Ethanol Could Leave the World Hungry
Written on 07/13 at 10:48 PM by Andy Posner
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environment
Many people, especially the auto companies and politicians in Washington, are excited about Ethanol and its purported ability to wean us from foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the American economy. Numerous bills have been passed subsidizing the production of Ethanol, to the point that farmers can now make more money growing Ethanol for fuel than for food. This, argues Lester Brown, could spell disaster for the "two billion poorest people in the world who simply want to survive." The article does a fantastic job of showing the problems with Ethanol and then demonstrating several cheaper and more effective alternatives. This article was written in August of 2006 and appeared in Fortune Magazine.
Interesting Article About Celebrities and their “Pet Causes”
Written on 07/07 at 10:50 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments
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This op-ed article appeared in today's LA Times. It is especially interesting because there is a similarity between the celebrity charity work done by people like Bono for Africa, and the work done by Al Gore for the Environment. Notice how the articles points to the way in which celebrities distort facts–an important point given that they influence public opinion and policy. In any case, the article raises some interesting questions about celebrities and charitable causes. On the one hand, they can shed light on an issue that otherwise might go unnoticed. On the other hand, they can mislead the public, offer an incomplete vision, or simply distort reality to better serve their pet-cause.
Live Earth: What is it Really Going to Accomplish?
Written on 07/06 at 10:51 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments
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environment
Concerts were held all over the world today, ostensibly to raise awareness about global warming, and apparently to get people to pledge to making small, simple changes in their lives that require little effort, such as putting in energy-efficient light bulbs and drinking tap, rather than bottled, water. The concert is also, according to liveearth.org, "asking people to support a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 and a comprehensive international treaty on global warming by 2009." While that sounds great, as best I can tell, the concerts haven't done a good job of highlighting the drastic steps that need to be taken to solve the problem, as well as the economic and social opportunities that this creates for us. The problem with having pop stars push a serious issue is that they tend to be uninformed and more likely to be interested in partying than lobbying for change. The counter argument, of course, is that their wide appeal is useful for reaching a lot of people, and I would agree, but even the hosts of the concerts seemed to be eager to turn global warming into a hip, shallow problem.
Current Plans
Written on 07/05 at 10:53 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments
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At the moment I am at my parent's house in Los Angeles, house and grandma-sitting while my mom and dad vacation in Italy. In all honesty, I haven't been doing much at all aside from working on this website and researching. It's really hot here, and I find it hard to motivate myself to do a lot here since my life is really in Providence now. (Well, we have moved into Providence already, but we have yet to make many friends and all that good stuff, so we are kinda half-living in both cities for now) In any case, my current plans are to return to Providence on July 16th. On the 17th my good friend Jared Auld (who rode across the US with me) will be coming to visit me. I am really excited because I haven't seen him in two years and he is one of the people that I most respect. After that, I will move on with my plans to build a worm-composting bin at the apartment. I also hope to train on my bicycle, as I have begun riding with the Brown Cycling Team, and I would like to do a race or two with them.
Welcome
Written on 06/29 at 10:53 PM by Andy Posner 0 comments
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Congratulations: you have taken a big step by venturing into my virtual world. I'm really excited to finally get this site up and running, and it is my sincere hope that I will able to share exciting ideas, thoughts, ponderings, musings, cogitations, ruminations and the like. Even if I don't achieve that lofty goal, I'm sure that I'll have a good time doing it!
Welcome. I call this the ideas blog. That’s because this is where I explore new ideas, discuss new inventions, and chronicle how they are being implemented in the real world. I call these the three I’s: Invest. Invest. Implement. Here I will look at everything that’s going on in the world of information technology, open-source software, renewable energy, energy efficiency, micro-credit/poverty alleviation, social justice, politics and literature. If that sounds overly broad, keep in mind that many of the world’s most intractable issues--poverty, hunger, injustice, environmental degradation--are profoundly intertwined. Solving them requires big ideas, and that’s what this blog is all about.
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Green Microfinance: Advancing Social Equality and Environmental Sustainability in the United States
Click here to download a PDF of my complete thesis. Questions and comments are much appreciated!
My masters thesis in Environmental Studies at Brown University looks at how microfinance--the provision of small…
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Micro-credit has undoubtedly been a runaway success in developing countries as a tool of both poverty alleviation and economic development. To date, some 100 million people have been reached by micro-loans, and Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank…
Tonight, the Oneness of Things
It is late and my mind should be drifting through the colorful abyss of deep sleep, yet instead i find that tonight sleep will not come. I am like a hungry flower who dreams of bees so ardently that all…