JWR's Blog – April 2010 Archive (9)

In my post-apocalyptic 2020, peak oil, bio-engineered epidemics, widespread strife and economic collapse mean that virtually all food is sourced locally. No more Florida oranges, or Kobe beef, at least not in my neighborhood. The cost of getting the food across the country or across the world, without it spoiling, would be a literal fortune.



(What can I say, I just finished reading Paolo Bacigalupi's The Wind-Up Girl :)



Here in… Continue

I read about:

"INTEGRATION OF QIANG ETHNO-BOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES INTO A REFORESTATION PROJECT, AND RESTORES A DEGRADED WATERSHED IN CHINA"

On the KIVU case study page (no direct link, you just have to scroll or search for it, unfortunately).



I also found more details on the case at http://www.unesco.org/most/bpik15.htm, including budget, and some brief analysis on things… Continue

I enlisted my wife in this effort. I brought her up to speed on the mission and how Globalgiving works. After playing with the filters for a bit, we decided that we wanted to help empower women as close to home as possible. We filtered for the US and then California, and looked at the 10 results. We both have a strong connected to education, as we've both worked in the US public school system in the past. The donation request seen below called out to us, and we…

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In 1992, a jury's ruling on the Rodney King case sparked 6 days of riots in Los Angeles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots



While racial tensions are not at the same level they were then, there are other stresses on Los Angeles society. Economic stresses are high, and the state of California has major funding problems that are impacting government services. This also means that in the event of a riot or… Continue

I decided to try out KIVA. Very interesting system, and very easy to use! I joined the EVOKE group on there and contributed to a loan the group had already started. Was nice to know that I was teaming up with other Evokers.

The recipient I loaned to still has a little bit more to raise, but I will be very interested to follow the loan's progress and see its results.…

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I think the best idea to address the water crisis is an economic one: water.org's WaterCredit program (http://water.org/watercredit/watercredit-qa/).



It takes resources to solve any problem. Solving problems creates value. In the case of water, enabling easier access to clean water frees up time and effort (and sometimes money) spent obtaining clean water.



WaterCredit leverages that value created to enable a domino… Continue

It's a relatively simple idea: augment public-area trash cans with solar panels that power compactors, reducing the number of pickups required (and thus man-hours and greenhouse gas emissions from garbage trucks) by 80%.



Some alums from my grad school took this idea and ran with it, founding BigBelly Solar in 2003. The first BigBelly was installed in Vail, CO --trash is especially expensive to transport down ski slopes. Since then,… Continue

In my investigation into the topic of food security, I learned of an amazing initiative that happened right nearby my current home. I live on the edge of a Los Angeles-area town called Culver City. Just a few blocks over from my apartment is the collection of neighborhoods known as South Central Los Angeles.



According to http://www.foodsecurity.org/CF**uide-whatscookin.pdf:

In 1992,… Continue

* Economic sustainability; provide financial motivation for continued growth over time. Empower people by improving their economic or social status.



You may remember the Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck in December 2005, killing tens of thousands and devastating communities in many countries. Sri Lanka was hit especially hard. In the months that followed many organizations, and many individuals, sent money… Continue