“Nearly a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Bill Gates highlights several companies who are developing creative solutions to fight climate change caused by agriculture.” Included in his list is Cambridge Crops, which I have the good fortune to be a tiny investor in. | learn more
The short history of global living conditions
These five charts tell a story that too many don’t yet know. It’s the same story that Hans Rosling told up until his death. It’s the story of the world getting better – way better – over the decades and centuries. | learn more
Why don’t we have exoskeletons for the elderly yet?
It would be great if the aging process didn’t break down human bodies, but that’s not our world today. So, what will it take to mechanically assist elderly to prevent injuries from falls, etc? | learn more
Reasons for optimism.
Union Square Ventures partner Albert Wegner shares reasons for being an optimist in the face of a lot of global troubles in this 23-minute video from a conference. | learn more
The new American divide: driving to work alone vs. anything else.
CityLab does really thorough and interesting research around commuting. The findings are interesting and a little scary. “We are cleaving into two nations—one where daily life revolves around the car, and the other where the car is receding in favor of walking, biking, and transit.” | learn more
Why decades of aid has failed to dig poor nations out of poverty.
“In ‘The Prosperity Paradox,’ Harvard professor Clay Christensen and two co-authors seek to unravel why, despite decades of aid amounting to a cumulative $4.3 trillion, many poor nations remain impoverished. In terms of income per capita, at least 20 of these countries are worse off after the assistance.” | learn more
Deaths for children under 5 have dropped 50% over 2 decades.
In part, we have Bill & Melinda Gates to thank for this. “There is a clear delineation in improved results after 2000, when ‘the world started investing more in global health, and in particular global health institutions,’ Melinda said.” | learn more
This year SpaceX made us all believe in reusable rockets.
I just took a moment to sit back and consider the potential long-term impact of lowering the cost of delivering payloads to orbit by 10x (or more) with reusable infrastructure. SpaceX was founded with this idea back in 2002. It’s taken 17 years to mature. This is super exciting! | learn more
Bill Gates: What I learned at work this year.
Basically, the only things he works on are big ideas, so this fits nicely here. “Bill Gates looks back on 2018, and shares a few thoughts on what’s going well and what isn’t with innovation in some specific areas that he works on.” | learn more
Palm oil was supposed to help the planet, but instead it unleashed a catastrophe.
“A decade ago, the U.S. mandated the use of vegetable oil in biofuels, leading to industrial-scale deforestation — and a huge spike in carbon emissions.” | learn more