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I’d spend the money to fund fab labs (see http://fab.media.mit.edu/). Teaching people how to move bits is good. Teaching them how to move bits to move atoms is better, and more relevant to their lives.

Philip,

I suggest Google ought to invest in renewable energy as a solution to humanitarian problems beyond the smog of LA. In short, populations stabilize when they have access to about 200 watts of power per person. Providing those two lightbulbs today rather than waiting 100 years will provide global stability as a more sustainable size.

We have spent 100 Billion on Nuclear energy – perhaps 100 million on low-tech non-weaponized electricity is the single best use – not only of google’s money, but of their engineers as well.

Empower Stability. 2 Lightbulbs.

Philip, the $100mil can be used to shore up policies/programmes enabling smart, hardworking (with integrity) people to thrive. As we know it, the world is a much partisan crowd, and good people cannot come forward when great odds are stacked against them. Only the very few with rare incredible amount of energy make it through. Policies where a person who spend his precious energies on improving himself through education, when faced with partisan hoards would be able to subsist without wasting himself.

Having travelled quite a bit I would say that billg is on the right on the money by financing health care in developing countries. He then tries to get matching funds from Unicef and local governments. He also puts money where there has been progress, eg putting money into india thus maximizing the bang for the buck.

Otherwise I think an open source skype would be worth putting money into. Although I don’t think you would need 100M.

As far as funding social projects, one that has proven itself time and again is the micro-credit bank (e.g. grameen bank), which can help break the cycle of poverty and at times change the dynamics of an entire community, for the better.

Read about it here:
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/index.html

For more, Google “grameen”.

And, if you’re moved to give, even if you’re not a Google centi-millionaire, go here:
http://www.grameenfoundation.org/get_involved/donate_online/

As far as funding technology goes, in addition to space, intelligence and longevity let’s also add funding for developing new energy sources, like this one (as described in this wired.com article,
http://www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,67121,00.html ):

“Australian engineer Bryan Roberts wants to build a power station in the sky — a cluster of flying windmills soaring 15,000 feet in the air — but is having trouble raising enough money to get the project off the ground.

After 25 years of research, Roberts has designed a helicopter-like rotorcraft to hoist a wind turbine high into the air, where winds are persistent and strong. The craft, which is powered by its own electricity and can stay aloft for months, feeds electricity to the ground through a cable.

[snip]

A climate scientist says ‘High altitude wind power represents the most concentrated flux of renewable energy found on Earth. Wind energy in the jet stream can reach 100 times the average amount of solar energy on the surface of the Earth per unit area. The kinetic energy in high altitude wind surpasses even the kinetic energy of the Gulf Stream and other ocean currents.’

Roberts, a professor of engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney, believes there is enough energy in high-altitude winds to satisfy the world’s demands. Wind-tunnel data suggests a cluster of 600 flying electric generators, or FEGs, could produce three times as much energy as the United States’ most productive nuclear power plant.”

Philip,
Here’s a specific charity for your Google friends to consider: http://www.concernamerica.org/ My daughter is currently raising money for a specific cause: featured here last year at http://www.directrelief.org/sections/information_center/events/walk_for_reason.html Her goal is only $1500, but when one considers that this amount will pay for the yearly health care of 750 people, it is a huge endeavor! My wife and I are paying to send her to Bolivia this July with the same group as last year to donate her time and energy as well. For more information, email me at dms@impulse.net
Thanks for the chance to mention this, Philip and keep ‘blogging away.
-David