Dec 16
A few months ago, I wrote an article about China’s effort to make the city of Shenyang more environmentally friendly. In recent days with the Durban Climate Change Conference having just finished in South Africa, environmental issues have garnered a little more focus in the last few weeks. While I am typically a quick skeptic …
Dec 08
A few nights ago, just as I had closed the books and decided to go to sleep, I stumbled upon a clip of Charlie Chaplin’s impressionable speech at the end of his 1940 film The Great Dictator. In his speech, he made an emotional appeal against the direction the world was headed. He acknowledged that …
Dec 01
The Republic of Myanmar (commonly known as Burma) is not the most tourist-friendly place. That may change soon, however, as the government seeks to capitalize on the benefits of 50 years of heavy tourist restrictions and isolation: beautiful, unspoiled landscapes and culture. For decades the country has faced heavy sanctions because of the oppressive regime …
Dec 01
Today is World Aid’s Day. We hope that you will use this day to support the local charities and organizations in your communities that are working to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS. We also hope that you will research and learn more about the impact of AIDS on global health, families and communities …
Nov 28
Every year when Thanksgiving comes around, I come up with a list of all the things I am grateful for, and then I try to give back to charitable organizations in my community or elsewhere. This year, I decided to give back to a non-profit organization called Pencils of Promise. Though it has been around …
Nov 14
Thousands of children, when they are young, play dress up as doctors, engineers or even researchers. Young future doctors dream of curing their ailing patients of far-fetched imaginary illnesses while future engineers dream of designing innovative trains, planes, and everything in between. Unfortunately, these youthful dreamers grow up, attend college as math and science majors, …
Nov 08
Just over a decade ago, public debt was just under $3 trillion and the US was running a budget surplus. Two wars, two recessions, and eleven years later, the debt has skyrocketed to $14.94 trillion, $10.20 trillion of which is public debt (debt held by investors outside the federal government, the Fed, foreign, state, and …
Nov 07
It is always fascinating to be in a room full of people focused on changing the issues that plague society. For some it will be improving education, for others it is funding that next great social innovation. For others it may be researching and determining the best way to address a community health crisis. Though …
Nov 03
A few weeks back I went to a Garmeen Creative Lab Workshop, where Bill Moggridge, the Director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum spoke about the new exhibition: Design With the Other 90% Cities. I was reminded of this exhibit when I was researching for my last piece on the 7 billionth person entering the world. The role of this …
Nov 02
I was born in Argentina during one of the country’s darkest period. I might have been too small to remember the turbulent times, but I grew up hearing the stories of disappearing youth, tortured protesters and despairing families. It is estimated that during the 1970s and 80s, approximately 20,000 people were killed by the country’s …
