Human Relief Efforts

13 Things We Learned from Some of the World’s Smartest People at Fortune Brainstorm Green 2013

13 Things We Learned from Some of the World’s Smartest People at Fortune Brainstorm Green 2013

For those who think that environmentalism is just for hippies, actor Harrison Ford and Peter Seligman, Chairman and CEO of Conservation International, kicked off the conference with a discussion that

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Shigeru Ban’s Sri Lanka Post-Tsunami Housing Project Nominated for 2013 Aga Khan Award

Shigeru Ban’s Sri Lanka Post-Tsunami Housing Project Nominated for 2013 Aga Khan Award

After consulting with locals about the preferred layout of their new micro homes, Ban designed the 31 square meter homes with a bathroom and kitchen that is separated by the living area. This last

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DARPA to Use Shipping Containers to Create Floating Platforms for Disaster Relief

DARPA to Use Shipping Containers to Create Floating Platforms for Disaster Relief

Shipping containers have emerged as a popular material for building everything from backyard retreats to temporary shelters and coffee shops. Now DARPA has harnessed the giant metal boxes for use in

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Modularflex Disaster Shelters Pop Up Where They Are Needed Most

Modularflex Disaster Shelters Pop Up Where They Are Needed Most

Anyone who has ever struggled to pitch a tent can attest to how difficult it can be to assemble a temporary shelter. Add the stress of a natural calamity, and every second saved by quick and simple

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Matt Damon Boycotts the Toilet to Raise Awareness For Clean Water

Matt Damon Boycotts the Toilet to Raise Awareness For Clean Water

Actor and co-founder of water.org Matt Damon won't let a good opportunity to raise awareness of clean water down the tubes. To draw attention to the 2.5 billion people who do not have access to proper

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Recycled “Gecekondoo” Emergency Shelters Could Provide Relief to Displaced Residents of Istanbul

Recycled “Gecekondoo” Emergency Shelters Could Provide Relief to Displaced Residents of Istanbul

The Turkish Government recently voted on a ‘’disaster risk’’ law that will demolish and rebuild roughly 7,000,000 dwellings in Turkey over the next 20 years. Although the object of this law is to

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A Prototype of the AbleNook Rapidly Deployable Emergency Modular Living Unit is Now Complete

A Prototype of the AbleNook Rapidly Deployable Emergency Modular Living Unit is Now Complete

AbleNook was designed by Sean Verdecia and Jason Ross as part of an architecture project while at the University of South Florida. The summer-long independent study project turned into a real-world

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Sales of Erik Abel’s Limited Edition Wood Prints Go to Help Hurricane Sandy Relief

Sales of Erik Abel’s Limited Edition Wood Prints Go to Help Hurricane Sandy Relief

Erik Abel recently released a fresh set of limited edition prints, and 15% of all sales will be donated to Waves for Water for their Hurricane Sandy relief initiative. Six

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Philippines Hit by Second Storm Five Days After Typhoon Bopha

Philippines Hit by Second Storm Five Days After Typhoon Bopha

Five days after Typhoon Bopha made landfall on the Philippines' southern Mindanao Island, a weakened storm hit the northwestern Philippines’ on Sunday. With winds stronger than those seen from Hurricane

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UN Offers Prize to Help Bring Power to 3,000 Bosnian Homes Using Renewable Energy

UN Offers Prize to Help Bring Power to 3,000 Bosnian Homes Using Renewable Energy

Photo by Shutterstock To help deliver power to the more than 3,000 families living far from Bosnia’s power grid, the United Nations is offering a $20,000 prize to whoever invents a relatively cheap

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What Hurricane Sandy Taught Us About America’s Crumbling Infrastructure

What Hurricane Sandy Taught Us About America’s Crumbling Infrastructure

Photo of a blacked out Lower Manhattan by Iwan Baan When Hurricane Sandy reached the eastern United States in late October, it wasn't a surprise visit - meteorologists had issued warnings about the

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Six Things You Can Do To Help Hurricane Sandy Victims

Six Things You Can Do To Help Hurricane Sandy Victims

Photo via Shutterstock Donate Money to the Red Cross The American Red Cross is the number one disaster relief charity in the US, and it's far and away the most trusted and most popular charity that you

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PLEASE HELP: Desperate Lower Manhattan Struggles For Water, Food, Communication

PLEASE HELP: Desperate Lower Manhattan Struggles For Water, Food, Communication

Many people in Lower Manhattan live in tall high-rise buildings, and without access to power elevators stop working, refrigerators stop working and food spoils, water stops pumping, and it is extremely

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How to Survive Hurricane Sandy in NYC

How to Survive Hurricane Sandy in NYC

Hurricane Sandy is barreling up the East Coast towards New York, and those in the path of the storm should brace for the worst. If you live in NYC you probably know that you need to stock up on food and

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Fury and Fragility: A Sustainable Rebuilding Plan for the Town of Ishinomaki, Japan After the Tsunami

Fury and Fragility: A Sustainable Rebuilding Plan for the Town of Ishinomaki, Japan After the Tsunami

In Northern Japan, where the rugged coast meets pristine beaches, the town of Ishinomaki has long enjoyed the beauty and bounty of the surrounding sea. But benefit rarely comes without hazard and

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US Announces Agent Orange Clean-Up in Vietnam After 40 Years

US Announces Agent Orange Clean-Up in Vietnam After 40 Years

Nearly 40 years after the Vietnam War, the U.S. launched a project to clean up toxic residues of Agent Orange -- one of the many herbicides used by the U.S. military during the war was proven to contain

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Cocoon by Woods Bagot is a Comforting Emergency Shelter for Four

Cocoon by Woods Bagot is a Comforting Emergency Shelter for Four

The competition brief called for structures that provide protection from the elements, in addition to safety, simplicity and elegance. They were also expected to be constructed easily and quickly. Woods

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Who Gives A Crap: Crowdfunded Toilet Paper Company to Donate 50% of Profits to Improve Sanitation in Developing World

Who Gives A Crap: Crowdfunded Toilet Paper Company to Donate 50% of Profits to Improve Sanitation in Developing World

In just a few short days, a small group of entrepreneurial designers and engineers has raised over $50,000 to fund Who Gives a Crap, a business that will offer sustainable, comfortable toilet paper and

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CO2 Bambu Brings Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Bamboo Housing to Nicaragua

CO2 Bambu Brings Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Bamboo Housing to Nicaragua

In 2011 CO2 Bambu was awarded with a historic contract to build 82 bamboo-based homes in Rosita, Nicaragua as part of the Hurricane Felix reconstruction effort. Up until then, the options available to the

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Japanese Robotics Lab Launches New Robot for Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Japanese Robotics Lab Launches New Robot for Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Meet “Rosemary” – a new emergency response robot prototype developed by the Future Robotics Technology Center for work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in northern Japan, which

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AIA and Architecture for Humanity Team Up To Help Architects Respond To Disasters

AIA and Architecture for Humanity Team Up To Help Architects Respond To Disasters

Last month the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and nonprofit Architecture for Humanity teamed up to launch ArchitectsRebuild.org, a new website that promises to help architects contribute to

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Solar Cooker Could Provide for Hot Water and Food In Disaster Zones

Solar Cooker Could Provide for Hot Water and Food In Disaster Zones

In disaster zones, emergency rescue services need reliable appliances to help provide the basics to victims who may suddenly be without provisions. As a quick-response to emergency

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Kony2012, Invisible Children, and Where Your Donations are Going

Kony2012, Invisible Children, and Where Your Donations are Going

If you've listened to the news or checked Facebook in the last few days, you've probably heard of - or watched - the record-breaking viral video called Kony 2012, which was produced and directed by the

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The Fukushima Emergency Project Is a Pop-Up Shelter Providing Housing Relief for Disaster Victims

The Fukushima Emergency Project Is a Pop-Up Shelter Providing Housing Relief for Disaster Victims

Learning from the issues that arose in the aftermath of the Fukushima blast in Japan over one year ago, students at the Architecture School of Bordeaux have developed the Fukushima Emergency Project -- a

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Architecture For Humanity Partners with AIA to Further Disaster Relief Efforts

Architecture For Humanity Partners with AIA to Further Disaster Relief Efforts

If you've ever wanted to get more involved with the good humanitarian work of Architecture For Humanity, there's an even better chance to volunteer now through your local chapters. The American Institute

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Studio Kalkwijk’s WakaWaka is a Super-Efficient Solar LED and Charger Developed for Rural Africa

Studio Kalkwijk’s WakaWaka is a Super-Efficient Solar LED and Charger Developed for Rural Africa

Electricity and lighting is something we often take for granted, but millions around the world live in areas lacking the proper infrastructure to even support turning on a lamp. In Africa, the market for

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Yellow Leaf Hammocks Helps Empower Marginalized Hill Tribes in Thailand

Yellow Leaf Hammocks Helps Empower Marginalized Hill Tribes in Thailand

Yellow Leaf Hammocks is a project started by a San Francisco group dedicated to improving the livelihoods of marginalized hill tribes in rural Thailand. While the hammock at first glance looks like a

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VIDEO: See How Painting Mountains in Peru is Slowly Bringing Back Lost Glaciers

VIDEO: See How Painting Mountains in Peru is Slowly Bringing Back Lost Glaciers

When we first learned about Eduardo Gold's plan to paint the Peruvian Andes white in order to deflect heat back into the atmosphere and bring back the shrinking glaciers, we weren't 100% certain whether

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Update from Kesennuma, Japan: Students Complete Fish Arch and Recovery Efforts Are Under Way

Update from Kesennuma, Japan: Students Complete Fish Arch and Recovery Efforts Are Under Way

As you may recall, the Fish Arch project was led by a group of students taking Yasushi Ikeda’s lab at Keio University. The group was asked to contribute to the Obon Festival by doing an installation.

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Modular Cardboard Bed Provides Solutions for Emergency Housing

Modular Cardboard Bed Provides Solutions for Emergency Housing

The bed is formed from modular cardboard boxes folded together and then laid side by side. To make the box, two intersecting cardboard strips fold together to form an accordion support system. Then a

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