Thomas Pinkerton's Blog (10)

OECD Factblog: http://scout.wisc.edu/Archives/SPT--FullRecord.php?ResourceId=27893



The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is well known for their vast store of research papers and related items,

but they are now entering the blogosphere, albeit in their own erudite

fashion. Their "Factblog" brings together graphs, charts, and videos to

offer insightful commentary… Continue

First, a digital poster of the discretionary budget of the US. The circles are scaled, so that the 600 billion dollar Dept. of Defense budget is visibly much bigger than the meager 6 billion dollar Dept. of Ed. budget.

http://www.wallstats.com/deathandtaxes/

Second, we have a site that uses computer generated climate models to look at future trends as well as our impact on future trends. As they say at the opening…

Continue

The US Government Printing Office just sent this out on the FDLP (Federal Depository Library Program) listserv: http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/news-media/press/10news12.pdf

It a set of links to all of the wording of the now-(in)famous healthcare bill as well as the debate surrounding it, and the vote.

I just saw a photo by TJ Roshan on a human-powered dynamo. One that generates electricity by walking: http://www.urgentevoke.com/photo/human-dynamo-how-energy-from-1?xg_source=activity

This got me thinking... what if you could scale that idea back even further? A pedometer that generates electricty just by walking, through linear induction -- like a "shakey…

Continue

It's finally today. The newest summer holiday -- Independence Day. No, not American Independence Day, but a day that celebrates our freedom from the energy constraints of the past. This day, first celebrated last year, is when we broke the magical 50. 50 percent of all of our power is sustainable. To celebrate, as odd as it sounds, all non-renewable power plants shut down, and the energy from the renewable ones powers only emergency services. It's a day to go outside and just revel in the… Continue

While trolling about for the LEARN3 objective, I came across this site, and wanted to share it (even if it doesn't fit any particular mission so far): http://www.greenmarketing.tv/embrace-incubator (official website: http://embraceglobal.org/)



How's this for a perfect marriage of high-tech and low. A high-tech, scientific solution for a low-tech problem, and all it takes it hot water --… Continue

Who prepared it? What is the dish called? What does it taste

like?



First, I would like to say that hopefully red meat consumption will have been cut back dramatically by the year 2020. While I don't subscribe to an ethical eating system, at least not a don't-kill-animals one, I have seen just how dangerous a high-meat diet can be. That leaves our major protein to be… Continue

http://www.urgentevoke.com/photo/397339859225a67afab5-1?context=user

This is the US Government Printing Office. Well, part of it, anyway.

This is where I hope to work in 10 years. It's a place that is rapidly changing the way Americans get information about their government, as well as how they access it. For those that don't know, this is the largest publisher in the world -- it…

Continue

While looking for a good social innovator to follow, I noticed that where my expertise lies -- research and libraries -- and where most social innovators expertises lie do not intersect. True, research skills and knowledge management are important to any field, but someone studying cheap, sustainable desalination would need engineers and environmentalists much more than a librarian.

Then, I saw Derek Lomas and Playpower. They're trying to design instructional, educational…

Continue

"Don’t fight culture (If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not

going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make

them a better stove instead.)"



One of the goals of librarians and archivists is to preserve the historical record of the world. There are, of course, many ways this can be accomplished. We see the Google Book Project, with its over-arching goal of knowledge capture and sharing. Project Gutenberg attempts the same thing, but on a… Continue