“Anda tranquilo”: Nicaragua and World Growth

Hello all,
Just finished a week of traveling and studying the case of the brilliant but under-represented Nicaragua, just North of Costa Rica. During my time there I read Nicaragua: What Difference Could a Revolution Make? by the good people at FoodFirst Institute for Food and Development Policy, and The Open Veins of Latin America, a very incendiary telling of Latin America’s abusive colonial history. This, with my experiences on the field, lead to the main content and recommendations of this post.

Nicaragua has taken its toll in the eyes of this woman.

How to develop a country?

Into the Wild

I’m on my way now to the mountains- a quiet mountain town is having a huge festival and I’m going to check it out. The lodge nearby is very rural, with hammocks and a great view. The weekend should be a great opportunity to reflect a bit. (see you on the other side!)

Two books I recently finished have left an impression.
Firstly “Chasing Che” by Patrick Symmes follows his motorcycle journey as don Patricio follows Ernesto’s route through the course of South America. He describes his experiences and attempts to visit the same places that el Che did nearly 50 years ago. Things have changed, and he comments on a lot of the situation there. (hint: avoid Lima, Peru). Reading it has rekindled my sense of adventure. A motorcycle will be the first purchase of this summer in Costa Rica.

Secondly, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell: Gladwell is an author that has had a profound effect on me. The author of The Tipping Point and Outliers has a solid view of the world, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity. He experiments with people, and the profound effects of little-things-you-never-knew-existed. This one’s about the first impression and how it uses us without our conscience knowledge. Very applicable lessons, and also a quick read. Highly recommended.

My intellectual pursuits continue in new and varied ways..

-Ed
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

Ecological Economics

All production requires the circulation of materials and the utilization of energy.
So it is the most limiting factor, the first fence that we come to that stops us, that prevents sustainable equilibrium

A new science is emerging that blends a “biophysical” economic perspective with throughput of energy, and a better accounting of our real impact on this planet. Reading the text solidified a lot of the issues I was having with the discipline.

For example, what are the implications of not giving an intrinsic value to a limited resource? (oil)

Cultivate a Worldview

How does one find a world perspective with as little bias as possible? That is, the most in touch facts on what is actually going on, in a way that is personally useful and universally communicable. Having a “big picture” is our responsibility as informed citizens.

Picture for a moment the world- as you know it: we are a part. In scope and color and senses it’s far beyond anything the mind can hope to take in its full form. So we pare things down: into words, for example. You get enough of a vocabulary together, and it becomes a more coherent picture: culture, economics, relationships, responsibility… a worldview.

I have been keeping my eyes open for this multidisciplinary perspective for some time, until I think I have a pretty good idea of how things work. I don’t have any unique sources on these categories [unless my post makes me a source?], but if you want my opinion here are some of the better choices you have… the “isms” you might identify with: