All around us people are working to solve pressing social problems, but these stories can be difficult to track down. So we'll be scouring the Web regularly to highlight a few of them. See below for this week's selections. #
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Donors may wonder about the impact of their gifts, but they rarely drill down into the details. A new online tool called GiveLoop puts the numbers out in the open. The theory: more transparency will mean more giving.(Beyond Profit: Giveloop: Micro-Giving, Version 2.0)
- Some hopeful news from Detroit: Ford predicts that by 2020 a quarter of its cars will be electric, compared with 2% today.
(Nicer News: "Ford to be 25% Electric by 2020")
- The Department of Energy is opening a super-green 220,000 square foot research facility. It's cut energy consumption in half and draws from onsite solar panels for the rest. But, at $259 per square foot, it doesn't come cheap.
(Good: "The Department of Energy's New Net-Zero Building")
- On a more cost-effective note, it turns out that wind power can be a cash saver—to the tune of up to $28 per megawatt hour. Good to keep in mind during tough times, like this East Coast heatwave.
(EcoGeek: "Wind Power Lowers Electricity Costs")
