Sep 29, 2008

Who Will Bail Out the Non-Profits?

The impact of the declining economy and shrinking financial services industry will likely be severe for many non-profits. The fall in donations while needs for services rises is yet another reason we should be questioning the existing regulations for foundation and donor-advised fund payouts. 

Sep 26, 2008

Will Agricultural Yields Fall Off the (Water) Table?

A number of experts argue that the food crisis that dominated headlines this spring and summer has diverted attention from the far larger problem of groundwater depletion. Raising agricultural output is the natural solution to rising food prices and food shortages, but doing so without considering the impact on water supplies will make the problem worse.

Sep 23, 2008

Education Reform and What Bush Leaves Behind

President Bush’s No Child Left Behind education policy is the subject of much debate in these pre-election days. Advocates argue that the assessment focus at the core of NCLB is key to creating the kind of accountability that public schools need. But teachers claim the assessment scores holds teachers wholly responsible for student success while ignoring contributing issues. Is there a middle ground?

Sep 16, 2008

Free and Fair Trade in Healthcare

Sep 11, 2008

Familiarity Breeds Contempt?

Is it a symptom or a cause that journalism about American schools is so routinely poor? While there is good journalism out there, it can be tough to find. To make sound decisions on education reform we need more experiments backed up with high-quality studies, as well as more journalism based on data rather than opinion and ideology. While New Orleans will be used as a test case and featured in many forthcoming articles on education, keep in mind that the lack of controlled trials means that all sides of the debate will be able to use the data to support their pre-existing conclusions.

Sep 05, 2008

The Road to Carbon Neutrality

The story of how a small agricultural Danish island became a net exporter of wind energy is compelling. And it may serve as a model which others can follow.

Sep 03, 2008

Preparedness Pays Off for Disaster Recovery

Aug 05, 2008

New AIDS Numbers Reveal Past Inaccuracies, and Conflict Over Best Approaches

The newest CDC data on HIV/AIDS infections in the United States suggest that the agency has underestimated new US infections by 40 percent since the late 1990s. The agency nonetheless asserts that the number of annual new has remained stable since the late nineties. The UN likewise says that new infection rates worldwide remained stable this year overall, with decreases in some countries (such as Uganda and Ethiopia) offset by increases in others (such as China, Russia and Vietnam). The conclusion being drawn from the evidence is that prevention efforts are failing the vulnerable.

Aug 01, 2008

The Costs and Benefits of Intervention

It’s quite difficult to persuade anyone to try military intervention since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Except the Australians that is. Australia’s strategy of humanitarian military intervention has received endorsements from the most unlikely of places—the communities where the Australian government has intervened.

Jul 28, 2008

Pricing a Drop to Drink

Whether the motives are commercial or environmental, almost everyone seems to agree that the time to put a price on water has come.