Growing up, many of you have probably watched Star Trek. Exploration of space was an exciting prospect indeed. What fascinated me though, while watching, was the huge abundance of resources available, such as basic raw materials, energy, even food and water. I remember thinking that if this was actually possible it would solve all of …
Category Archive: Technology
Mar 01
Nuclear Power will save the world
The Heading might sound outrageous. How can I possibly say that? Nuclear power will completely destroy the Earth or bring about a mass extinction. These are the thoughts, of many millions of people worldwide. It drives people to protest against nuclear programs, and even call for condemnation of those leaders, who seek to implement such …
Feb 25
Why We Don’t Need Industrial Agriculture to Feed the World
How many times have you heard someone say something like, “the world’s population is growing and we need to dramatically increase our food production”? And then, heard someone talking about how more pesticides, fertilizer and genetic engineering is going to help us do it. While the intentions of these people may seem good, these proposed …
Jan 24
Why Materialism Doesn’t Work
“The old fable continues to echo down the centuries. The waiting rooms of psychiatrists are filled with rich and successful patients who, in their forties or fifties, suddenly wake up to the fact that a plush suburban home, expensive cars, and even an Ivy League education are not enough to bring peace of mind. Yet …
Jan 10
A Culture of Consumption: Living in a Material World
I’ll let you in on a secret. You know that shirt you received on Christmas? The one that you were thrilled to wear the first time around? Slightly amused by the second time? And all too soon, you realized the novelty was gone? In a couple of months, the same shirt will inevitably end up …
Sep 27
The Potential for Awesomeness – 2012 Social Good Summit
The annual Social Good Summit kicked off Saturday September 22 with another amazing line-up of speakers from around the globe. This year the event truly created a global conversation with the event and livestream translated into 7 languages. As the head of an organization that views technology and innovation as a way to move the …
Jul 06
Using Social Media to Track Infectious Diseases
Next time you are sick with the flu, make sure you tweet about it! By tweeting, you may be helping health professionals around the world track potential outbreaks. Social Media is a huge part of people’s lives and has become a societal norm. People are constantly updating their facebook statuses, or tweeting about everything they …
May 03
Mobile Banking as a Means to Development
According to a recent report by the World Bank, 75 percent of the world’s poor do not have a bank account. Use of formal banking, the system of official bank accounts set up within financial institutions, is pretty rare within the developing world, even for those who actually have the bank accounts. Ten percent of …
Apr 23
International Development through Education, Women, and Social Media
If you’ve had the chance to read my most recent posts, you know that the International Development Conference was held at Harvard earlier this month. I’ve written about some of the key takeaways from the education and women in development panels, but I wanted to write something about the overall conference and what I took …
Apr 05
Simply Brilliant
Renewable energy is the wave of the future. Eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and relying solely on renewable energy sources would be a boon for our environment unlike anything we have ever seen. However, even the United States, a very advanced nation, only satisfies 11% of its electricity needs through renewable resources. Simply put, …




