Solutions
U.K. - Rapid Response Network Ready if Crises Hit
Department for International Development (DFID) - March 7, 2012
Britain is to establish a new rapid response network of top UK-based businesses and charities to provide emergency relief when major international crises hit - such as floods, famines and earthquakes.
The network, called the Rapid Response Facility, will mobilise life-saving support in the critical hours following a humanitarian disaster, Andrew Mitchell said today.
It is the first time a British government has brought together the power of the private sector as well as non-governmental organisations in this way to take part in emergency relief.
U.K. Plans to Spend $3.16 Million on Sierra Leone Cholera
vaccinenewsdaily.com - by Paul Tinder - August 28, 2012
The United Kingdom is activating a $3.16 million emergency plan to stop the cholera epidemic from spreading in the African state of Sierra Leone after more than 200 people have died.
The Department for International Development is using a network called the Rapid Response Facility to deliver sanitation, water and emergency medical assistance to the country. Charities such as the British Red Cross, Care International, Concern, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee and Save the Children are mobilizing as part of the response to the water-borne disease, BBC reports.
Heinz® Ketchup Inspires More Environmentally Responsible Living This Summer with PlantBottle™ Packaging Promotion
submitted by Alison Thompson
businesswire.com - July 17, 2012
A new Heinz(R) Ketchup campaign called "Join the Growing Movement" invites consumers to promise to be more environmentally responsible through a mobile application. For each pledge, Heinz will help plant a tree, up to 57,000 trees. (Photo: Business Wire)
Maldives to build floating islands to save country from rising sea levels
photo courtesy of Troon Golf / Koen Olthuis/Waterstudio.NL
submitted by Samuel Bendett
www.ibtimes.com - August 20, 2012 - by Mark Johanson
Maybe you've already heard: The Maldives is sinking. So what do you do when your tourist-dependent country is slowly disappearing into the sea? If you're the Maldivian government, you create a series of floating islands that include a hotel and convention center, private villas, yacht club and 18-hole golf course.
Survival Guide Application
Image: Screenshot of application
submitted by Albert Gomez
sites.google.com - SusaSoftX
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation (e.g. natural disasters) to save themselves or others (see also bushcraft). Generally speaking, these techniques are meant to provide the basic necessities for human life: water, food, shelter, habitat, and the need to think straight, to signal for help, to navigate safely, to avoid unpleasant interactions with animals and plants, and for first aid. In addition, survival skills are often basic ideas and abilities that ancient humans had to use for thousands of years, so these skills are partially a reenactment of history.
Agri-Cube grows mass quantities of vegetables in a one-car parking spot
Image: External view of the 11.7 square meter Agri-Cube E garden factory
submitted by Samuel Bendett
gizmag.com - Brian Dodson - August 14th, 2012
Daiwa House, Japan's largest homebuilder, has introduced a line of prefabricated hydroponic vegetable factories, aimed at housing complexes, hotels, and top-end restaurants. Called the Agri-Cube, these units are touted by Daiwa as the first step in the industrialization of agriculture, to be located in and amongst the places where people live, work, and play.
More and more people desire sustainable, organic produce for their own use, and are turning to urban farming in an effort to insure the highest degree of freshness.
(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) - Newsletter - Summer 2012
Cellphone-Style Algorithm Reveals Cholera Source
newscientist.com - by Jacob Aron - August 16, 2012
CHOLERA is spreading through the villages of South Africa. Malicious rumours are proliferating on Facebook. These may be disparate situations in scope and impact, yet an algorithm similar to the one a cellphone uses to find its location can home in on the source of grief in both.
Microfinance - How Kiva Works - The Story of a Kiva Loan
submitted by Susan Steinhauser
kiva.org
Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Learn more about how it works.
Tracking Down an Epidemic’s Source - Online Social Networks
physics.aps.org - August 10, 2012
Researchers find the source of an epidemic using relatively little information. Their technique could also help authorities track down contamination in water systems or locate problems in electrical grids.
Epidemiologists often have to uncover the source of a disease outbreak with only limited information about who is infected. Mathematical models usually assume a complete dataset, but a team reporting in Physical Review Letters demonstrates how to find the source with very little data. Their technique is based on the principles used by telecommunication towers to pinpoint cell phone users, and they demonstrate its effectiveness with real data from a South African cholera outbreak. The system could also work with other kinds of networks to help governments locate contamination sources in water systems or find the leaders in a network of terrorist contacts.
(MIT Video - Emergence of Superstars in Online Social Networks)
