Discussion and Reception w/ Paul Polak on Poverty | NYU Stern School of Business

A Discussion and Reception w/ Paul Polak on Poverty | NYU Stern School of Business

Thoughtful, pragmatic, effective views on successful design for the world. Market driven = sustainable.

More about Paul Polak's work at http://www.paulpolak.com/

Send in the Clowns - The Coming Spin Cycle from Incumbent Broadband Providers

New York Times reports on FCC plans for credible broadband infrastructure.

As always, read the 100+ comments which will make you want to turn the car around and go home. Believe me, facts hamper vigorous debate!

The incumbents will take on roles made famous from great traditions mixing Noh, commedia dell'arte, mystery plays, and s(l)ideshows featuring tethered services provided with consultants (Slideshow Bobs?) and lobbyists to avoid the public ever having to be informed.

Ah, the incumbents. Service providers. What Newspeak. I want common carriers with firewalls to keep them from owning content and applications. I believe in markets, innovation, and low frictional cost structures.

Here's to physics over monopoly. (And I don't think this FCC vision's close to what it needs to be, but direction positive.)

New America Foundation has a series of policy papers emphasizing intelligent spectrum management at http://wirelessfuture.newamerica.net/archives/policydocs. This is quite important for empowering rural areas, in particular, with modern broadband.

It doesn't take a carrier. Watch this space.

Cue the duckspeak.

F.C.C. Plan to Widen Internet Access in U.S. Sets Up Battle

By BRIAN STELTER and JENNA WORTHAM

Published: March 12, 2010

The 10-year plan would reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/business/media/13fcc.html

More more at http://www.fcc.gov/ on spectrum policy, consumer broadband test tools, etc.

Fish and Salad In Situ Ville: NY Times on Aquaponics

New technology has enabled smaller scale livingry systems. (That is a Bucky Fuller word.)

Fascinating overview. Fish-Sun-Water-Plants

The New York Times discusses aquaponics as practiced in the US, with a ton of Australians in the mix. See http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ for more on that. I just discovered the Australian site and am gleeful from the experience. The Times article mentions also Aquaponics Journal, which has doubled subscriptions every year for the last five years.

The Spotless Garden

By MICHAEL TORTORELLO

Published: February 17, 2010

Aquaponic gardens use fish, water and no soil — and may be the future of food growing.

This technology/approach dates at least to the early 1970s - see New Alchemy Institute's innovations in bioshelters. I had mentioned New Alchemy Institute in November 2005 in the context of Sustainable Architecture at http://techneblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/sustainable-architecture.html

More New Alchemy materials at The Green Center http://www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/ which includes reports on aquaculture, bioshelters, and agriculture.

Good stewardship + good eats.

What Matters Most: NY Times dot earth blog

Andrew Revkin writes:

Ecoartspace, an organization that focuses on addressing environmental issues through the visual arts (the image below, from a 2009 exhibition, is by Nils-Udo), got in touch with me recently about a planned spring exhibition of small works on paper devoted to a simple question: What matters most?

Lovely selection of thinkers at http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/what-matters-most/