This post is the first I have written from a very personal perspective. Of course, every post that I write is dear to me and written with my own beliefs in mind, but thus far I have not had direct experience with the topics I have brought to people’s attention. However, as an undergraduate student, …
Category: Sustainable Impact
Aug 01
Sandals Steps Up?
I have never understood the appeal of Sandals Resorts. I’ve never been to one, so I can’t say for sure that my opinion is valid, but from the commercials they run it looks like all of the resorts are pretty much the same and are all the kind of all-inclusive, never-have-to-leave-the-resort facilities which never appealed …
Jul 29
Women in War and Peace
“For it isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” –Eleanor Roosevelt It is more dangerous in most conflict-stricken areas to be a woman than to be a soldier. Yet, women’s experiences during times of war are often ignored …
Jul 29
Disability-Friendly Budget Cuts
Currently, the debt ceiling and potential budget cuts for 2012 are arguably the most debated topics in U.S. politics. Other contributors to this blog have already discussed in detail the consequences that budget cuts could have on children’s schooling, academic research and education, and foreign aid. Shaunak, a fellow Program and Research intern with the …
Jul 29
A Plan for Dadaab Refugee Camp, Part II
On Tuesday, my colleague Ryan wrote the first installment of a blog series he and I are working on about the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. It is the largest refugee camp in the world, built to accommodate about 90,000 people. However, due to the current drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, there are …
Jul 27
Understanding Buyers of Sex
Eliminating Commercial Sexual Exploitation In order to eliminate the problem of commercial sexual exploitation, we must look at the demand side of the problem. After all, without buyers of sex, there would be no sex industry. By understanding the who, what, where, when, and how of sex buyers, strategies can be implemented to decrease the …
Jul 27
Make It Last Forever
Many of us working for social change have used the analogy of trying to teach a man to fish rather than giving him a fish, to explain the work that we are doing. We know and understand that creating long term impact rather than a band-aid solution is the ideal model. So in our efforts …
Jul 25
Giving Hope
In a few of my prior posts, I have discussed people who were unable to overcome mental illnesses such as depression or drug addiction. In today’s post, I’d like to share a more optimistic story. I will tell you about Dr. Marsha Linehan, an inspirational woman who overcame borderline personality disorder (BPD) and eventually developed …
Jul 25
Peace and Climate Change
When I think about climate change, what typically comes to mind is the weather: hot days, droughts, and other severe weather events – but all too often there are other effects of climate change that are greatly underestimated. In fact, some consequences of climate change may not have anything to do with the weather at …
Jul 21
The Repercussions of Wasting Food
I love food. No, I’m passionate about food. Better yet, I’m obsessed with food. So when I read or hear about something negative about the food industry, I naturally want to be one of the people that can create change, or at least do a good job of playing my role as a responsible consumer …