Kinetic sculptor and artist Theo Jansen builds free roaming beasts powered only by the wind using yellow plastic tubing readily available in his native Holland.
The graceful creatures evolve over time as Theo adapts their designs to harness the wind more efficiently. Some even store some of the wind’s energy in plastic bottle ‘stomachs’ to be used when there is no wind.
Comcast is rolling out a new initiative in 39 states to help bring broadband internet to low income families at deeply discounted rates. The cable and Internet provider is making good on its deal with regulators who required the company to help connect low income households in exchange for approval of the company’s NBC Universal acquisition.
Comcast is offering the discounted service for $9.95 per month (with no price increases) to families that have at least one child receiving free school lunches, in locations where Comcast already offers Internet service.
Iowa is one of the leading U.S. states for wind power growth. The American Wind Energy Association announced Aug. 4 that Iowa generated 20 percent of its electricity from wind in the first quarter of 2011, up from 15% last year.
The industry is continuing to surge this year in Iowa with 630 Megawatts of construction underway. Only Texas has a higher amount of installed wind power capacity.
Elaborate marriage proposals are everywhere. But this Missouri man wanted to keep things simple.
When his girlfriend picked him up at the Kansas City Airport Thursday, he seized the moment and dropped to one knee.
But the private moment was accidentally caught on tape, in the background of a reporter’s LIVE shot.
Elaborate marriage proposals are everywhere. But this Missouri man wanted to keep things simple.
When his girlfriend picked him up at the Kansas City Airport Thursday, he seized the moment and dropped to one knee.
But the private moment was accidentally caught on tape, in the background of a reporter’s LIVE shot.
The Independent Transportation Network of America (ITNAmerica), a national organization is helping older people with their transportation needs at a time of dwindling state and city funds and growing demand.
Most impressive, the ITN doesn’t rely on state money. They recruit a roster of drivers large enough to guarantee seniors rides 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of ITN’s successful initiatives is to allow elders free rides if they are willing to donate their cars to the program.
The Independent Transportation Network of America (ITNAmerica), a national organization is helping older people with their transportation needs at a time of dwindling state and city funds and growing demand.
Most impressive, the ITN doesn’t rely on state money. They recruit a roster of drivers large enough to guarantee seniors rides 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of ITN’s successful initiatives is to allow elders free rides if they are willing to donate their cars to the program.
For foster children, the prospect of ever completing college is remote: fewer than 3% of all kids in foster care ever earn a degree.
But a privately funded pilot program at UCLA hopes to improve the odds.
The kids live on campus, study, go on outings and for participating, they get laptops, flip cams and four UC credits.
A solar-powered bikini designed by Brooklyn-based designer Andrew Schneider is now available for charging your cellphone or iPod right on the beach.
The high-tech swimsuit comprises thin, flexible photovoltaic film strips and USB connectors.
Corrado Piccoli’s sisters had no idea his Purple Heart medal, awarded posthumously after the 20-year-old was killed in action in 1944, was even missing.
But 65 years later, after the medal was purchased in an antique store, the buyer had an idea that it belonged to someone special, and vowed to find its original owner.
“I really felt like he was talking to me throughout the process,” Zachariah Fike told The Associated Press, after the culmination of a yearlong search.
The U.S. job market beat expectations, with the nation adding 117,000 net jobs in July, a number that beat the forecast of economists, who were expecting no more than 90,000. And it was an overwhelming relief for investors, who just lived through two of the most brutal weeks in Wall Street history.
Workers were paid more, too. Average hourly wages showed the biggest monthly gain since 2008. More jobs and better pay means people have more cash to spend, helping the economy grow.
A 21-year-old design student in Detroit redesigned the winter coat to help homeless people suffering from relentlessly cold winters. The ankle-length “Element S” is hooded, self-heated and waterproof, but it also transforms into a sleeping bag at night.
Not only that, her Detroit Empowerment Plan envisioned that the coat be made by a group of homeless women who are paid minimum wage, and fed and housed while creating the coats. The plan now creates jobs for those who desire them and coats for those who need them at no cost.
“The goal is to empower, employ, educate, and instill pride,” writes Veronika Scott, the coat’s creator. “The importance is not with the product but with the people.”
Donations to the project are tax-deductible. Visit the website to find out more ways you can help, like donating hot glue guns or thread.
(WATCH the video below from CNN, or READ an interview at Fast Company)
A 21-year-old design student in Detroit redesigned the winter coat to help homeless people suffering from relentlessly cold winters. The ankle-length “Element S” is hooded, self-heated and waterproof, but it also transforms into a sleeping bag at night.
Not only that, her Detroit Empowerment Plan envisioned that the coat be made by a group of homeless women who are paid minimum wage, and fed and housed while creating the coats. The plan now creates jobs for those who desire them and coats for those who need them at no cost.
In the coming days, British Airways will send a jumbo jet full of supplies for crisis-hit East Africans.
Carrying aid from Oxfam and Unicef, the Boeing 747 will have the capacity for 110 tons of cargo and will take relief to people suffering from famine, disease and drought in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.
The plane will leave from Stansted airport in Essex on Friday, August 12, bound for Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, despite persisting economic problems, more than 7 million Euros have been donated by citizens to famine relief — more, per capita, than any other country in Europe.
EdgeWalk at the CN Tower, has become Toronto’s most extreme attraction. Thrill lovers will walk on the edge of one of the world’s tallest buildings — 116 stories high above the ground. Visitors will walk with a guide, in groups of six, while attached to an overhead safety rail via a trolley and harness system.
A Kansas college hopes young doctors will be more willing to practice in small towns if they go to a medical school in a rural area.
The University of Kansas will have what it says is the smallest four-year medical education site in the country, with eight students starting taking classes Monday on a satellite campus in Salina, Kansas.
“By training physicians in a nonmetropolitan area, we are showing young medical students that life can be good, and practice can be stimulating, outside of the big city.”
A U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. who just returned from Iraq won a million dollars from a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Just when the married couple, Tim and Emily, were in the process of buying a house. Barely.
Now, they’ve put more money down to reduce their monthly payments and are saving the rest to start a college fund for the future.
Tim remains on active duty at Andrews Air Force Base, with no plans to quit.
“I’m not gonna be any different. The military has giving me a great life, so I’d rather stay that way.”
A U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. who just returned from Iraq won a million dollars from a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Just when the married couple, Tim and Emily, were in the process of buying a house. Barely.
Now, they’ve put more money down to reduce their monthly payments and are saving the rest to start a college fund for the future.
Tim remains on active duty at Andrews Air Force Base, with no plans to quit.
“I’m not gonna be any different. The military has giving me a great life, so I’d rather stay that way.”
In celebration of a holiday commemorating the Buddha’s call for compassion and kindness, a group of Tibetan Buddhists purchased 535 live lobsters at a Maine seafood market and released them into the cold Atlantic to give them freedom once again.
30 Buddhists from the Kurukulla Center carried 600 pounds of lobster onto a boat August 3, in observance of Wheel Turning Day, the anniversary of the first sermon Buddha taught. They gently released each animal over the side, cutting their bands, in the belief that karma will ease the suffering in the animals’ and humans’ future lifetimes.
Boston’s new bike-sharing program officially launched last week, with bicycles available at 61 stations for jaunts around the city.
“This is a great day for Boston,” Mayor Menino said, adding that the city’s public transportation systems are all promoting the new, environmentally friendly way of getting around.
“I hope all the residents use the system.”
