This year’s 16 finalists for the Innovations in American Government Awards, given each year since 1986 by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance & Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, illustrate ways that cities, counties, states, and even federal agencies are reinventing services.

My opinion of governments role in service innovation is that of Fred Wilson’s, government needs to be a catalyst in structuring the problem clearly and then letting the market tackle the solutions.There are tonnes of creative technologists (*cough*, *cough*) waiting to feast on well-structured problems to things like Health Care, Finance and Education.

I attended the Greener Living Show in Toronto on Friday. It was refreshing to see the different kinds of products and services that can help reduce your impact on the environment. Like most people, I didn’t realise how good it is to live green. From organic cotton underwear to drinking local wine, the Greener Living showed me how easy and enjoyable living green can be.

In an effort to live more eco-conscious I also thought it would be a good idea if a portion of future posts on this blog promoted simple ways to live green. Today, walking.

Whether it’s warm outside or not, I’ve found getting around on my own two feet is the only way to go. (In fact, I sold my car 3 years ago and haven’t looked back). Even if you have to go across town, grab a backpack and jump on the streetcar. It sounds like it would take a while but as motorists stuck on the Gardiner Expressway found out this weekend, it’s usually less agonizing to take public transit.

For people living outside of urban centres, walking won’t do you any good if nothing’s around. Walkscore is a great tool that tells you how walkable your neighbourhood is (mine is rated ‘Very walkable’). If your neighborhood isn’t very walkable, consider why. Are you in an area of urban sprawl? Is your local government not doing enough to promote accessible public transit? Do you need to move? Walking is definitely easier in urban areas but just because you’re not in the city it doesn’t mean you can’t try to get outside and explore. And if that gets you nowhere, perhaps your next step is looking at low-emission or alternatively fueled vehicles.

For the rest of us though, walking is a a great first step (ha) toward living green.

The guy talks like a huge nerd which, given his role, is a really good thing.

As you may have heard recently, legendary actor and philanthropist, Paul Newman, passed away at the end of September at the ripe age of 83.

Mr. Newman was a true renaissance man; a hero and a role model to multiple generations of guys everywhere, including yours truly. His style and swagger in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke and Winning were up-front and unmatched — even in the time of Brando, Dean, Redford and McQueen. But for all Newman was on-screen, his contributions off-screen are the ones I remember the most.

I was a teenager when I saw Butch Cassidy. My Dad, a quiet accountant who doesn’t say much, had talked at length about how it was a favorite movie of his. When I saw it, I remembered shopping with my Mom as a kid and seeing that same, smiling face staring at me from a bottle of pasta sauce. That’s the memory of Newman I remember growing up; the guy with the happy face pushing organic (before organic was a branding tool) food products.

Newman was the quintessential guy’s guy. He was in the Navy. He was an Academy Award-winning actor. As a racer he is on record as being the oldest person to participate in a sactioned race (in Daytona at 70-years-old). He flexed his entrepreneurial muscle as the owner of the Newman/Haas racing team. And he set the actor-philanthropy bar by founding Newman’s Own organic food products, by which I became aware of him. To date, the proceeds from the non-profit Newman’s Own line has raised over $250 million for various charities.

The New York Times and Dave Letterman (via) both have touching remembrances of Paul Newman that I encourage you to look at.

Being a 28-year-old male, I can tell you there are few role models left for guys my age. He will be missed by many and I’m included in that group.

Malaria kills more than 1 million children a year.

So what can we do about it? Well recently I heard about Nothing But Nets, a UN Foundation dedicated to slowing the spread of malaria simply by setting up mosquito nets in African homes. And it just takes a $10 donation — that’s lunch money!

Here’s the great response I got after my donation:

As you read this, a mother and her children are being given a mosquito net. An aid worker is showing them how to hang the net over their bed.

Tonight, she and her children will sleep safely under this net. Later—perhaps tonight, maybe in a week—a malarial mosquito will enter their hut, intent on feeding. It will buzz around the room as they sleep, and they’ll be unaware of the killer lurking nearby. As it approaches the family, it will seek rest on the net hanging conveniently close to their bed. But this will be the last act it makes before it’s crippled, forever incapacitated by the insecticide embedded in this protective bed cover.

You’ve just protected someone from malaria. You’ve sent a net and saved a life. For that we want to say thank you.

So, got $10?

While I’m tempted to get one, I feel the promotion would be much better received if the donator and the recipient could communicate directly with each other via their XO’s. How great would it be to actually see the smile of a child who’s got a shiny new laptop and the means to live a much improved life now thanks to you?

The New York Times has a great write up on a small but significant group of folks at MIT that use “concrete thinking to improve the lives of the world’s bottom billion, those who live on a dollar a day or less and who often die young.” 

A solid read for anyone interested in how easy it is to help the world’s poor.

• The XO is specifically designed for kids: small keys, trackpad, and size
• Manufactured for around $140
• They will ship them in orders of 1 million
• Includes some overview of the amazing Pentagram-designed software interface
• Switch between color and monochromatic display mode for inside-outside use
• There’s a pretty nice built in camera for taking pictures (again the goal is to share)
• Uses mesh networking so one laptop can share an Internet connection with other laptops (“trickle-down effect” if just one laptop is near a large city)