BONN, Germany — From Bangkok to Miami, cities and coastal areas across the globe are already building or planning defenses to protect millions of people and key infrastructure from more powerful storm surges and other effects of global warming.
Some are planning cities that will simply adapt to more water.
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More on Climate Change
The Little Free Library isn’t a new movement, although it’s definitely still a novel one. We covered this neat project almost a year ago, where we saw participants build mini “libraries” that looked like they were converted from old mailboxes and birdhouses.
The new Little Libraries in Manhattan, however, take the movement to the next level.
Ten designers were chosen to create Little Libraries for the borough and the one you see above was created by Stereotank. It’s a pretty apt creation given the name of the group, as the Little Library looks like it was fashioned from an old water tank.
It’s spacious and offers temporary rain shelter while housing a rich selection of books that’ll satisfy curious passersby.
Those who have books to share can also drop their old volumes into the library, adding to its selection so that there’s more choices and more stories to pass along.
Stereotank’s Free Little Library is located at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral School in Nolita and it will be there until September of this year.
[designboom via Colossal via Beautiful Decay]
With Steve Jobs no longer around to tell us these things aren’t elegant enough for his device
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When researchers needed an easier way to share data and resources, and generally collaborate they invented the internet. And then they all went home and let the memes and brunch photos take over. Which is weird. Sure, initiatives like CERN are able to coordinate thousands of scientists toward common goals as a result of the internet, but the process of publishing research really hasn’t changed much.
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Many people believe that standing is better than sitting, especially for those who have desk jobs or work long hours on their computers. Standing for hours on end in front of a standing desk isn’t the most comfortable thing to do, but it could give you the added benefits promised for those who stand up more.
Adding some comfort to this, though, is the StandRight Standing Task Chair.
It basically lets you cheat a little while you do your work at your standing desk. The Standing Task Chair is designed to support you while you stand, distributing the weight between your butt and knees. It also has supports for your knees and an inclined footrest so it’ll make you feel like you’re sitting on air. That’s definitely a whole lot more comfortable than just standing up.
The Standing Task Chair was designed by Jeff Heath and it’s up for funding on Kickstarter through July 1st. A minimum pledge of $499(USD) will get you one of your very own.
[via Incredible Things]
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.
By now “reinventing the wheel” has become a tired euphemism — but that’s exactly what skateboarder David Patrick did when he created the SharkWheel, a cube-shaped wheel that’s surprisingly smoother and faster than conventional skateboard wheels. Patrick isn’t the only inventor to challenge conventions this week, though. In an effort to develop a more sustainable source of protein, designer Mansour Ourasanah developed a terrarium for growing edible insects in your home. That invention might be a tough sell for some people, but this one is sure to be a crowd-pleaser: English telecommunications company Vodafone unveiled a sleeping bag that uses body heat to charge your gadgets as you sleep and a pair of shorts that harness kinetic energy to charge your cellphone. Meanwhile architect Richard Moreta Castillo unveiled plans for a solar-powered, man-made island that will clean up the ocean while generating renewable energy, and Tokyo installed an impressive bicycle elevator that can store as many as 144 bikes underground.
Update: CNET has since updated its story to reflect that the government does, in fact, need a warrant to listen to your phone calls.
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How many mugs have you broken this year? If you answer two or more, then you’re a certified klutz and you shouldn’t be using glassware anymore. You’re probably better off with something like the Mighty Mug.
It’s a sturdier-than-usual mug of sorts that’s BPA-free and recommended for the uncoordinated and klutzy.
The secret lies in its “Smartgrip” base. To activate it, you’re supposed to flex and flick the grippy pad with your fingers before setting it down. Once it’s been set down, the Mighty Mug “grips” the surface and you won’t be able to knock it down or knock it over, even if you tried to do so on purpose.
When you’re ready to take a sip, just lift it by its handle and voila! It’s loose and ready for you to drink from.
Mighty Mug is dishwasher and microwave safe and is available from ThinkGeek for $14.99(USD).
[via Incredible Things]
While running between booths at Computex earlier this month, we were momentarily distracted by these vegetable boxes (maybe it was lunch time as well). As it turned out, this product was launched by Taiwan-based Home Lohas around the same time as when the expo started. The company pitches its hydroponic gardening appliance — so the vegetables rely on nutritious water instead of soil — as a hassle-free, low-power solution for growing your own greens, plus it’s apparently the only solution in the market that doesn’t need water circulation. With its full spectrum LED light, air pump and timers, harvest time can apparently be reduced by about 30 percent. It’s simply a matter of filling up the water tank, adding the necessary nutrients and placing the seeded sponge on the tray (the package includes three types of organic fertilizers and some seeds).
The only downside is that this system costs NT$15,800 (about US$530) in Taiwan, and for some reason, it’ll eventually be priced at US$680 in other markets. If that’s too much, then stay tuned for a half-size model that’s due Q4 this year.
Filed under: Household
Source: Home Lohas (Chinese)
NVIDIA champions GRID as a perfect fit for cloud gaming platforms, but we haven’t had much chance to see a good use case in action. The company was more than happy to oblige at E3, however, by streaming games from GRID to an OUYA system. As Android Central caught on video, the tiny console is well-suited to the job: its Tegra 3 and gamepad can comfortably handle remote delivery of an intensive game like Borderlands 2, at least in the controlled world of a trade show. While OUYA doesn’t have much (official) access to NVIDIA’s GRID at present, the booth demo was a possible vision of the future. It certainly gave OUYA an escape from its hassles on the street.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, NVIDIA
Source: Android Central
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