This six part series by Richard Behar of Fast Company entitled “China in Africa” is the single best piece of investigative journalism I’ve read in months. Maybe years. Maybe ever.
Behar breaks down and brilliantly weaves the geo-political, business, governmental, community, historical, and personality issues that plague a handful of resource-rich countries across the sub-Saharan region of the continent, including Mozambique, Zambia, Congo, and Equatorial Guineau. I sat in my chair for a while after finishing the article and just stared off into the coffee-shop ether. It’s simply that good.
This is a brief synopsis.
“…the sub-Sahara represents nearly one-fifth of the earth’s landmass. Yet its total economy is tinier than Florida’s. Here, 300 million people get by on less than a dollar a day. Until they don’t. It is the planet’s biggest tomb…a bottomless badland where $500 billion of Western aid since World War II (more than four Marshall Plans) has barely made a dent in the poverty; a region whose market share of world trade is shrinking by the hour… a place so desperate for everything - cash trade, investment and infrastructure - and so powerless to negotiate strategically, that it’s pretty much up for sale to the highest bidder.
The region is now the scene of one of the most sweeping, bare-knuckled, and ingenious resource grabs the world has ever seen.”
Bravo, Fast Company, for supporting this piece and for having the balls to print the longest piece in your history.
One of the things that I used to say to college student leaders during trainings for Break Away was the number one rule of anything you do - be it schedule volunteer work, manage a meeting, or fund raise - is “follow up.” The second rule: “follow up.”
When it comes to making good things happen, there is simply no better way to demonstrate that you are a person others can count on and invest their time, energy, or money in than following up and getting back to people. There’s also no better way to show that you simply care… which in “doing good” is really the most important thing there is.
In the process of making good things happen it’s also important to acknowledge and support those around you. Your “teammates” if you will.
Along those lines, Sam Davidson over at CoolPeopleCare had this 5 minute tip for all of us
Do you remember a few weeks ago when your friend shared with you that her mom was sick? Or can you recall how last month your coworker shared that his family was going through a rough patch? Think back to when someone close to you shared a concern and follow up with them today. It’s easy to remember someone when tragedy or sorrow is fresh. Take an extra and meaningful step today to let someone know you care about them as they carry on in the midst of hardship or loss. Your smile and question makes a big difference.
I first heard Van Jones speak in 2005 in Berkeley. I still get chills recalling his call for a “new politics” a “new religion” and truly a new way of operating in society.
I’ve followed Van since then through his work with the Ella Baker Center and just saw him here today at the 2008 Personal Democracy Forum. Once again, I wanted to jump out of my chair and go make something happen.
But make what happen?
A green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty across our country with Green For All. http://www.greenforall.org/
Back in May, Tom Brokaw was quoted as saying Jon Stewart’s “role is important” in the media, and if for no other reason than more young people get their “news” through the Daily Show than any other source, he’d be right. The funny thing (no pun intended) is just how much news they actually get, and how critically young people are taught to think about the mainstream news in watching the show. My favorite segments are often the ones where the Daily Show lines up back to back identical quotes from the leading cable and network news shows, demonstrating that they are all pretty much reading off the same talking points or press releases and not giving any kind of objective perspective about what’s really going on.
Last night was one of the best Daily Show’s I’ve ever seen (though of course I didn’t see the clip till this morning on my computer). Yes it was funny and provided entertainment, but it also exposed viewers to the perspective of someone I really admire, Lara Logan - who is CBS chief foreign correspondent and has spent the last 5 years on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Yes, I’m aware that she’s extraordinarily beautiful, but I promise the admiration isn’t skin deep.) This 7 minute clip is very much worth watching as she slams American media for their pitiful coverage of the war(s)
The buying power of the casual consumer can be harnessed to impact the environmental actions of business. We can get companies to make choices that are sustainable and transformative. And we can do it with the carrot …not the stick.
Watch this video (highly recommend the longer version) to see exactly how it works.
I recall very well in college how a relatively small (though seemingly ubiquitous) cohort of do-gooders on campus made a lot of the best things happen. At least things that I thought were “best.” Organizations like Alternative Spring Break, Habitat for Humanity, Manna Project and others that were making incredible things happen, were all run by students - and as on most campuses, those students tended to be many of the same people who were all involved in many things.
While there are countless extraordinary things to say about this group of student activists, entrepreneurs and to be sure, realist idealists, one of the criticisms I’ve had in looking back is how most people in that little world used to brag about how little sleep they’d gotten. Including me. It was bizarrely like a badge of honor. Going to sleep felt like giving up.
Gas prices won’t be going down for a while. But at least we as consumers can ease the pain by voting with our consumer dollars, and patronizing oil companies that are devoting at least a small share of their revenue to sustainable practices.
HIP Investor has rigorously evaluated and rated the top ten oil companies (HIP Investor Analyzes Big Oil) on their human impact including factors such as amount invested in renewable energy development programs, the inclusion of ethnic and women employees, and safety records for contractors and employees.
According to the HIP Scorecard the “best” oil companies are:
1) BP (also Amoco, Arco, and Sohio) is the third largest solar power player in the world and the solar leader in the oil industry, and its record on hiring women and minorities for top spots in the company is impressive
2) Shell’s progressive management practices—notably including the cost of greenhouse-gas emissions in its accounting—are exemplary.
3) Chevron (also Texaco) is a solid player with significant health and safety commitments and it has enhanced its environmental tracking and continued to expand into both geothermal energy (generated by the heat stored beneath the earth’s surface) and gasoline additives.
The least socially responsible oil companies include:
1) Valero (also Beacon, Diamond Shamrock, and Shamrock) stopped releasing greenhouse gas data in 2004 and is the only one of the top 10 oil firms that does not participate in the industry group American Petroleum Institute’s sourcing transparency initiative.
2) ExxonMobil (also Esso) avoids any risky alternative energy investments and technologies and has doubled it’s investment in lobbying over the last few years; they are the only energy company to receive a “0″ rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
A colleague just introduced me to BrightKite.com and as I’ve been playing with it all I can think of are the nearly infinite possibilties for it.
First and foremost the service is going to need to be integrated with others so that it doesn’t exist in a vaccum. Don’t know if they plan an API or not, but I suspect they must.
For instance, it needs to be connected to Twitter so that one message updates to all the same places. That said, it’s in many ways more robust than Twitter and takes advantage of mobile in a way I haven’t seen many other similar tools do for photos, geo-location and social networking. I don’t suspect it will be too long before we simply have a service that reads our phone’s GPS location and we opt in or out or letting “friends” or “followers” see where we are… but until then, there’s BrightKite building out its services. It’s currently in early beta.
Essentially it allows you to see what’s going on in a location, who’s there right now, how close to you they are, and who’s been there. Right now, it appears to be a collection of mostly early-adopter geeks (sincerely gotta love ‘em), but as always with such tools, you can make it valuable by getting a small group of friends or colleagues to use it if it suits your purposes (e.g. geographically dispersed or oft traveling co-workers or family members.)
I would love to see such a service that lets you know/see the realists, idealists, and general do-gooders in your area as well. Preferably integrated with a site like Idealist. Even better would be to see who is near you that may be seeking help or a partner for work on a community project.
My friend Asheen - who I’ve never met in person, but whom I respect greatly through a list-serve on which we both engage - sent this photo out today. His title: “An alternate universe.”
My $600 Bush-proffered economic stimulus hit my bank account a couple weeks ago and ever since I’ve been trying to figure out how to spend it. Actually, “give” it, is probably a better way to think about it.
A quick run through of my living room will reveal a glaring emptiness (actually there are two large books there, but for the sake of story telling…) in my bookshelf where a flat-screen TV might go, and I’ll be honest: in the last couple months I’ve thought about finally biting the bullet and owning a TV again. $600 would do just the trick. BUT…
Jake Brewer is an entrepreneur, activist, and translator who works to connect ideas and strategies in business, politics, nonprofits,
and social media so that good intentions can more effectively and responsibly become reality.
