All Perspectives
Matt Damon's humorous video spotlights sanitation crisisActor Matt Damon vows to go on a 'toilet strike' to publicize the need to bring clean water and better sanitation to millions of people around the world.
Yale graduate takes low-paying job as a village official in ChinaQin Yufei forgoes a high-paying career in New York or Beijing to lead a rural Chinese village, setting an example for corruption-free local government.
Caliber Collection fashions jewelry to take guns off the streetsJessica Mindich designs jewelry made from guns confiscated by the Newark, N.J. police. In turn she donates money to back to the police department to get more guns off the street.
What rulers overlookFrom the Pharaoh's day to the present, rulers have grabbed power and established their authority. But all dynasties crumble unless they understand that power is provisional -- and that even the powerless must have a say.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Flawed logic in 'giving up guns'; Killing is barbaric 鈥� with guns or notLetters to the Editor for the February 11, 2012 weekly print issue:聽I'd rather have a gun and never need to use it than desperately need to use one and not have it.聽Findley says that he is giving up his guns, but will continue to hunt using other weapons. Is he not just continuing the barbarity?
How to keep youths down on the farm? Offer incentives.The average age of farmers is rising. Nonprofits are at work on ways to show youths in developing nations how farming can be entrepreneurial, profitable, and desirable.
Difference MakerThang Dinh Tran loves maps and Vietnam. That may put him in the eye of a storm.His passion for all things Vietnamese has combined with his passion for old maps, placing him at the center of a territorial dispute between Vietnam and China.
Can biogas spark a revolution on India's farms?One farmer in India shows how turning the gases emitted by cow dung can become a clean, renewable fuel that saves him money, increases his productivity, and boosts his profits.
Machines versus peopleFor generations, machines have been replacing people. We've applauded when drudge work was mechanized. Now, however, machines are moving in on thought work. That has big implications for the future of jobs.
In Haiti, laws of physics meet a culture of magicPost-earthquake construction in Haiti must address the dichotomy of American efficiency versus Haitian tradition.
Changing the face of aid, literallyOxfam America wants to depict aid recipients as potential entrepreneurs and 'job creators,' not victims. But visuals of people suffering still pull in more donations.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Not too late to change US priorities in Afghanistan; Gun control advocates use flawed logicLetters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of February 4, 2013:聽US actions in Afghanistan have not matched our words; we must push for better governance and offer more development aid. And on gun control: Should the US also outlaw聽box cutters since they were instrumental in the murder of nearly 3,000 people on 9/11?
Indian-American looks homeward to help the needyRakesh Agarwal, a successful businessman, has a track record of philanthropy in western North Carolina. Now he's extending his work to include his home country of India.
As aid to Haiti slows, a private coffee co-op scores loans and turns headsCOOPCAB, a Haitian coffee co-op that now includes 5,000 members, markets its products internationally while investing money in local reforestation efforts.
Difference MakerRodney Jackson hikes high into the Himalayas to help snow leopardsRodney Jackson and his team take 20 to 30 yaks, each loaded with 250 to 300 pounds of gear, into the Himalayas to study snow leopards, which take the word 'elusive' to an extreme.
Maasai herders breed fewer, stronger cattle to resist climate changeTo withstand more-intense droughts herders in Tanzania cut the size of their herds and cross-breed for resilience and resistance to disease.
Removing Colombia's landmines, one by oneSince 1990, more than 10,000 Colombians have been wounded or killed by landmines, including 982 children. Britain's Halo Trust expects to be one of the first NGOs to start clearing mines in the next several months.
To tackle polluted runoff, cities turn to 'green' strategiesUrban stormwater runoff is a serious problem, overloading sewage treatment plants and polluting waterways. Now, many US cities are creating innovative green projects 鈥� such as rain gardens and roadside plantings 鈥� that mimic the way nature collects and cleanses water.
The man who stopped the desertFor decades Yacouba Sawadogo has been using a traditional method to replant trees and help stop the Sahara Desert from overtaking Burkina Faso.- Readers RespondReaders Write: Balancing gun rights with prevention; America's culture of fear sells; Gun control and the Bill of RightsLetters to the Editor for the Jan. 28 weekly print issue: There is no easy answer to the question about how to protect America's Second Amendment rights but also prevent gun violence.聽Fear sells, and the media and lobbyists on both sides have capitalized on our latest fear of gun violence. Legislating gun control would set a dangerous precedent for altering the Bill of Rights.
