Kickoff For September 30, 2019
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
Another fine mix of articles comes your way this week. Some of them on topics that I feel very strongly about. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
Business and Economics
The Wealth Detective Who Finds the Hidden Money of the Super Rich, wherein we learn about the work of Gabriel Zucman, an economist working towards making the world a more (financially) egalitarian place.
Nestlé Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For, wherein we read how yet another major global corporation makes huge amounts from what should be a public resource, all without giving much (if anything) back.
Why Doing Harm Is Profitable, wherein Nathan J. Robinson examines the reasons corporations are willing to, time and again, choose profit over safety, the environment, and people.
Environment
Are There Potential Downsides of Going to 100 Percent Renewable Energy?, wherein we learn that switching to renewable energy could have environmental consequences, especially around the mining of raw materials to create things like solar panels and batteries.
The California coast is disappearing under the rising sea. Our choices are grim, wherein we get a front-row seat at the Golden State’s fight against an ever-encroaching ocean, an ocean that always wins.
A Dark History of the World’s Smallest Island Nation, wherein we learn how the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru went from being undeveloped to becoming relatively wealthy thanks to phosphate mining, then went to rags and worse in the aftermath of that mining.
Writing
How I Write My Books, wherein French author Anne Serre outlines the process she follows when writing, and shares the thoughts and tricks she has while doing the deed.
On Keeping a Notebook: A Reading List, wherein Jeanne Bonner shares some of her favourite articles about how and why writers use paper and pen to jot down ideas and organize their thoughts and work.
Umberto Eco’s Guide to Writing a Thesis, wherein the novelist and academic offers some excellent and solid advice that can help anyone writing a thesis, or any other work of non fiction.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.