Jul 11
On Thursday, July 8th, a rather interesting live web chat was conducted by USAID Administrator Raj Shah and actor Kal Penn. The topic of the web chat, “How to Make Change: Youth and International Development,” was especially important for young people who are curious about their role in the world today. Administrator Shah directly answered …
Jul 11
It seems that the revolutionary spirit of the Arab Spring has spread from North Africa and the Middle East all the way to troubled Belarus in Eastern Europe. Belarus has been called “Europe’s Last Dictatorship” ever since 1994, when the “Last Dictator” Alexander Lukashenko came to power in a highly contested election. In a distinct …
Jul 08
Once in a while, we all hear songs that hit us in the face. In a good way. I’m not referring to the ones that are on Top 40 charts that we sing along with our friends at parties, or even the really good ones that we repeat on our iTunes continuously for a few …
Jul 08
Budget Cuts Equal Shorter School Years for Many Children It seems as though the education reform movement that has swept through the United States is unable to conquer the growing budget crisis. Though the issue with budget cuts has been mentioned in previous posts, it is still imperative to highlight what exactly children are going …
Jul 07
Understanding Your Environmentally Conscious Eating Options A few years ago, I decided to become vegetarian after reading numerous reports on the production of meat and viewing horrific footage of the fishing industry in Japan, which I mentioned last week. For a year, I dedicated myself to avoiding meat and seafood. After a while of living …
Jul 06
The president of Myanmar (formerly Burma) announced an interesting way to fight poverty and increase economic development in the countryside: a sustainable microfinance system. Microfinance, for those of you that don’t know, is a system in which low-income clients and others who do not have access to banking services are given loans with the assumption …
Jul 05
Where to go when researching developments in South Sudan In case you haven’t noticed from my previous posts, I’m a little excited about South Sudan’s independence, scheduled for July 9th. As I’ve been researching and posting about influences, wildlife, organizations, violence, and general aid related to South Sudan, I’ve come across a variety of resources. …
Jul 05
A few weeks ago I was walking in New York City without direction nor destination. By a series of fortunate events, I unexpectedly came across a really good conference held at the New York Center for Architecture. The conferece was discussing the winner of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge (from the Buckminster Institute). The Buckminster Fuller …
Jul 05
Ever since the successful cloning of a mammal, Dolly the sheep, cloning has been a hot and controversial topic. In addition to the moral and ethical issues with cloning, most of the recent focus has been on whether it’s safe to use the offspring of cloned animals as a food source. Animals like pigs and …
Jul 04
Since this is a holiday weekend, I thought I would post something a bit more lighthearted: a Youtube video about voluntourism and sustainable travel in Laos. Voluntourism, or volunteer tourism, has gained a lot of popularity in recent years as tourists search for ways to have a unique vacation experience and give back to the …
