No, a nation’s geography is not its destiny

If you start in the city center of Nogales, Santa Cruz [Arizona] and walk south for a while, at some point you see houses become much more run down, streets turn decrepit. You have crossed the Mexican border into Nogales, Sonora. Though the two cities are made of the same cloth and were once united, now there are sharp differences between the two

By Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson | Reuters | March 19, 2012

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…And We Thought Nation States Were A Bad Idea

There’s a notion that I’ve been seeing crop up in more places: that our options for the future have narrowed. I’ve been wondering about this for a while—it’s a pretty basic set of questions when I think about it: what were our options in the past, what are our options now, what has changed, and what has stayed the same?

By Barath | Contraposition | March 7th, 2012

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Farming and energy: lessons from collapsed civilisations

Renewable energy technologies and agro-ecological farming represent opportunities to avoid the mistakes of the past

Andrew Simms | guardian.co.uk | 1 March 2012

We are more aware now of the likely consequences of our choices than any society in history. Photograph: Martin Bernett/ AFP

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Co-operative renewable energy in the UK: a guide to this growing sector (report)

Co-operatively-owned energy generation is a vibrant and growing sector in the UK. The first co‑operatively-owned wind turbines, Baywind in Cumbria, started turning in 1997. Since then, over 7,000 individual investors have ploughed over £16 million into community-owned renewable energy

by Rebecca Willis and Jenny Willis | Jan 5 2012 by Cooperatives UK in Energy Bulletin | Jan 5, 2012

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Thirty ideas from people under 30: Artisans

The Monitor interviewed young explorers and activists, artists and educators, farmers and faith leaders – even a mayor. And they have trenchant suggestions on how to improve the world. We'll serve this smorgasbord in bite-size servings of 3 to 7 profiles per day. Today's lineup includes a world-class jazz cellist, a novelist, and a chef. Dig in!

Monitor staff and correspondents | The Christian Science Monitor | Jan 4, 2012

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Jazz bassist Esperanza Spaulding is pictured in this 2010 file photo. (Concord Music Group)

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