn sports, cool drinks and, of course, great summer reads. To create the perfect Worldchanging summer reading list, full of smart, beach-worthy must-reads, we asked for a little help from our friends. Here's what some of them are reading: Reviews from Jay Walljasper I worry that summertime as a distinct season when "the living is easy" is slipping away from us. The deluge of things to get done doesn't seem to slacken in the hot weather anymore. We could blame air conditioning or the i inexorable spread of workaholism, but whatever the cause, this is not a sign of progress. The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer-- as another old song...
Recovery Parks, Free Geeks and Plasma: Vancouver Debates Zero Waste
Can we imagine a day when, having sorted out our recyclables and compost-ables, then responsibly earmarked our "still perfectly good" stuff for reuse, we'll have no trash left to drag to the curb? What are the solutions that will take the developed world from our current rates of over-consumption to zero waste? British Columbia, one of Canada's most progressive provinces, faces some difficult decisions. Estimates warn that the Cache Creek landfill, where Vancouver sends about 1/3 of its garbage, will fill to capacity and close by 2010; current disposal rates will also fill the Vancouver landfill by 2038. And sourcing new landfill space in a sensitive geographic strip of densely populated land bordered by mountains and ocean is nearly impossible. In response, Vancouver is pursuing an ambitious citywide zero-waste goal...
Here Comes Everybody
Falling in Love with the Internet All Over Again Sometimes relationships get a little tired. Maybe you’ve been taking that faithful old World Wide Web for granted? Reading Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations will help you fall in love with the Internet all over again. Clay Shirky clearly and compellingly describes the many ways that people are taking advantage of web 2.0 and the new social networking technologies. But, I found Here Comes Everybody to be far more than simply a book about the Internet. Subtitled The Power of Organizing without Organizations, the book is committed to alerting the reader to the possibility of a distinctly new kind of society that the Internet has made possible. Shirky convincingly argues that the Internet is creating not just...
Where'd You Get That Vintage Turbine?
It's exciting to witness development of increasingly efficient wind power technologies (to see Popular Science's geek-worthy eye candy on that front, click here and here). But what can we...
London Biotopes and Body Ecologies
The largest part of the pharmaceuticals and chemicals we take go through our bodies and eventually end up in waste water. As water and waste treatment plants haven't been designed...
Interview: Kavita Ramdas, Global Fund for Women
By Britt Bravo "I think there are many different ways in which you define leadership. As a feminist, and as a feminine feminist, I truly believe that we don't do...
Doing Business Series Gets Slammed by World Bank Watchdog
"So, what do you think about the IEG report?" I was g-chatting with my friend Smita the other night when she brought up the World Bank. "What IEG report? What's...
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Who are you? What are you thinking about? What should we be thinking about? How can we make Worldchanging better? For almost five years, we've been working to bring you...
Life Support: Animals as Medical Companions/ Devices
Revital Cohen's final project at the Design Interactions department looked at how cross-breeding man with machines or other species can open up new design opportunities and a space for...
China Watch: Plastic Bag Ban Trumps Market and Consumer Efforts
by Yingling Liu China's recent plastic bag ban has been immediately accepted by consumers. In a country where billions of plastic bags are used each day, the government's top-down policy...
Letter from Tällberg: Turn Back, O Man
Here at the Tällberg Forum-- Sweden's annual festival of words and music, science and dreams about sustainability and globalization -- things are getting a little clearer. This is the last...
Letter from Tällberg: Let's Talk about Transformation
"Let's talk about transformation for a couple of minutes" says the moderator, John Kao (a San Francisco-based consultant who also plays a mean jazz piano). Apparently, that's all the...
Das Handbuch der Ideen für eine bessere Zukunft
We are happy to announce that the German translation of our book is due out in August with the title Worldchanging: Das Handbuch der Ideen für eine bessere Zukunft. We...
Letter from Tällberg: 350? Well, Poo
The former President of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres, has just congratulated another Latin American leader (a government minister in Equador -- her name is not in the program...
U.S. Ecosystem Report Indicates Trouble
Years of industrial and agricultural growth have left an indelible imprint on many formerly vibrant U.S. ecosystems. While nature is adept at resilience, the depletion and contamination of natural...
Resource: ThetaNoon, the Solar Energy Calculator
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is now at its most northern point in the sky and it’s officially summer. As the rays beam down from our closest star...
GM's Big Bet: the Chevy Volt
The Atlantic has a fun piece on GM's ambitious plan to bring the Volt to market by 2010. I generally don't go in for overripe tales of corporate heroism...
Seeing the African Challenge in a Single Graph
Our allies at the Global Footprint Network and WWF have released their new report Africa: Ecological Footprint and Human Well-Being, on pathways towards sustainable development. It's a sharp piece of...
Committed Places
I found this edition of the PHotoEspaña festival amazingly good. One of the most thought-provoking shows, Committed Places, Topography and the Present, displays the work of ten photographers who use...
Californians are Climate Trendsetters
by Anna Fahey I've said it before; I'll say it again: Strong bi-partisan leadership in California puts state residents ahead of the public opinion curve when it comes to climate...
Book Review: Nudge
By Coco Krumme Call it the Malcolm Gladwell effect. With its pristine cover design and one-word title, Nudge---an engaging jaunt through the field of behavioral economics--- seems at first...
Greenhouse Gases: Where Do They Come From?
The World Resources Institute has a geekalicious image (see page 15 of this pdf) that shows how human activities contribute to global warming. Click on the image below to get...
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