Back in the day when I was very active on my personal blog, I would occasionally post a screenshot from Google Earth and challenge readers to guess the location. It was pretty popular, and more than anything it was just plain fun.
And so, it’s my pleasure to reintroduce the Satellite Challenge game on Tropophilia. I’m going to try and make the sites I choose relevant to current happenings in the news and, to the greatest extent possible, related to our blog’s theme of change. I believe I did pretty well with this one. Take a look at the inaugural challenge and see what you come up with for the name of this city (and bonus points for why it has been important recently):
(Click to enlarge)
A little generic looking, I know, but remember: it’s related to current or recent events. Feel free to explore and confirm using Google Earth.
For now, the winner will be recognized in the comments. Down the line we’ll figure out a cool reward, even if it’s just having your name in the sidebar or something.
Happy geohunting.
[Update: Well that was fast. We have a correct answer, so don't look at the comments if you want to still try and figure it out on your own. I'll try to come up with another one soon. If you have suggestions for a challenge, shoot me an email: jarredtATgmailDOTcom.]
Here we are again, another week and another link-thread to kick things off. Back on our regular schedule, so grab your coffee and let’s get started:
- Sometimes a simple trip down memory lane can remind us of the astounding pace of change online. This gallery, courtesy of Gizmodo, shows websites from corporate giants like Apple and Reebok back in the mid 1990s. My how web design has evolved.
- I’m always wary of any seemingly progressive sound bytes originating in Bentonville Arkansas, but Wal-Mart execs are saying all of the right things about sustainability and supply-chain management innovation leading to increased energy efficiency and (surprise!) larger profit margins. Certainly something to watch based purely on the power Wal-Mart wields across so many industries. EcoGeek blogger Hank Green puts it well: “I don’t think the Wal-Mart model is a good model. But I do believe that, since they’ve pretty much taken over the (retail) world, when they do good things, it has gigantic impacts.”
- Speaking of EcoGeek, here’s a really cool resource they featured last week: a mapping tool that assesses the feasibility of wind and solar power for any location in the U.S. Did I mention that it’s free? I love the Internet.
- Sometimes change arrives by freak accident. Mental Floss directs us to 10 Accidental Product Discoveries. Still no indication of why “Silly Putty” was a good idea.
- Good to see the GiveWell crowd back at work after their kerfluffle a few weeks back. Their two part discussion on evaluating charter school programs speaks eloquently to the difficulty of measuring impact in education programs.
Enjoy your week, and keep checking back for new material and the debut of Joel’s (super secret) Wednesday afternoon feature.
One last note: if you notice the stat counter on the bottom right corner of our sidebar over there (–>), we’re nearing 1,000 unique visitors since the site launched 3 weeks ago. Leave a comment if you’re lucky visitor #1,000 (or the first after 1,000 to comment) and maybe we’ll hook you up with something cool (Tropophilia t-shirts? no?)
Guest post by Joel H.
Famous epic poet and blind man John Milton wrote in 1664 that books “are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them.” After witnessing last month’s introduction of the Amazon Kindle device, and the fascinating discussion on the future of reading that took place here at Tropophilia, one might be persuaded to imagine Milton as a Jules Verne-like literary prophet…for the Kindle does indeed seem to be alive at times, what with the electronic hum it undoubtedly emits and its ability to download new books and online publications anywhere, at anytime.
Continue reading ‘“Not Absolutely Dead Things” [Guest Post]‘
Lesson 1: Share. In this case, 31 patents that electronics manufacturers Sony, IBM, Nokia, and Pitney Bowles have released free-commons style through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Eco Patent Commons. The patents cover a wide variety of sustainable industry practices from packaging without stryofoam (using recycled cardboard instead) to recycling old cell phone parts and a bunch of other processes I can’t even begin to explain (but that I’m sure are great).
I’m intrigued by this collaboration, but it calls to mind another model for innovation in corporate environmental sustainability; the second model, I believe, holds more potential for large shared gains across sectors. In the fantastic new book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits, the authors describe Environmental Defense’s work alongside corporate behemoths like McDonald’s and FedEx to eliminate styrofoam packaging on Big Macs and replace 30,000 trucks in FedEx’s shipping fleet with hybrids within the next ten years. The trick? Environmental Defense retains rights (in lieu of consulting fees) to the patents they create with their corporate partners.
Continue reading ‘All I Need To Know [To Run My Company] I Learned In Kindergarden (?)’
Before I introduce this week’s winner, let me make two disclosures.
- At least two of the writers here at Tropophilia are huge space junkies. Taylor and I both went to Space Camp, were (and, come Christmas, will be born-again) Trekkies, and still get jazzed over anything that manages to exit the Earth’s atmosphere for destinations both known and unknown, explored and unexplored. Space is indeed the final frontier and - being both Americans and bros, and thus by nature in love with chasing frontiers - we can’t help but be obsessed with it.
- I watched The Astronaut Farmer courtesy of Netflix last night, and while the movie was a little too cheesy and warm-and-fuzzy for me, I still had my heart in my throat and a little water in my eyes when this everyday dude finally gets his homemade rocket off the ground, into orbit, and then back down to Earth.
And so, with those disclosures made, it is my pleasure to announce that the recipient of this week’s Tropophy is Virgin Galactic. Yesterday, Virgin Chairman Richard Branson unveiled the design of SpaceShipTwo, the improved iteration of the SpaceShipOne model designed by Burt Rutan which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004. By the end of 2010, this vessel will be taking civilians on trips into space. Fo’ real, yo.
Continue reading ‘Tropophy Winner of the Week: Virgin Galactic’
