Development 2.0: Can new cities with new rules help end poverty?
This entrepreneur and Stanford-economist has an unconventional, politically incorrect idea to end poverty. He’s trying to help the poorest countries grow rich—by convincing them to establish foreign-run “charter cities” within their borders. Remember Britain’s lease of Hong Kong? Most Read More...
‘I’ve been a homeopathic vet for 40 years, so how can I be seen as a fraud?’
Cedric can’t explain how he is feeling. Nor can he say whether his new arthritis treatment is working. In fact, Cedric can’t talk at all. That’s because he is a horse. If this horse could talk, he might be able to save everyone a lot of trouble. Five-year-old Cedric is on the Read More...
How I cleared my cystic acne by switching to a plant-based diet
Like most teens and young adults, I grew up with acne. I started noticing my acne when I was around 13 years old, which is pretty typical. In the beginning stages it was little pimples and zits here and there, but it soon progressed. I remember being teased in eighth grade because I had pimples Read More...
Quinoa isn't a threat to food security. It's improving Peruvian farmers' lives
Trade in quinoa, the traditional Andean cereal loved by ethical foodies, has been accused of driving poverty in the region. In 2013, a Guardian article argued that rising prices, driven by western demand for the “super grain”, meant poor people in the region could no longer afford to Read More...
A sizable shift in people's diets could help prevent the brewing influenza pandemic
We’ve heard it before: Eating less meat is better for the planet. In May, China’s health authorities went so far as considering this in their new dietary guidelines, which advised a 50 percent reduction in meat consumption. (It isn’t actually doing anything to enforce this advice, Read More...
New tool calculates emissions impacts, energy benefits from smart grid investments
"Smart grid" technologies significantly reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions resulting from power production and usage. Taken together, smart grid and intelligent buildings mechanisms could reduce national carbon emissions by 12 percent by 2030, according to one estimate. But, surprisingly, Read More...
The secret of anti-terror architecture: Your city is probably safer than you realize
No one wants to live behind barricades and barbed wire, but everyone wants to feel safe, particularly in the wake of horrifying, unforeseeable massacres like last week’s July 14 truck attack in Nice, France. The problem is that erecting fortress-like protections is, in a way, giving into Read More...
Ford invests in mapping startup for self-driving cars
Ford is among five investors putting $6.6 million into a California startup that generates three-dimensional maps to help guide self-driving cars. Civil Maps, which was founded in 2014, uses artificial intelligence to convert data obtained from a car’s sensors into map information for use in Read More...
Coffee with a conscience: Cafes that are breaking down barriers
The United Kingdom is witnessing a new wave of cafes run as social enterprises. Cafes-with-a-conscience or a cause. A Bristol café is promoting multiculturalism post-Brexit. You can drink an artisan coffee in east or south London at Brewbird, which trains ex-offenders in barista and baking Read More...
… And better plastics design would help a lot
If plastics were better designed, they could be better recycled. That would prevent plastics entering the oceans and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the message of a group of scientists. A simple example: Clear plastic bottles have a recycling value five times higher than those that Read More...