--- description: How the ACA makes hospitals safer, protecting gay Olympic athletes, credit unions for the pot industry and lights to make rural women safer. title: These Are Today's Best Ideas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 11 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 11, 2014 5:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 11, 2014 5:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**A rule in the Affordable Care Act could make hospitals safer.**](http://blogs.reuters.com/data-dive/2014/12/03/how-obamacare-helped-make-hospitals-less-lethal/ "undefined") By Mike Corones at Reuters **2\.** [**As U.S. influence in the Middle East wanes, the United Arab Emirates is stepping up.**](http://www.octavianreport.com/article/the-middle-easts-emerging-power-the-rise-of-the-emirates/ "undefined") By Steven A. Cook in the Octavian Report **3\.** [**How do you extend banking services to an industry that’s illegal under federal law? Colorado’s answer is a credit union for pot growers and sellers.**](http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci%5F26980328/colorado-pot-credit-union-could-be-open-by "undefined") By David Migoya in the Denver Post **4\.** [**A simple step — lighting pathways to latrines and latrines themselves in rural areas — can improve safety for women and girls.**](http://blogs.cdc.gov/global/2014/11/17/implications-of-latrines-on-womens-and-girls-safety/ "undefined") By Dr. Michelle Hynes and Dr. Michelle Dynes at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention **5\.** [**The International Olympic Committee vote to protect gay athletes is an important first step, but more work remains.**](http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/12/10/op-ed-race-toward-olympic-equality-not-finished "undefined") By Laura Clise in the Advocate  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3629851/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-11/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3629851/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-11/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 11","datePublished":"2014-12-11T17:01:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:43.643Z","description":"How the ACA makes hospitals safer, protecting gay Olympic athletes, credit unions for the pot industry and lights to make rural women safer.","url":"https://time.com/3629851/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-11/","keywords":["Innovation","Marijuana","Pot","Obamacare","Affordable Care Act","Middle East","ACA","Discrimination","Banking","UAE","United Arab Emirates"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3629851/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-december-11/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: December 11"}}]}] ```