When people think about how to move our societies towards sustainability, they usually think simply about reducing our collective environmental impact. But the related question, of how human well-being can be produced more efficiently, is often ignored. Modern economic systems are disastrously inefficient ways of producing well-being. The vast …

In BriefThe goal of this article is to examine and suggest proposals that could enhance the role of the international Arms Trade Treaty—presently in discussion at the United Nations—in the regulation of the international arms trade and in addressing the role of the legal trade in: a) providing the bulk of the arms used in […]

In BriefHumans see the world through largely unconscious frames that determine what we believe our nature to be and therefore what we believe to be possible. To address our biggest global challenges, we can shed this non-ecological mental map—what the author calls “scarcity-mind”—based in lack and fear. Locked in scarcity-mind, we remain blind …

In BriefA method of growing crops called the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) produces yields that can be four or five times higher than other methods. SRI uses few or no pesticides and requires no fertilizer. The great success of SRI methodology across many countries is leading to its adoption for crops other than rice, […]

In 2010 David Letterman asked Hollywood actress Salma Hayek if she routinely eats bugs. “Look,” she responded. “I’m salivating! They’re delicious!” Insect eating, officially called entomophagy, is an age-old custom found throughout the world and often considered standard dietary practice. Nearly 2,000 species of insects are eaten by …

On a cool day last December, the eminent Swedish scientist Johan Rockström stood in front of a large audience at the European Parliament in Brussels and pleaded his case. “This is what we could call ‘the scientist’s nightmare,’” Rockström said. “We have disturbed the energy balance to the point where we are committed to three […]

The landscape of postsecondary textbook publishing is undergoing a significant makeover with the introduction of high-quality digital textbooks. As with the introduction of most technology, there is resistance, not the least arising from nostalgia for a product that has been around, in its essential form, for centuries. Nonetheless, the …

What connects a group of Bayaka pygmy hunters in the Congo Basin, opposed to illegal loggers encroaching on their land; residents of Deptford, in South London, concerned about a noisy scrapyard across the road from a school; and members of the website oldweather.org, transcribing century-old ship log books to gather information about …

Indian power companies have their hands full generating and transporting power to cities and large factories—the current peak power deficit is 13 percent and growing. The problem isn’t just that the energy need is much larger than the production capacity; the existing electricity distribution and transmission infrastructure is also hugely …

“With the move from an agrarian to an industrial economy, the small rural schoolhouse was supplanted by the big brick schoolhouse. Four decades ago we began to move to another economy but we have yet to develop a new educational paradigm, let alone create the ‘schoolhouse’ of the future, which may be neither school nor […]

As the last block of concrete was pulled from the riverbed, the Elwha River in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State flowed freely for the first time in over 100 years. The river was historically one of the most productive salmon streams for its size in the Pacific Northwest. Four hundred thousand salmon once swam […]

Editors’ note: For historical context, it is important to acknowledge that much of Chile’s business community supported the 1973 coup to replace democratically elected Salvador Allende with Augusto Pinochet. On an August day in 1988, Eugenio García took a call that was to change his life. It was an executive from a rival advertising agency, …

It seems impossible, until it is done. Nelson Mandela In 2050 it’s a pleasure to breathe. The air is fresh, even in the biggest cities. Commuters don’t reach home frazzled after being tied up in bad traffic. The world is simpler in 2050. There are fewer consumer goods but there is more time, more conversation, […]

Adam Kahane is best known for his work around scenario-planning, which he first used to help bring about a resolution in post-apartheid South Africa in the 1990s. Now a partner in Reos Partners, an international social innovation firm, and an associate fellow at the University of Oxford, he uses scenario planning to assist governments, global …

REVIEWING Farms with a Future: Creating and Growing a Sustainable Farm Business Rebecca Thistlethwaite, Chelsea Green, 2012 Farming in the United States is ebbing, and the growers who remain in business are consolidating into larger operations to save their farms. In addition, this country constantly struggles with nutrition-related diseases, …

When he saw a mother and baby die in childbirth from a preventable and treatable condition, Myshkin Ingalawe decided to put a stop to it. “It” is undiagnosed anemia—an iron deficiency that contributes to thousands of maternal deaths each year in India. Though easily treated with iron pills, anemia commonly goes undetected, so Ingalawe created …

“We’ve got this tremendous problem. If we do nothing, children are going to lose years of life. It’s not their fault. They don’t even understand it.” So begins an interview between New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman and a cardiologist from Richmond California, Jeff Ritterman, who sits on the city council and, last October, […]