Apr 22
Regular readers of this blog will know that Myanmar has long been one of my favorite topics. I’ve written many times, often quite hopefully, about what the future may hold for this isolated country as it begins to open up economically and socially. New president Thein Sein has made serious moves towards reforming the military-ruled country, …
Mar 25
I’ve written a lot about the opening up of Myanmar and Bhutan and their possibilities for sustainable tourism, so today I thought I would look at another isolated country: Cuba. Travel between the United States and Cuba has been forbidden since February 8th, 1969, just a few months after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. …
Mar 15
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 …
Feb 25
In the 1970s Richard Easterlin wrote an article titled “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence,” in which he described what is now known as the Easterlin Paradox and became the father of happiness economics. The Easterlin Paradox, simply stated, suggests that people do not get happier as they get richer. …
Jan 15
Environmental awareness and protection campaigns have become a ubiquitous staple in the global media diet. It seems that movements to search for alternative energy resources and investing in biofuels have become a mantra for a plethora of countries. Protecting the planet is without a doubt an important matter to focus on, but what happens behind …
Dec 10
A great sense of empowerment is needed for the people of Haiti, who remain in a housing crisis two years after the earthquake. The empowerment of people in need is paramount to creating change. The best Aid workers are sometimes individuals who have lived in the communities needing help and are invested in their communities. …
Nov 20
I’ve written a considerable amount about Myanmar here on Not Enough Good, so of course I was excited when I heard that President Obama was planning a trip to Southeast Asia that included a historic stop in Myanmar. This is the first time a sitting American president has visited the country, and both Bill Clinton …
Sep 10
Everybody knows about “the media”. Everybody talks about “the media”. However, how many people know who actually owns the media? In 1983, there were 50 companies, which owned approximately 90% of the American media. However, the media landscape has changed dramatically in the last thirty years due to globalization, commercialization, and large-scale consolidation. Currently, there …
Jun 26
Did you know water was declared a human right in 2010 by the United Nations? Yet, 884 million people are still without access to safe drinking water and, more than 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. These statistics are pretty shocking to me because despite many advances, we are facing this problem in …
May 28
If I asked you to define “capitalism” I’m sure you could come up with some sort of adequate description no matter your knowledge of economics; it is, after all, the American system. It may surprise many of you to learn, however, that “capitalism” is far from easy to define, as there are a large number …
