The Sunday Diigo Links Post (weekly)

• All energy and climate solutions are local | SmartPlanet

  So true:
  QUOTE
  I have long maintained that creating policy around emissions gets the problem backward, by focusing on what comes out of the tailpipe instead of what goes into the engine. We should be incentivizing solutions, not penalizing emissions, because carrots harness human desire and ingenuity, while sticks merely arouse resistance. Further, it makes no sense to simply clamp down on fossil-fuel emissions without replacing the displaced energy. This is why I have advocated a feed-in tariff as the best policy approach, over alternatives like cap-and-trade.

  Now that some 50,000 people have flown home in disgust (generating an estimated 300 tons of CO2 in the process) after the Rio summit, perhaps we can put an end to this futile search to get a world of 6.8 billion people to agree on a single target. Perhaps we can finally start focusing our attentions on solutions that work, right now, at home.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: environment green chris_nelder smartplanet energy conservation

• Strip Malls and Big Box Stores Linked to Increased Traffic Deaths Among Seniors – Commute – The Atlantic Cities

  Makes sense:
  QUOTE
  The research suggests that a more substantial network of slower, narrower streets would benefit areas with high concentrations of older adults. And though this would mean more intersections – shown in the report to slightly increase the amount of crashes – the safety improvement would “greatly outweigh” any disadvantages, according to the authors.

  It’s expected that nearly 50 million people will be aged 75 or older in the U.S. by mid-century. Urban designers may want to start un-designing strip malls, big boxes and super fast streets now before the crush. The reduction of these types of urban design elements may help to prevent the premature death of seniors, today and in the future.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: atlantic_cities pedestrians stripmalls malls infrastructure seniors safety traffic_safety

• In San Francisco, a Food Coworking Space Aims to Back Entrepreneurs – Business – GOOD

  This is really inspiring. I can think of a community (mine!) where I’d love to see something like this happen…
  QUOTE
  In 2011, [Iso Rabins] started making plans to open the Forage Kitchen, an all-in-one space for food entrepreneurs—in effect, the first coworking space for food.

  Like the Underground Market, the Forage Kitchen will be an incubator for small businesses—a place where entrepreneurs can produce their products legally and affordably, get advice and support from other business owners, and find new markets for their goods.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: iso_rabins forage foodies entrepreneurship incubator food startups

• Henry Ford on Bootstrapping, Funding, & Going Public « Unicornfree

  Amy Hoy excerpted passages from “Henry Ford: My Life and Work” – must read. So much of what Ford says could be applied directly to startup and VC “culture,” but I also found this statement about the nature of money so wise:
  QUOTE
  Money is not worth a particular amount. As money it is not worth anything, for it will do nothing of itself. The only use of money is to buy tools to work with or the product of tools. Therefore money is worth what it will help you to produce or buy and no more.
  UNQUOTE

  tags: henry_ford amy_hoy money finance startups capital

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.