water

share

In wake of Philippines typhoon, climate change talks produce only squabbles, finger-pointing

On the same day as the UN-sponsored Warsaw Climate Change Conference, thousands of Filipinos' communities were destroyed by the most powerful storm in recorded history. Where do the talks go from here?

share

Value Chains

Is farming rice differently the key to ending hunger? India tries it

While the government lays out a plan to stockpile and distribute subsidized grains to feed the hungry, a new way of planting and farming rice across India has proven dramatic success.

share

Value Chains

5 ways to support farming irrigation in sub-saharan Africa: Beyond technology

Big government-funded irrigation projects in Sub-Saharan Africa are often expensive and inaccessible, so farmers are taking matters into their own hands.

share

Sustainable Energy

Nom, Nom, Nom: The Earth Will Eat Itself

We're plundering the earth’s natural resources at an incredibly fast rate--so fast that the planet cannot keep pace. But innovations and investments in renewable energy offer a glimmer of hope.

share

Sustainable Energy

Poverty and climate change: An interview with Eliot Levine, Mercy Corps senior climate change advisor

When Cyclone Nargis ravaged Myanmar in 2008, inundating its lowlands and killing some 138,000 people, experts blamed the severe weather conditions on climate change.

share

Value Chains

Is charity: water the Expedia of philanthropy?

Aid agencies and their donors debate: Is it more effective for a charity to build and maintain wells or help people get loans to buy materials for wells and their upkeep? The decision might be made by the charity with the biggest coffers.

share

Sustainable Energy

The fortune at the bottom of the ocean: Mozambique’s looming natural gas boom

The solution to Mozambique’s long-standing economic woes might lurk beneath the Indian Ocean’s rocky sea floor.

share

Sustainable Energy

Sun, wind and water: Brazil's ingredients for the best beaches--and alternative energy

Brazil, the third largest consumer of electricity in the Western Hemisphere, is on the brink of energy independence.

share

Global Ideas News Brief: Twists on philanthropic thinking + big data

Peter Buffett questions philanthropic giving models, text messages help the urban poor and Pakistan's threat from water. Staff picks: What we're reading this week.

share

Sustainable Energy

A stunning graphic that might change your perceptions of climate change in the developing world

Climate change receives a lot of attention--powerful storms, severe droughts, frequent floods, and rising temperatures. But climate change policy, on the other hand, is eternally made a back-burner issue.

share

Sustainable Energy

The end of energy poverty? Developing nations invest $112 billion in renewable energy

From Azerbaijan--where the wind blows 250 days per year--to the swift moving current of Zimbabwe’s bountiful rivers, developing countries worldwide are increasing efforts to invest in renewable energy.

share

Social Enterprise

The SunWater project: advanced solar technology for poor farmers

Paul Polak, the author of Out of Poverty, is creating the world's most inexpensive solar water pump. Here's how.

share

Social Enterprise

Transforming solar pumping to eliminate rural poverty

What if we could harness the limitless power of the sun to carry water to the crops of millions of small poor farmers around the world?

share

Financial Inclusion

Microloans: Not just for businesses, they can help the poor meet basic needs

Microloans can be used for more than business investments: they can help families gain better access to safe water and sanitation.

share

Social Enterprise

Announcing the Winners of the NextBillion Case Writing Competition

What does it take to build and sustain a successful social enterprise? NextBillion’s Case Writing Contest explores and rewards the best business strategies aimed at alleviating poverty. Find out more about the three winning ideas.