This desalination solar still (based on the same design bootleggers used to use) costs only $50. The article in Fast Company describes the simple, open source design, that can make a once expensive process more available to many millions who need drinkable water.
Archive | Innovation
Just Follow the Frog
Here’s a reminder that how we shop makes a difference. First, buy less stuff. Much less. But as we do shop, think is this product recyclable? Fair Trade? Rain Forest Alliance? Local? Our choices actually matter in the real world.
Audacity, Find a Way to Embrace It!
Sometime in the eighties, I came across this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” For years this one sentence has inspired […]
Before I Die…
Artist Candy Chang uses her creative powers to connect her New Orleans neighbors to their own dreams and to each other. The unexpected death of a close friend caused Chang to reflect on what really matters in life. One result: She turned an abandoned house in her neighborhood into a giant chalkboard. She […]
First Web Site Ever
On August 6, 1991, Tim Bemers-Lee put up the first web site ever. (There’s a nice short history of it here.) The earliest version that remains, made in 1992 (above) can be seen here. You should really go to it. And click on a few pages to see how it all began. Because if you […]
Innovation Leadership
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. ” — Albert Schweitzer The group that has innovation leadership innovates and can reap rewards beyond imagination. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve seen it happen many times, and so have you—beyond what anyone could imagine. But this will happen only if […]
Make Mistakes, Lots of Them!
I’m on a plane in Central America in 1981. The guy in the next seat, who works for 3M, shows me these little pads that I later learn are called Post-it Notes. He enthusiastically describes how useful they’ll be in the work place. I remember being skeptical; obviously I was wrong. Post-its were invented […]
Are You Fearful or do you have Hope?
Should we be full of fear or of hope? For many years, I’ve paid attention to how people working to improve the world talk about their personal struggles between pessimism and optimism. Two of these, Bill Moyers and Paul Hawken, shared their thoughts with new graduates. “I find I […]
How to Break Through — with Limited Funds
You may be involved with a cause that wants to take its mission to a new level. But most likely, it’s got limited funds. Actually, that’s okay. In fact, it may be the best place to start. And this idea isn’t new: More than 2,000 years ago Plato called necessity the […]
Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution
Today I’m sharing this book review by fellow blogger, Paul Kuttner, from his culturalorganizing.org. Enjoy! The playing field has changed drastically for activists and organizers over the past few decades. The initially revolutionary tools of sit-ins, marches, and boycotts have become standardized and — let’s be honest — predictable. […]