The experiences you gain through volunteering could end up as skills on a resume or make you aware of current issues being faced by your city.

Through volunteering, on your own or as part of a team, you learn different strategies for problem solving, improving your ability to think creatively.

It also exposes you to people and places you may never have thought to interact with inside your community. This interaction may give you stronger communication skills. If you are new to an area, it is a way to branch out and deepen your newly planted roots.

There are many places in which to volunteer, so where you choose to do it will vary with your own taste. Hospitals are a great place to start. With all the different offices and specialties – including hospitality services – there is a task suited for everybody. For those who come to visit patients you may serve as a clerk to the gift shop or work as the hospital barista. You can also work within special units like oncology or maternity, where you may perform clerical tasks or assist nurses.

Sometimes theatres will take volunteers and offer a variety of tasks that allow you to see the ins and outs of a show’s production. You may help run errands, or keep track of costumes and props. There is often a need for ushers and people to do administrative work, including typing, making brochures, and answering phone calls. Sometimes volunteers are used to test costumes, so if you like dressing up this would be make the ‘job’ especially fun. All play an important part to keep the production afloat, which is vital in an age where the arts are under funded, relying on the work of peoples with a passion for preserving the arts.

If you’re an animal lover, shelters provide a truly rewarding experience for volunteers. Depending on the shelter you may play with animals, take them for walks, and clean cages. Your interactions with the animals are vital in preparing them for a new life with their adoptive family. And it is certainly better than sitting alone in a cage.

Other opportunities can be found in public parks and gardens, where you may mow, keep parks clean, or assist in the maintenance of plants by watering flower or trees and pulling weeds.

There are endless possibilities. Some times you can make a difference without volunteering for an organization, as daily life presents many ways to help out. For example, if you like to walk along a roadside, you might consider picking up trash as you go, donning gloves and bringing a bag to collect the trash with. You’d be keeping your home town clean and keeping the focus of your walks on nature, not waste.

Volunteering provides a unique way to meet like-minded people while strengthening the bonds of your community.

Despite their prevalence, there are still concerns about the radiation emitted from the devices into our ears, and therefore brains.

In this post you can find some simple ways to protect yourself from radiation.

1. Go hands-free: Recent research say that wired telephones are less dangerous than mobile phones, so whenever you have access to fixed line phones go for them.

2. Use headphones: When you are on a call use headphones instead of talking over mobile microphone. Classical wired headsets are just as good as they separate you from the device. Another option is to use Bluetooth headsets which give mobility as well as isolating you from the mobile; Bluetooth’s radiation is far less compared to mobile radiation.

3. Keep it away : Don’t carry your mobile phones beside your body, carry your mobile in a purse or bag. Even during a call keep it away from the side of your face.

4. Switch it off: When you don’t use your mobile switch it off. When you’re not on a call your mobile will have constant interaction with towers emitting radiation. Modern mobile phones have a smart option called “Flight mode” in which the mobile is live but the service will be down.

5. Use low radiation devices: Next time you buy a new mobile phone check for Specific Absorbency Rate (SAR), it’s the amount of radiation a mobile causes your body to absorb. Manufacturers are not required to display but you can find this value via an internet search.

6. Know about EMF protection: A simple web search about Electro-Magnetic field protection will give you more than enough information to protect you from radiations.

7. Choose an appropriate carrier: Like choosing your mobile phone it is important to choose the right carrier and right technology. In some countries CDMA will be less harmful than GSM, so check the radiation factor before you subscribe to any carrier, spending a  few bucks extra now will save you in the  future.

Designers that use their skill in combination with eco friendly undertakings to produce art and projects that give back in some way, through reducing waste or helping others, have more than just a physical ability.

However, inspirational missions aren’t just reserved for the exhibition spotlight. There are some outstanding examples of those who have taken their visions and turned them into proactive, meaningful events for children on their home front.

One such case is The Edible Schoolyard Project.

Nearly two decades ago, Alice Waters, a local resident of Berkeley, California who lived by Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School was not happy about the way the school appeared, stating that it looked as if no one even cared about it. The principal at the time, Neil Smith, had the idea to offer Waters a one acre plot by the school in an attempt to make a positive change for the school and neighborhood.

Knowing what would benefit the area’s children the most, Waters came up with the practical design of an edible schoolyard. Working with the school staff and diligent children, a community garden was created called the Edible Schoolyard Berkeley.

What began as a garden kept growing into more than just seasonal plots of produce, but a project that continues to offer educationally rich opportunities that foster healthy eating concepts in children.

The living space continues to provide nutrition and hands on learning, but is also a place to hold school and community events. The project also offers many resources, including information on developing similar project designs.

Student gardeners learn the value of agriculture, the benefits of fresh eating and the importance of conservation by learning about ecologically balanced ways to work with the land, like collecting and reusing rainwater. The garden’s layout continues to produce around 100 varieties of vegetables as well as herbs, flowers, berries and fruit trees.

Waters also instituted the Chez Panisse Foundation, which provides the opportunity for children to have real life practice in culinary and gardening environments, as well as making healthy foods available at school.

Planting the seed years ago that initiated so many beneficial supplements to children still continues to grow today, and resides in the care of students and devoted educators. Stable nutrition, which is crucial for learning, as well as the chance to be a part of a communally focused project is a lesson that can be kept and passed on at the same time.

Image Source: The Edible Schoolyard Berkeley

In looking for potential sources of energy waste, the rooftop may often be a forgotten about structure. As long as roofs are leak free and stable, sometimes not much more thought may be put into them.

There are, however, modifications that can be made to roofs to make them more energy efficient.

Darker roofing can clearly attract more heat, thus reducing energy savings. Cool roof designs use roofing materials that reflect light, therefore lessening heat absorption.

A lighter colored covering or a white roof can decrease energy consumption by as much as 20% on a hot day. Scientists have suggested that using reflective roof designs in highly populated areas could drastically reduce emissions. For example, a 1,000 square foot rooftop that has incorporated a cool roof design could annually save as much as a half-ton of carbon dioxide that is emitted from air conditioning units required to cool interior spaces.

Metal roofing that has a cool design integrated is also available. These can save energy due to the metal’s naturally reflective properties, which can help reduce heat absorption that makes a structure warmer. Metal roofs are typically long lasting, fully recyclable and have a low thermal mass that will not capture and store heat, as compared to some other roofing materials.

Also, protective roof coatings that combine light reflective pigments can be applied that come in a variety of lighter colors. These work in conjunction with cool design technology to further reduce energy loss.

Coolroofs.org has a pdf that offers an explanation of how cool roof designs work and gives the sketch below as an illustration.

Also included is a case study of a reflective roof application where researchers examined rooftop temperatures on a dark roof versus a lighter colored cool roof design. Solar reflectance, thermal emittance, and the environmental and money saving advantages of cool roofs are also explained.

Incorporating efficient designs, like cool roofing techniques, can drastically boost energy savings and reduce energy consumption.

Image Source: Coolroofs.org

While some are shaped differently and vary in ergonomics, a keyboard has always been a plastic or metal slab with keys spread out on it.

That all changes in 2013. A company called TransluSense has debuted their Luminae Keyboard+ and Trackpad+ typing device.

It is a glass surface keyboard that uses state-of-the-art lasers and infrared sensors to detect finger movements and key presses on the glass. It’s curved for an ergonomic feel and design.

It comes pre-built with a trackpad, and can also be purchased with a detachable trackpad which acts as the keyboard’s mouse and number pad.

Another neat feature of the Luminae is that it is 100% customizable.

Users can download software programs straight from the manufacturer to customize the keyboard to their satisfaction. They can also purchase “skins” from the company, which are placed over the surface of the keyboard and display the keys. These skins can be images from your computer, or pre-created designs from the company.

Perhaps the best reason to applaud the manufacturers of the Luminae is the fact that keyboard garbage will be severely limited from our trash heaps each year. Because traditional keyboards have spaces in between the keys, it’s very easy to gunk it up to the point of throwing it away and purchasing a replacement. And when people lose keys from their keyboard, they often would rather buy an entirely new one instead of installing new keys.

The Luminae presents an obvious solution, since the keyboard has no moving parts, and can be easily wiped clean with a cloth. While the device is a bit on the pricey side, you’ll definitely get a lot of long-term usage out of it.

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Currently, for each ton of steel produced from iron ore, almost two tons of CO2 emissions are generated, so reducing that figure would be a big step in the right direction. The new method goes above and beyond that, however, and produces just pure oxygen, enabling a possible carbon-free future for steel production.

The process used by the researchers, molten oxide electrolysis, was being pursued as a possible way to produce oxygen on the moon (using iron oxide from the soil there), and one of the unintended consequences of this method was that is also produced high-quality steel. But among the challenges for this research was coming up with a non-consumable anode for the process, which usually requires expensive materials such as iridium or platinum.

The team solved that issue by developing an alloy made from chromium and iron – both of which are considered abundant and inexpensive. The alloy was used to success on a small scale, and while much work remains to be done to scale it up, the researchers are working to develop a commercially viable prototype over the next couple of years.

In addition to producing less GHG emissions, the new method of producing steel is said to be 30% more efficient than current methods:

“The electrolytic route actually consumes less energy.” – Donald Sadoway, professor of materials chemistry at MIT

The research is published at Nature: A new anode material for oxygen evolution in molten oxide electrolysis

The problem with modern times is that we are all hyper-connected, doing multiple things at the same time and frankly, a bit stressed out.

In response to this issue Marie Dessuant and Margaux Keller created a great flexible space to read, relax, hang around and be with oneself. Developed within the Fabrica experimental center, Soft Fold Cabane gives people a stress-free time.

Soft Fold Cabane consists of a wooden structure that can be folded and unfolded and fits in just about any corner of the house. The long square section of wooden bars, found at a local flea market, are bolted together creating a flexible space inside.

Within the pop-up space, one can find a small simple lecture table made from wood and painted pale blue. There is also a lamp for reading until early hours and a small soft seat.

Also, various blankets can be found within this unique piece of furniture, to make the stay cozy, warm and happier. These blankets have multiple uses: they could be hang from the wooden structure creating temporary walls, make a soft tatami-style floor, fold as cushions or just used to cover oneself if it gets a bit chilly.

A space that is flexible, austere and comfortable, Soft Fold Cabane was designed to pop-up when it’s needed and can be stored in the wardrobe or underneath the bed. It is a space to meditate, relax or drink tea over a chat with a friend. It is a space within the house where one can find calmness and good quality time avoiding daily life commitments.

Dessuant and Keller’s space is minimal and has only a few important items. It is made entirely using pastel shades and soft warm materials that create a sense of tranquility that nowadays is a real luxury to have, all within your own home.

Image Source: Marie Dessuant 

Paper use on a global scale is enormous.

We have no one to blame but ourselves as many daily transactions still require paperwork despite technological advances towards a paperless society.

In an effort to preserve forests and the environment, Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) have unveiled a promising and cutting edge “rewritable electronic paper”.

The interesting part about this e-paper is that it can retain information written upon it without using electricity and it is designed to replace paper products that only have a limited lifespan such as tickets or daily office papers, thus saving on waste and energy.

This phenomenal project is named ‘i2R e-paper’ and is considered to be a breakthrough in the digital industry.

The flexible liquid crystal panel displays 300 dpi resolution text and images, and these are transferred using heat, just as a traditional fax machine would have produced images or text. The i2R e-paper uses ambient light rather than backlighting as found in most LCD screens.

“I think the greatest breakthrough was that traditional display devices usually require electricity to write, but our technology made it closer to how we would use normal paper. First, it does not require patterned electrodes — it is very light, soft and rewritable. From this perspective, this is a true e-paper. In many cases, such as transportation tickets or ID badges, it will save your from printing the same thing 259 times. In terms of environmental production, this is very meaningful” - said Dr Janglin Chen, general director of ITRI’s Display Technology Centre.

The e-paper can be annoted with water solvent marker pens, similar to a white board, and then washed off after use. When you want to erase the existing content the e-paper is run through a thermal printer erasing the markings that were there. ITRI estimates that the e-paper is re-writtable up to 260 times prior to being replaced. At obsolesence all the materials within the device are recyclable.

The researchers behind the iR2 e-paper envision it to be an ideal replacement for advertising signs, posters, parking tickets or transportation passes that are manufactured every day.

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In 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service, protecting approximately 58.5 million acres of the nation’s remaining wild-lands.

Under this rule, protected areas are safe from logging, mining, and other practices that damage the integrity of conservation land.

Though there are access roads interspersed throughout these areas, allowing for multiple recreational activities, the rule keeps areas safe from the construction of splinter roads and highways, which can lead to erosion, pollution, and the loss of native species.

Still, visitors are able to go hiking, sightseeing, fishing, and more amidst the unrivaled backdrop of unspoilt nature.

However,  the U.S. Forest Service, which one would expect to lead in environmental stewardship, is considering the proposed “Alternative C”, which would eradicate the effects of the Roadless Rule on currently protected road-less lands in the Apache-Sitgreaves area. Meanwhile, the Forest Service is neglecting to inform the public of the implications of this proposal. Primarily, that it would undermine the Roadless Rule by allowing areas to become victim to chainsaws and bulldozers.

The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest covers 300,000 acres of Inventoried Roadless area in Arizona. It stretches beyond elevations that range from 3,500 feet upward to nearly 11,500 feet. From arid lowlands to lush expanses of grassland, dotted with a vivid pallet of red, violet, and gold. It is punctuated by ethereal mountains, with the area from its Mount Baldy east through to Escudilla Mountain having been deemed the White Mountains of Arizona.

The Forest’s varied landscapes are home to numerous eco-systems, tread on by the feet, paws, and talons of bald eagles, black bears, big horn elk, deer, mountain lions, peregrine falcons, imperiled Mexican spotted owls, and northern goshawks. Additionally, the forest is a sanctuary to Mexican gray wolves, who were reintroduced after 30 years of endangerment.

If sanctioned, the defiling of the wild-lands will invariably destroy the habitats of these creatures and cause significant damage to their eco-systems. Additionally, industrial activity leaves less wilderness to be explored and enjoyed by human visitors.

Moreover, the passive repeal of the Roadless Rule could spread to other National Forest throughout the country, threatening over 50 million acres of protected road-less lands.

An award winning artist and environmentalist, she uses recycling as a medium for her designs, making a mark in the fashion world without creating excess waste or using industrialized processes.

Noting the sheer carelessness of things that are made only to be discarded, like food packaging, she has formed and sewed them into wearable art like trenchcoats, jackets, dresses and sturdy, neat looking carry-alls. Along with thrown out packaging, she repurposes items like rags, old clothing, towels, and even items like parachutes and inner tubes.

She works with donated materials and well-intended contributions, referring to learning the importance of reusing as a child, which no doubt helped in forming her creative eye.

Part of the beauty in her designs is that they seem somewhat sculpture-like, but also elaborately fused with a tailored fashion sense. Her own line, ART D’ECO, was started at a time when the reference eco designer was a mostly unheard of concept. Without mass market means and using such a hands-on manner for her productions is a distinguished feat in the fashion trade, as it has a tendency for fast such paced demands.

Her bags, along with some of her other pieces, are being featured in upcoming exhibits.

Particularly wasteful she contends, are wedding gowns, which are worn typically one time and only for a few hours, then hung up in a dark corner or passed down to another for a few more hours of wear. In response, she has created a wedding dress made completely from reprocessed materials like pulp that was created from textile discards and remnants of cotton and lace from old clothes.

In addition to her clothing line, she has also repurposed rejected x-rays and floppy discs, transforming them into unique notebook covers.

Originally reusing the ordinary in such an unconventional way, Gélébart has mastered art pieces that have both an underlying but also upfront message which emanates from her colorful creations.

Image Source: Katell Gélébart