Good Ideas Browse Popular ideas

Google is planning to launch hundreds - perhaps thousands - of high-altitude balloons to link the world to the internet. Wired http://bit.ly/164VvWy

Epidemiologists show that testing all adults for HIV in India would overall save money. Economist http://econ.st/11CuhmQ

"Alternative Voting", such as employed in Australia, allows voters to designate their first and second choices. If the first choice loses, your second choice gets the vote. This favors third party candidates and competition. Thomas Friedman NY Times http://nyti.ms/aLX6de

Requiring 60 votes to do anything is a recipe for partisanship and paralysis. http://bit.ly/8rARoJ

The Gates Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and other foundations have announced plans to spend-down their endowments to zero. This greatly increases annual spending and gives the programs a sense of timing and urgency.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu argues that we should expend less efforts on international treaties and more effort on bilateral discussions with China. The US and China combined create 40% of the world's pollution. An innovative, aggressive, bilateral treaty will represent great progress, and encourage other nations to join. Wired Magazine profile http://bit.ly/bttpI8

The heart-wrenching, Pulitzer Prize-winning article about parents who mistakenly leave a baby in a locked car to die (about 20 times per year in the US). Washington Post http://bit.ly/9w41Ir

Women are better at forging compromise than men. Why not have women lead Middle East peace negotiations? Christian Science Monitor http://bit.ly/cOaiog

The role of government should be rooted in a shared framework that there is in fact a proper role of government. Nice, simple summary by Paul Krugman NYTimes http://nyti.ms/U7G24

Americans spend 200 billion hours per year watching TV. Even a tiny fraction of that used for productive, collaborative activities would create tremendous value. Clay Shirky and Daniel Pink in Wired http://bit.ly/b0mXPv

Researchers at Wharton demonstrate that asynchronous idea generation is more effective in both quantity and quality of ideas than in-person brainstorming. http://bit.ly/csd436

Micronutrient supplements, particularly iron supplements to combat anemia, are among the most cost effective health interventions possible. See Micronutrient Initiative at http://www.micronutrient.org

A billion people drink highly polluted water. Treating water by putting it in 2 liter cola bottles and setting it in the sun on a black surface for 5 hours kills 99% of pathogens. One of the world's truly great ideas. See http://www.sodis.ch

The most important question to motivate taking action on big issues: "If not now, when?"

Gates Foundation chooses three winning designs in their "reinvent the toilet" competition. Economist http://econ.st/QGO6s7