Last week I explored Africa (Sub-Saharan), and its ineffectiveness in feeding a large portion of its people. The suggestion was this: take fundamental “games for good” websites like, freerice.com, and turn them into an online game for good that brings aide to the problems of a specific area like Africa. This is still an answer, but what brings further interest to this area is that despite constant bloody battles for money, power, and resources in a large part of the nation; this country remains in an early state of development.
I’m taking a moment to highlight recent events in national developments of China to create my position. Recently China signed a contract with Iraq, one of the world’s leading oil producing countries, that secured China to be paid in oil in exchange for labor to produce and run a new, productive, Iraqi oil well, (Goode, NY Times). The incentive for China is this: to create a level of living up to par with countries like the US or other European countries they feel that they must reflect their histories of industrial growth. Nations that have already gone down this road highly disagree. Countries like the United States and others are urging underdeveloped and impoverished countries like China to refrain from the same eco-destructive path; one in which these more developed countries are trying to undo. China as a country remains too poor to assume the alternative route. This route takes more effective methods that keep toxins out of the natural environment and actually create processes that reverse the damage already caused to the natural world and its resources, (Goode, NY Times). Obviously, though the reason we as a world population don’t just go changing over willy-nilly is because they are very expensive, and currently, even the most advanced countries are still trying to find ways to efficiently and cost-effectively take on this way of life. So how can a much more devastated and poor country or continent like China or perhaps Africa take-on a sustainable conditions that also improve quality-of-life? Well the answer is simple; never begin the path that destroys the resources and environment in the first place.
The idea in fact is to integrate technology and advancement by immediately connecting with the most cost-effective, sustainable inventions that are being produced specifically for the conditions of these countries. There’s absolutely no reason to go down the same road as countries that have depleted the continent over time. We have the knowledge, and we have the fellow-country support to make this work, (Design for the other 90%). The entire purpose of this proposal is based on the idea of cradle to cradle, rather than cradle to grave, (Braungart, McDonough). Africa, as a continent and a variety of cultures, remains in a place that allows this possibility to flourish. My start is the advancement of consumer- accessible online games that allow for easy day-day interaction with the cause, and choice of when, where, and how.
My research on the larger issue at hand, the need for more advanced farming to feed the outrageous population of malnourished people in mostly sub-saharan Africa, is promoting the idea that sustainable, learnable intervention on behalf of farming and seed supply is a powerful and effective solution. So how can the basic idea to take an online game that is supported by contributions from corporations be focused on the needs of sustainable teaching and seed supply? The new focus hones in on the brand new search engine, Google Chrome. This is Google’s brand new search engine that appeals to the need of speed and uploading power desired by both businesses and consumers alike, (PR Newswire). By associating this game with the full version of Google Chrome, and then utilizing the consumer powered application tools that accompany it, the game will be powerful and could easily used by everyone based on an individual’s schedule. This will not only create the most powerful brand association for online power and efficiency, but it will create a powerful buzz for large company dollar donations due to the association with an engine designed for business needs. Not to mention that Google Chrome empowers one of the most widely used search engines in the world, Firefox, (PR Newswire). It’s time to take this innovative game idea, and turn it from gold to chrome.
Bibliography
Braungart, Michael; McDonough, William. Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press, 2002.
Goode, Erica. “Iraq signs oil deal with China worth up to $3 billion.” New York Times August 28, 2008: Middle East Pages. September 7, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=china's%20oil%20deal&st=cse&oref=slogin
Design for the other 90%. Walker Art Center. Minneapolis, MN.
PR Newswire. “Netsuite On-Demand Business Applications First With Native Support for Google Chrome”. The Wall Street Journal Digital Posting. September 5, 2008. Market Watch. September 7, 2008. < guid="%7BBDE8A7B2-B269-4134-9157-FA12548FBC19%7D&dist=">
No comments:
Post a Comment