This is a presentation that I prepared for a “Tell my why it’s cool show” which is basically a show and tell for grown-ups in Chicago. Shout-out to Mary for organizing these great events!
Category: Interesting Links
These posts are links to interesting news articles.
How to be a good racist
I just finished reading the book “White Fragility – Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism” by Robin Diangelo. This is a must read for all white folks and people who enjoy the advantages and privileges of passing as white. The book explains racism better and much more thoroughly than I…
New News, Old News, and Food for Thought.
Cool developments in Science New cancer treatment re-activates the immune system. https://news.mit.edu/2021/new-cancer-treatment-may-reawaken-immune-system-1019 Accountability watch over the Tech Giants Facebook fails to hold dictators and other bad actors accountable to violations of Facebook’s own code of conduct. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/12/facebook-loophole-state-backed-manipulation Food for thought Munger thinks that other people should live in a building that (let’s be honest here)…
Live better with more food, more energy, and less water!
Many people in this world behave as though our economy is a zero sum game. But, in most cases, it is not a zero sum game. In many cases simply re-arranging our thinking or our systems can actually support a better economy and more biodiversity with fewer resources. This article is a perfect example of…
Tiny Homes are Not the Answer
America should be ashamed that, despite being the wealthiest country on earth with one of the most vibrant business scenes, we still have a massive amount of homelessness. To address this issue some people have proposed building tiny homes for the poorest to make homes more affordable. The thought behind this idea is that smaller…
It is Earth Day #50
And we are failing our planet miserably. JFK once said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Well some wise folks at Commvault have remixed this to “Ask not what your planet can do for you. Ask what you can do for your planet.” In…
All Electric Homes are the Future
The goal of this post is to encourage people who are considering building a new home to go all electric. The main reason to do this is environmental. At the moment going all electric may cost a little bit more because of a lack of market penetration. However the cost disadvantages of the equipment required…
Weekly Readings
Another week another list! The Living Building challenge is one of the most holistic sustainability standard. Most standards like LEED and Green Globes are designed in such a way that you can still build a building that uses toxic chemicals you just get less points. The Living Building challenge really gets sustainability right starting from…
Weekly Readings
Procrastination is awful. At least reading is enjoyable. Super adobe is a cool system that reshapes an abundant resource into beautiful housing with minimal materials and energy. Kudos to Fabio for bringing this company to my attention!https://www.calearth.org/intro-superadobe Indoor vertical farming in Chicago’s back of the Yards Neighborhood.https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-backyard-fresh-farms-vertical-indoor-farm-20190807-j7bzv2axi5cfrfuvspqyht7xku-story.html The limitations of neighborhood councils and participatory democracy…
George Washington’s Birthday
Looks like this is becoming a habit. Truly original content just takes longer than I anticipated. “Washington’s greatest and most lasting contribution was his example in establishing what is called “ordered liberty.” Ordered liberty requires that citizens be honest. The opposite of ordered liberty is dishonesty and confusion. Washington was known for his honesty. ”…
Link-Fest 3…
Because I didn’t take time to write last week. Frick Environmental Center is a building that I have had the pleasure of getting a personal tour of while I lived in Pittsburgh. Here is a link to their website which has much better descriptions of the building that I could hope to compile.https://www.pittsburghparks.org/frick-environmental-center-building Earthquake hazards…
Link-fest 2!
It appears that I will be too busy to write a real article this week as well. So, for the sake of convenient education, here is another set of links for your brains to munch on. This is an interesting article from a blog that is tailored more specifically to Pittsburgh but also looks at…
Link-fest 1
Since I do not have time this week to write a real post that involves research I am simply posting some links to interesting reads or cool stuff that people have told me about or that I have found during the week. The topics of these links span everything from home construction and sustainability to…
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. made the world a better place through the power of vision, determination, and powerful community organization. But even in his time he recognized that the fight for justice was only beginning. I would like to take this day to see how far we have come as a nation and how far…