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tubes-offers-an-internet-tour
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 24, 2012

Tubes Offers an Internet Tour

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/tubes-offers-internet-tour

If you have been trying to find a book that offers an engaging explanation of how the Internet physically works and the various networks interconnect, search no more. Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet by Andrew Blum has done it. The author was featured on Fresh Air way back in May, but… Continue reading

making-markets-work-information-asymmetry
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 23, 2012

Making Markets Work – Information Asymmetry

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/making-markets-work-information-asymmetry

An article about health care in the 2012 November Wired offers a strong reminder of how important smart government policy plays in making markets function well. In the early 1950s, it was nearly impossible to know the value of an automobile. They had prices, yes, but these would differ radically from dealer to dealer, the… Continue reading

opencape-update-first-stretch-set-to-launch-by-the-end-of-the-month
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Lisa Gonzalez | No Comments | Updated on Dec 23, 2012

OpenCape Update – First Stretch Scheduled for Testing By the End of the Month

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/opencape-update-first-stretch-scheduled-testing-end-month

After six years in the making, the OpenCape network is soon to be delivering services. According to a Sandwich Wicked Local article, town selectmen were informed on December 6th that the Brockton-to-Plymouth stretch of the network will be activated before the end of 2012 for testing. We brought you detailed news of the $40 million… Continue reading

susan-crawford-discusses-captive-audience-at-berkman-center
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Dec 22, 2012

Susan Crawford Discusses Captive Audience at Berkman Center

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/susan-crawford-discusses-captive-audience-berkman-center

Susan Crawford’s new book, Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry & Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age, looks to be an excellent read for anyone regularly perusing this site. It is becoming available at bookstores near you. (For why we discourage buying from Amazon, see our Amazon Infographic.) Susan did a one hour presentation at… Continue reading

network-moves-forward-in-leverett-western-massachusetts
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Lisa Gonzalez | No Comments | Updated on Dec 20, 2012

Network Moves Forward in Leverett, Western Massachusetts

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/network-moves-forward-leverett-western-massachusetts

This past spring, we introduced you to the small town of Leverett, in rural western Massachusetts. Having been largely ignored by the cable companies and left behind by Verizon’s DSL service, the community overwhelmingly approved a town-owned network initiative in a May vote. They decided to finance the FTTH network with a 20-year bond measure. The… Continue reading

Faded Glory2
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Dec 20, 2012

Bangladesh Fire Shows Why We Can’t Trust Walmart to Green Its Supply Chain

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/bangladesh-fire-shows-trust-walmart-green-supply-chain/

If Walmart will not pay 3 percent more for basic fire safety, if it readily abandons factories when cheaper production can be had elsewhere, if it declines even to come clean about where its goods are made – then how can we buy Walmart’s claim that it will transform factories across Asia into models of sustainability? Continue reading

donate2
Featured Article filed under General | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Dec 19, 2012

Support ILSR – Create Stronger Communities!

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/donate/

Since 1974, ILSR has championed local self-reliance, a strategy that underscores the need for humanly scaled institutions and economies and the widest possible distribution of ownership. Click and Contribute Today! To our donors and partners, thank you for joining us as we work towards a prosperous future built from the bottom up. Continue reading

Donating box
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Dec 19, 2012

Should We Subsidize Giving?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/subsidize-giving/

Robert J. Shiller, Professor of Economics and Finance at Yale recently weighed in with his perspective on subsidizing charity with a New York Times column whose title clearly conveys his message: “Please Don’t Mess With the Charitable Deduction.” There is a case to be made for charitable deductions.  Regrettably, this isn’t it. Shiller offers three… Continue reading

coop-status-for-burlington-telecom-maybe
Article filed under Broadband | Written by Lisa Gonzalez | No Comments | Updated on Dec 19, 2012

Coop Status for Burlington Telecom? Maybe…..

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/coop-status-burlington-telecom-maybe

Burlington Telecom may be headed for some changes. Due to the mismanagement of the prior Burlington Mayor Administration, the network took on an unsustainable amount of debt and damaged its reputation. Some of the plans to make the network sustainable again involve privatizing it. Unfortunately, as we have seen with public power privatizations, such an… Continue reading

Foam Fight article - crop
Article filed under Waste to Wealth, Young Activist Club | Written by Brenda Platt | No Comments | Updated on Dec 18, 2012

Foam Fight: It’s Not Easy to Replace Foam Lunch Trays with Greener Options, School Officials Say

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/foam-fight/

ILSR’s Brenda Platt assists the Young Activist Club in its efforts to eliminate the use of polystyrene (commonly referred to as styrofoam) in their school and community. This article highlights the barriers the students are facing as they continue their years long effort. Continue reading