Anti-assault spray or self-defence methods are common ways of defending oneself from physical attack. Now, however, there is another way of keeping safe: the No-Contact Jacket, a jacket that sends electric shocks to avoid any type of physical assault. While the wearer won’t feel anything because of the rubber lining on the inside, the assailant will feel a shock such as one that would come from an electrical socket. The No-Contact Jacket, designed by MIT researcher Yolita Nugent and her boyfriend Adam Whiton can help people everywhere.

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More Info:

• http://www.no-contact.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOE71e8e5pE

Dennis Odin Johnson has been designing, manufacturing and building environmentally green homes and dome homes since 1971. His company, Natural Spaces Domes, is one of the leading manufacturers of geodesic dome homes in the world. During his nearly 40 years of building domes, one of his major focuses has been educating and promoting the green aspect and environmental sustainability of dome homes as well as all home designs in general.

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What exactly is a Dome Home? In an interview with Planet Green TV, architect and designer, Dennis Odin Johnson, reshapes our idea of a home. Located in North Branch, Minnesota, Bear Creek Dome is “energy efficient and gives you the most amount of space for the least amount of material”. For more than 30 years, Natural Spaces Domes has been building “green” dome homes that provide both the comfort of a normal home, as well as the satisfaction of helping keep the earth clean.

Bear Creek Dome, beyond having a unique shape, is more functional than a normal box home. Based on the geodesic dome, made popular in the 1950′s, Bear Creek Dome is 49-feet in diameter, and the spherical design of the home provides enough strength to withstand earthquakes and 200 mph winds. The Dome Homes are cleaner and healthier for the environment and humans alike. The dome shape uses 60% less structural material than a box home. Homes made by Natural Spaces are energy efficient, and all of the building materials used are as natural as possible. Dome homes are also healthier for families, as the panels are toxin and draft-free.

Best of all, Johnson points out that people don’t have to give up any comforts or luxuries that come with living in a normal home. Bear Creek Dome is actually quite spacious despite its appearance. The Dome has enough room for multiple bedrooms, a large kitchen, living room, dining room, office, and an entertainment area.

Nowadays, people are readily choosing to drive environmentally friendly vehicles, and wear “green” clothing, so it’s seem natural for eco-friendly homes to be the next step. We would be giving up little, if anything, if all new homes were built in this fashion, plus we would be ensuring that something is being done to preserve our environment for future generations to come. Dennis’ philosophy is rather revolutionary: if we invest in a greener existence today, we will live better tomorrow.

More Info:

• http://www.naturalspacesdomes.com/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dZVIBhKqWc

At a TED conference, Jamais Cascio, the co-founder of WorldChanging.com discusses how we can solve the world’s problems with effective tools and ideas. Cascio believes that as long as we can see and understand the impact of our actions, we can work towards a better future.

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Jamais Cascio is helping us find ways to solve our world’s problems. At a TED conference in Monterey, California, Jamais Cascio, discusses his website, WorldChanging.com, the award-winning website dedicated to finding and calling attention to models, tools, and ideas for building a better future. As the co-founder of this website, he explains how problems such as the planet’s environment, global development, and international conflicts can be solved using tools and ideas that are outlined on his site.

The website has over 4,000 tools and ideas, such as energy efficient homes and vehicles, which we could easily put into practice today. According to Cascio, we can build a better world because we have all of the necessary things: tools, knowledge, and motive. We have the means and the capability to solve global problems, as well as good reason to do so.

While successful responses are possible, Cascio believes that one of the most important steps is to make the invisible visible. If people are able to see and understand the impact of their actions, it will lead to change. If we can easily see what impacts (whether positive or negative) we are making on the world, maybe it will be easier for us to solve our current environmental problems.

More Info:

• http://www.openthefuture.com
• http://www.worldchanging.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPhuj-W8kyE

“Music is many ways is very political and talks about change.” In an interview with BeatPort.com, musician Richie Hawtin talks about his innovative way of communicating with young people in order to inform them about important and current topics, such as the environment.

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Richie Hawtin has always been an innovator in the field of music. His career as a DJ started in the local electronic music clubs in Detroit, when he was still young and was known as Plastikman. Since then, his success has grown exponentially, and he has become a famous artist on an international level. He is a point of reference in the entire electronic music scene. His success comes mostly from his ability to create original and creative sounds, and his knowledge of music technology. Since the 90’s, he has been the director of two record labels: Plus-8, created in 1990; and Minus, with which he produces his own musical creations. With the collaboration of other international DJ, BeatPort.com was born, a website where both independent artists and fans of electronic music can meet, in order to share music and ideas.

“I have always been interested in the future, in the future of music and technology”, explains Hawtin in the interview. Today, however, Richie Hawtin looks at the future with greater understanding. Through the eyes of a man who has experienced much more of the world than most people, he sees the problems and uncertainties that are arising. He asks the questions that most people don’t want to bring up: what kind of world are we leaving to future generations? How can we fix, or at least contain, the complex environmental problems that we now face? There are already many groups and organizations that work to promote awareness, but Richie is convinced that the most important and challenging aspect of awareness is reaching the younger generations. These children are the true protagonists of the future, and it is up to them to promote a concrete and enduring change.

Richie Hawtin’s dream is to utilize electronic music as an instrument for spreading ideas in order to educate and promote awareness about the environment. He believes that electronic music is the best way to reach people on a global level. Since there are no vocals and can be enjoyed and performed by any person, regardless of culture, electronic music is the most global music scene in the world. The objective of the project, therefore, is to give international artists the ability to speak out about environmental problems. In this easy and interactive way, the message will be broadcasted worldwide: the solutions to these problems can be accomplished by everyone, through small gestures throughout the day. A “green” future is possible, and could arrive much sooner than we think, thanks to electronic music.

More Info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ8qjV21aZs

At Carnegie Mellon’s 112th Commencement Ceremony, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google Inc., stresses the importance of technology and innovation in our future. According to Schmidt, we need to start using the abundance of information that we have in order to make our own opportunities and learn from our mistakes.

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At Carnegie Mellon’s 112th Commencement Ceremony, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google Inc., leaves the graduating class with some very sound advice: “Mistakes allow you to learn and to innovate and try new things.” As the CEO of Google, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Apple, one could easily make the assumption that Schmidt has a passion for technology and information. In fact, he believes that information itself will make the world a more global and productive place.

Why is it important to have an unlimited source of information? Beyond the fact it makes life more functional, information serves as an equalizer. If everyone in the world had the same access to all information, we would finally be able to solve the world’s problem of inequality. We live in a culture of innovation, where we can find most of the answers to our problems, and make our own luck and opportunity.

Schmidt stresses the importance of using the information that we have to take chances and mistakes, because it is through mistakes that we can learn and improve. He addresses the graduating class with a quote from John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” By living life and foregoing fear, we will be able to be more innovative than ever before.

More Info:

• http://www.google.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiYwUde3wNo

While changing light bulbs and installing solar panels on our roofs can help solve our climate problem, we must also mobilize political will. At this talk hosted by TED, Vice President Al Gore discusses the problem of climate change, and how we must first become active in our democracy in order to solve the climate problem.

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Al Gore has been making sure that things are being done to help solve the current climate crisis. But he also believes that more needs to be done before we can feel optimistic. At a talk hosted by TED, in Monterey, California, Al Gore explains that we “need to change the laws, not light bulbs”, and he has been trying to do just that. Before he created the Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, he was the Vice President of the United States. Al Gore, after leaving Washington, DC in order to educate the world about the dangers of climate change, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007.

Gore explains that while he is an advocate for solar panels and hybrid cars, we need to do more than that to see an actual change in our environment. At least for now, we should be focusing on changing laws in order to make a real difference. He uses one of Mahatma Gandhi’s most famous quotes to illustrate his point: “you must become the change you wish to see in the world”. In order for people to be optimistic about seeing a positive change in the environment, they must first be proactive about making a change.

While many people are proactive about local environmental problems, there are regional, and even a global, conflicts that also must be addressed. More often than not, people leave out citizenship in their fight for climate protection; however, it is Gore’s belief that the first thing we should be doing is addressing the government and being politically active.

More Info:

• http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html
• http://www.algore.com

Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired and creator of the long tail theory, predicts a world in which everything will be free, without even the need for advertising. The web will change the world and every digital sector will become free.

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We are always looking for ways to spend less money, and get the best deals. We compare prices and wait for products to go on sale. Every opportunity to save money is a good one. But what about spending no money at all? According to Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired and the mind behind the long tail theory: “if free is what you’re looking for, then free is what you’ll get.”

Chris Anderson explains the new zero-cost business model. It has little to do with the current way we live where advertising guarantees revenue; instead, it is based on a new reality in which we will not even have need for advertising. “Everything will end in this economy of waste”, says Anderson. It is his belief that products become so easily produced that they become wasted. How is this possible?

Chris Anderson uses nuclear energy as a prime example. If electricity had been too cheap to meter, to the point where it could just be thrown away, we would have an electric economy. Everything would run on electricity because it would cost us nothing.

This is what is happening today with the technology revolution. In fact, Chris strongly believes that free is the future of business. All of the technologies of the computer revolution are too cheap to meter. As more businesses become digital, services and products will become available through software and downloads. This will lead to everything becoming free.

Companies such as Google and Yahoo, that make billions of dollars, are built upon the business model of giving away things for free. This Gift Economy is based on free labor, and no advertising. “Every industry that becomes digital, eventually becomes free”, concludes Chris. Therefore, we should look forward to a future that is more digital, and more importantly, free.

More Info:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkeCIW75CU