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Missing Voices: How Can We Get More ‘Doers’ to the Social Innovation Table?

Thu, 2012-11-01 14:22 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Albert Gomez

http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu - October 1st, 2012 - Kriss Deiglmeier

A number of reports have crossed my desk recently about how to accelerate and advance social innovation. There are reports on collective impact, convenings on impact investing, and conferences about measuring outcomes to name just a few. 

These gatherings and reports come from credible sources, and so their recommendations influence the agendas of leaders, funders, and investors.

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Global
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Development
Ideas
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Solutions

Great City: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Unveil Plans For China's First Self-Sufficient, Carless City

Thu, 2012-10-25 23:19 — Maeryn Obley

Design mock-up of the self-sufficient carless city.

Image: Design mock-up of the self-sufficient carless city.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - October 25th, 2012 - Beth Buczynski

Many may perceive China as a crowded, polluted country, but that legacy is changing. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture just unveiled its master plan for Chengdu Tianfu District Great City, a self-sustaining satellite city that offers a solution to the problems of overburdened infrastructure and high pollution levels that assail many of China’s major urban centers.

The project envisions a city that avoids the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with suburban sprawl. According to the architects, Great City will be developed by Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co., Ltd. over the next eight years. When completed, it will be home to about 30,000 families totaling 80,000 people.

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Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Cities
Energy
Housing / Shelter
Infrastructure
Land Use
Sustainable Development
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Solutions

REDD and Smits Model Reforestation

Thu, 2012-10-25 09:59 — Maeryn Obley

In 2002, Willie Smits began restoring this tropical rainforest, degraded by timber piracy and agricultural burning, to its natural state. Six years later, the European Space Agency documented increased cloud cover, increased rainfall, and moderated temperatures over this restored ecosystem. In 2010, insects and birds not seen in 20 years began returning to this forest.Image: In 2002, Willie Smits began restoring this tropical rainforest, degraded by timber piracy and agricultural burning, to its natural state. Six years later, the European Space Agency documented increased cloud cover, increased rainfall, and moderated temperatures over this restored ecosystem. In 2010, insects and birds not seen in 20 years began returning to this forest.

submitted by Jean Woolridge

thesolutionsjournal.com - January, 2011 - Eric Rasmussen

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Ecosystems
Water
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Solutions

Video - The Man Who Planted Trees

Wed, 2012-10-17 00:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

http://vimeo.com/32542316 - from MrGreatShortFilms

production: Societe Radio-Canada - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The story of one shepherd's long and successful effort to re-forest a desolate valley.

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Agriculture
Resilience
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Solutions

Food Distribution in the Horn of Africa Goes High-Tech

Mon, 2012-10-15 23:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

huffingtonpost.com - by Cathy Herholdt - October 10, 2012

Getting food into the hands of the hungry in the Horn of Africa is about to go high-tech. Seattle-based humanitarian organization World Concern is piloting a new mobile phone app in the drought-stricken region, aiming to streamline the process of tracking food distributed to hungry families and payment to local merchants.

The system tracks beneficiaries and the food they receive via bar codes that are scanned into a mobile phone. Merchants have an I.D. card with a bar code, which is also scanned so they can be paid via wire transfer almost instantly.

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World Concern
http://www.worldconcern.org/

Scan My List
http://scanmylist.com/

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Disaster Response
Food
Technology
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Solutions

The ‘Avon Ladies’ of Africa

Thu, 2012-10-11 23:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Tine Frank… Living Goods managers explained business opportunities to new recruits in Masaka, Uganda.

submitted by Alisa Keesey

The New York Times
by Tina Rosenberg
October 10, 2012

Living Goods, which operates in Uganda, has a very promising model.  It brings goods the poor need to their doorsteps, at below-market prices.  Most important, Living Goods is building a business with the potential to sustain itself — it has already hit some important milestones.  That’s the key to a long life and wide growth — to helping vast numbers of people.

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Living Goods
http://livinggoods.org/

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
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Economics
Sustainable Development
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Solutions

Global Food Supply - We Need to Plan for System Failure

Wed, 2012-10-10 18:34 — Kathy Gilbeaux

ethicalcorp.com - by Mallen Baker - October 4, 2012

Mallen Baker argues that it’s irresponsible not to make contingency plans, especially when the potential failures concern the fundamentals – such as food

Imagine your critical business systems depend on one computer server. This server is huge – it has immense capacity – but you have grown into that space and now every single day you are pushing it to its limit. . .

. . . Now let’s substitute the global food system for the server. Here we have a system that is operating at full capacity. Any hiccups in normal production can lead to serious problems. This year we have seen such hiccups.

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Global
United States
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Agriculture
Capacity
Disaster Risk Reduction
Food
Vulnerability
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Problem

The Bicyclean Uses Pedal Power to Safely Recycle E-Waste

Mon, 2012-10-08 00:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Samuel Bendett

              

inhabitat.com - by Morgana Matus - September 28, 2012

The Unites States generates more electronic waste than any other nation on earth.  According to the EPA, more than 4.6 million tons entered domestic landfills in 2000, and 50-80% of our total e-waste is exported to developing nations where defunct electronics wind up in dumps, polluting the environment, and littering neighborhoods. That’s why 22-year-old engineering graduate Rachel Field has invented the Bicyclean – a pedal-powered grinder and e-waste separation system.

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United States
General Topic Tags: 
Environment
Pollution
Waste
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Solutions
Problem

World Habitat Day: A Day to Recognize the Basic Need for Shelter

Tue, 2012-10-02 17:54 — Maeryn Obley

huffingtonpost.com - October 1st, 2012 - Jimmy Carter

In the waning hours of a January afternoon, as children played after school and parents prepared to end their work days, Haiti was suddenly shaken forever by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Lives were lost, communities destroyed. An already-challenged country instantly faced even greater odds. Nearly three years later, some progress has been made, but the fact that -- unacceptably -- hundreds of thousands of people still live in tents and makeshift shelters should shake the world community.

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Country / Region Tags: 
Global
Haiti
General Topic Tags: 
Disaster Response
Housing / Shelter
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Solutions

France unveils 'harshest budget in 30 years'

Sat, 2012-09-29 20:18 — Maeryn Obley

François Hollande has described the 2013 plans as a 'combat budget'. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

Image: François Hollande has described the 2013 plans as a 'combat budget'. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

guardian.co.uk - September 28th, 2012 - Kim Willsher

To the dismay of a swath of French bankers, business leaders and the wealthy, President François Hollande has remained true to his word and unveiled €20bn (£16bn) in new taxes, including a 75% "supertax" band that will hit the rich.

In what Hollande has described as France's harshest budget in 30 years, business and personal taxpayers were asked on Friday to make an "unprecedented effort" to slash the country's public spending deficit.

However, the Socialist government sidestepped swingeing cuts in public spending, including pensions and state salaries, in its 2013 budget, which aims to find €36.9bn in savings.

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Global
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