Help for the hearing impaired for internet phone calls

The United Nations’ World Health Organization estimates there are approximately 278 million people worldwide suffering from moderate to profound hearing loss. Telephone communications and internet-based phone calls are particularly problematic.

Developers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Oldenburg, Germany are working on a digital solution.

EVOLVh brings simplicity and organics to hair care

No one wants to have a bad hair day

 

Around 65,000 beauty salons throughout the U.S garner almost $17.5 billion in annual sales. Hair care products play an important part, consisting of from 5 to 15 percent of that number. 

“Nobody wants to have a bad hair day,” said Boris Oak, founder and CEO of EVOLVh Inc., a family owned, San Francisco Bay area company that produces top quality, organic hair products. 

The Garden of Eden may be restored in Iraq

The biblical site of the Garden of Eden is being steadily restored despite buried landmines and surrounding dangers

If you’ve ever wondered if one person can make a difference, this story from today’s Mother Nature Network should set that question to rest.

An Iraqi citizen has been working to restore what some have thought to be the site of the original Garden of Eden.

An area is southern Iraq that had once flourished with marshland and wildlife had been deliberately destroyed by Saddam Hussein . The people of that area – the Maʻdān - had backed a Shiite rebellion against the Iraqi leader, who retaliated by murdering, burning homes and draining and poisoning the water. He also filled the surrounding land with mines.

One man had a dream of restoring this biblical oasis and set about to do so.

To read more about this inspiring story, go to http://3.ly/FBXs.

Highways paved with solar panels could be around the corner

Solar highways could replace asphalt roads in our future

 

Roads and highways have been covered with asphalt since President Dwight Eisenhower opened the federal highways in the 1950′s. 

Today, that black liquid’s getting expensive – close to $1,000 a ton – and being petroleum-based, chances are the price will keep going up. 

Inventor Scott Brusaw is working towards an innovative, more environmentally friendly possibility – the Solar Highway. 

Chico Bags honored by California Product Stewardship Council

Following up on my recent story about Chico Bag – those fold-away convenient reusable shopping bags that come in scads of colors and designs – will be honored today as a recipient of the inaugural Green Arrow Award by the California Product Stewardship Council.

Seventh Generation teams up with Walmart

This week Walmart begins carrying Seventh Generation products in stores across the country

 

The announcement that Seventh Generation – a company known for high quality cleaning and household products – will now have their products carried at Walmart, the giant retailer with a mixed reputation for their sustainability and honest-t0-goodness organics, has caused a lot of conversation and some consternation. 

Geämi delivers a green alternative to bubble wrap

Now there's a green alternative to bubble wrap

 

Anyone who’s shipped a package knows that bubble wrap, which has been around since 1960, is the standard for protecting fragile objects from damage.  

But being a petroleum-based product, it and its cousin packing peanuts, have drawbacks, including being a hassle to deal with.  

A lot of customers want to get away from the plastic stuff , said Lynn Moe, Business Development Director for Geämi Sustainable Protective Packaging.  

Geämi (pronounced ge ah me) is an effective eco-friendly alternative to bubble wrap.  

Now you can recycle that toothbrush too!

Made from recycled materials, Preserve toothbrushes are recyclable too

The list of things you can recycle keeps growing. Besides paper, glass and plastic water bottles, in many communities it includes batteries, DVDs, mattresses and compostable containers.

One thing I never thought of to recycle is the toothbrush. Yet a company called Preserve does just that. 

Senate passes pharmaceutical take-back bill

The Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would amend existing federal law dealing with the disposal of controlled substance medications, making it easier to safely get rid of unused medications.

New York transforms Park Avenue into a swimming pool

NYC shuts down Park Avenue temporarily and creates swimming pools from dumpsters!

 

Summer in New York is hot – no argument there. Since 2008, the NY Department of Transportation has temporarily shut down a 6.9 mile section Park Avenue - from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park - and its connecting streets to vehicles on the first three Saturdays of August. The point it to encourage eco-friendly, sustainable methods of transportation – walking, biking, maybe even skateboarding.