Category Archives: Good Fact

Sustainable Housing in Chicago

In Chicago, they have recently built a building providing subsidized housing that is LEED certified. This building is conceptually great as it helps people while helping the environment. A model that every city should adapt!

He notes that the building, designed by Chicago architect Helmut Jahn, is specially designed to use wind power. The roof curves at the edges, like the top of a loaf of bread. As the wind flows over the curve, it accelerates on its way into the turbines.

The roof also houses solar hot-water panels. Rainwater runoff from the property collects in an underground cistern, into which also drains filtered gray water from the building’s showers. This is the first large-scale gray-water system in Chicago. The collected water is used to flush toilets and irrigate outdoor gardens.

In all, the green-design elements added about $1 million to Near North’s construction costs, which totaled $14.1 million. The expected payback period for the added costs is 16 to 18 years

Cluster Bomb Ban

Hopefully most people have seen this in the mainstream press, but if not that’s OK because here it is!
Quite a few nations are saying no to cluster bombs!

Forty-six countries agreed Friday to push for a global treaty banning cluster bombs, a move activists hope will force the superpowers that oppose the effort — the U.S., China and Russia — to abandon the weapons.

Organizers said the declaration was needed despite the absence of key nations at a conference in the Norwegian capital to avoid a potential humanitarian disaster posed by unexploded cluster munitions.

Why Cameras Make Us Fat

Amongst the many obsessions celebrities have in terms of the Oscars, you *know* that one of them is how they appear in front of the cameras.  Which leads one to wonder: why do we look heavier in photos?

According to this article, it has to do with lighting and lenses.  They work to sculpt the body, and direct the eye to certain traits.

If only we could have a lighting crew follow us around!

Seat 61 Travel Without the Plane

Here’s a great way to find alternative ways to travel without flying: Seat 61. A lot of the site is focused on rail travel, but don’t worry there is also shipping tips too.

Maybe you don’t like flying, or are concerned about the environmental impact of flying. Or perhaps you just prefer real travel by train or ship, where the journey is part of the adventure… Either way, this website will tell you how to travel overland comfortably & affordably where you might think that air was now the only option.

Robo-Therapy for Stroke Sufferers

Robot hand thingWe know that a air-powered jacket can help people recover after suffering some paralysis, and now there is another robotic assistive device but for people who have had strokes.

Stroke patients with impaired hand use reported improved ability to grasp and release objects after therapy sessions using the Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HOWARD). Each patient had at least moderate residual weakness and reduced function of the right hand, although the affected hands were neither totally paralyzed nor unable to feel. Seven women and six men who had suffered a stroke at least three months prior participated in the pilot study using this robotic device.