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what would you like to see?
what would you like to see?


== Assorted ideas and Rambelings ==
== Assorted ideas and Ramblings ==


I often have various brainstorms for how to improve the world, most of them are impractical, but I'm going to catalog a few of them here.  I'll probably move them off of my user page when I get around to it.  feel free to recommend a location for them elsewhere here on appropedia.
I often have various brainstorms for how to improve the world, most of them are impractical, but I'm going to catalog a few of them here.  I'll probably move them off of my user page when I get around to it.  feel free to recommend a location for them elsewhere here on appropedia.

Revision as of 01:31, 12 April 2008

Template:Userboxtop David Reber |} Hello there!

My name is David Reber,

I am a Civil Engineering Student at San Francisco State University. I am hoping to get out in 3 semesters. I am also hoping to get my feet wet with a developing country project this summer and go full time with development work when I have finished my bachelor's degree. To this end, if you know of any projects an engineering student could help out with, I can pay my own way.

What I'm Doing Now

my main project these days is Appropedia Action Groups and I would LOVE to have your help

My Appropedia To Do List

  • make a list of commonly linked pages
  • fix the international projects mispelling
  • do all of stuff on the AAG to do page
  • integrate the R&D projects
  • figure out tables so you can add "text" to the editing help
  • Move the stuff that develops here to more appropriate locations
  • Create a social business ideas list - "Creating a World Without Poverty" had several
  • Finish the senior project ideas list and email it to the relevant campus instructors
  • Reorganize the Appropedia Groups Content and start the project list and support materials
  • finish un volunteer form

Recommended books

  • Muhammad Yunus "Creating a World Without Poverty"
This book was totally awesome - Yunus's ideas of social businesses were new to me and I will probably bring one or two social businesses into the world in the next few years
  • Jeffrey Sachs "The End of Poverty"
Also very recommended discussion on how public policy and international relations can be leveraged to alleviate poverty
  • Greg Mortenson "Three Cups of Tea"
The story of one man's journey through the middle east to build schools - incredible story and enough to convince anyone interested in development to avoid working in Pakistan

What I would like to see in the world by 2070

It is 2008 and I am 23. I will probably live until I am 85. This is what I would like to see in the world by the year 2070.

  • No more poverty. I need not say more.
  • Unlimited education for everyone. For as long as you would like to diligently study, you are allowed. If you are 2 years old or 80, and if you want to study anything imaginable, you should be fully supported. The free evolution of thought is of immeasurable value
  • No hate crimes. Between the rise of education and paychecks, people will increasingly come to see that we have more in common than divides us.
  • Global sustainability. Technologies and attitudes will continue to evolve in such a direction that by 2070, we give more to the earth than we take.
  • Free Health Care for everybody - another no brainer

what would you like to see?

Assorted ideas and Ramblings

I often have various brainstorms for how to improve the world, most of them are impractical, but I'm going to catalog a few of them here. I'll probably move them off of my user page when I get around to it. feel free to recommend a location for them elsewhere here on appropedia.

Appropedia Groups

Feasible or not, I like this idea. I want to turn a corner of appropedia into an international project clearing house. Projects like those currently undertaken by Engineers/Doctors without Borders will be posted to a project list. These projects will be taken up by chapters that will spring up. These chapters will be supported by travel/technical manuals that will be hosted here on appropedia.

Senior Project List

This is really a sub project to the appropedia groups project. I am in the process of compiling a list of AT R&D projects that can be taken up by students for their Senior and PHD topics.

Bike Box

There have been several Bike Boxes that have been donated to developing countries. It might be economically feasible to turn this into a social business. We would have to hire an American employee to collect and ship the bikes.

Then we would sell it to a mechanically minded slum dweller who would use the profits he made from his new bike business to make payments on the box. Ideally these payments would pay for the shipping and the American Employee.

Benefits:

  • eco friendly transportation in communities that lack transportation
  • a more vital economy in the community due to the new business and reduced travel costs
  • if it was economically sustainable it could be scaled to a program involving hundreds of boxes per year.

Glasses for the Poor

I have heard this idea mentioned in several books and it seems like one of the most ripe opportunities for a social business.

There are millions of poor people living without good vision with no access to eye care.

The idea is to sell as many glasses as possible as cheaply as possible. The glasses would be distributed by hand drawn carts pulled by glasses salesmen.

With economics of scale you could feasibly bring better vision to millions of people.

Book Porting

There is a book called the "Appropriate Technology Sourcebook" which lists several hundred books and pamphlets on appropriate technology. These materials are currently copyrighted, but if we could track down the authors and get them to release their copyright, we could port their materials here. Unfortunately, my initial attempts to track down authors was rather unsuccessful.

One benefit of this project is that a lot of authors with an obvious interest in Appropriate Technology would become aware of Appropedia.

There are of course hurdles. Firstly, we have to get current contact information for people for whom we have only a name. Secondly, people may be opposed to loosing control of their intellectual property. However I think that a lot of the authors of these books had noble motivations for writing them in the first place and it is my hope that at least some will jump at the opportunity to allow their work to reach a wider audience.

Template:User watsan

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