Charles Render's Blog (25)

Evoke Manifesto:
The main goal of the Evoke network is to engage the minds of leaders who want to create positive change in society by solving social problems. Anyone who is an inspired leader can become a member. To be a good Evoke agent, you have to be ethical and act selflessly. The Evoke network likes to create mystery and curiosity because it helps achieve goals through imagination.

The next Urgent Evoke chapter should address education reform. This is an issue that can be improved in every country and almost every community. I'd encourage everyone to play season 2. I would get rid of the "Imagine" element of the game. I would want more options instead of just blog posts, photos, and videos as well. Maybe add other options.

For this pandemic, my group will be my highly trained team of Greg Friedman, Sammie Cline, and Erika Parry. Together, we will create a network of doctors and experts on the flu. This network will help people get healthy and/or avoid the disease all together.

I thought something interesting and important included in the reading was addressing the fact that reporters like high-outrage, low-hazard stories. It is very important to remember that reporters often like to sensationalize stories and to always take the news from traditional media with a grain of salt.

When I am 100, my advice to pass down will be that fighting against change will never succeed in the long run. The only thing that remains constant is change. We will change our view of the way the world works, technology, and ideology. I don't know what social or political issues will arise when I'm 100, but I know the push for change will not end.

In Cameroon, there was a conflict between local communities and a company called Plantecam. Plantecam was benefiting tremendously from harvesting the bark from trees, and the local villages were not benefiting at all. This lead to illegal harvesting by the local villages. There became an excess of harvesting and it was harming the local environment. In the end, there was a compromise solution to the problem. The concept of participatory conservation was introduced.

My neighbors knew very little about the city of Gainesville, FL and its adaptive capacity to disasters. Gainesville is mostly prepared for hurricanes, a problem any Floridian city has had to face. For snow-related problems, Gainesville really is not prepared. As far as hurricanes go, there are hurricane proof shelters and there are also precautionary measures when a hurricane is on the way.

Ushahindi could be used where I am from for natural disaster related emergencies. Coming from Florida, I've grown up around hurricanes my entire life. Ushahindi can be used to help track key information about hurricanes. For example, sometimes hurricanes spawn tornadoes. If there is a tornado spotting, Ushahindi can be a helpful tool. Another example could be flooding information. Ushahindi could be a great tool during times of hurricanes.

The women helped in Pakistan will have opportunities they have never had before. They will be able to get educated and have independence that they would not have imagined. They will be able to create their own initiatives to help those in need.

For my mission, I donated $20 to an organization called "Giving Women Wings In Pakistan." This organization provides social and economic empowerment to rural women in Pakistan through creating Women Learning and Skill Development Centers in rural communities.

I read that Coca-Cola South Africa and UN Women partnered to empower women. It aims to identify and address barriers women entrepreneurs are dealing with and attempt to provide women with business skills and leadership training.

I used SquareUp for the first time to pay for my fraternity's formal. I really thought it was very user friendly. It makes me think that the future of financial transactions will be all computerized.

I think that the most interesting experiment is the use of internet to pay people. I have already personally used Square, so I feel like it has promise to be a very successful company. The internet allows the transaction of money to be seamless. The twitter transaction concept was very interesting.

I would create some kind of contest testing people's ability to conserve water. There would be entrants from people across the globe. The person who can conserve the most water doing an array of tasks (showering, brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, eating and drinking) would be the winner. It would encourage people to not waste water.

I donated money to charitywater.org, who uses 100% of donations to go to aiding those in need. This is a great organization that uses private donors to run the organization so people like me can get satisfaction in knowing my money is going to the right place.

I learned about the Lifesaver Water Filter while listening to a Ted Talk. The creator, Michael Pritchard, is an engineer who used nanotech technology. He decided to make the problem smaller to work on an individual scale. He created a filter system to give to those without access to clean water. These amazing filters can take the filthiest water possible and make it crystal clean drinking water. You can see his presentation…

I'll be celebrating July 4th and everything will be powered by alternative energy. American flags will be able to generate wind power so there is a combination of sustainability and patriotism.

I would create a ceiling fan that can generate wind power. This ceiling fan can help lower utilities.

Professor Manoranjan 'Mano' Misra and his team members at the University of Nevada have discovered a way to produce biodiesel fuel from processed chicken consisting of chicken feathers, blood, and innards. What has become an incredibly unhealthy food source has become a source of energy!

I'll be at my house with my family. I'll be eating organic food. I will have gotten my food from the grocery store. I will make some chicken and it will taste very good.