Climate change will make dangerous outdoor activities

If temperatures increase sharply by the end of the century, as is anticipated, open-air activities can be dangerous. According to a study led by climatologist Robert Kopp, of Rutgers University, in the United States, one hour of outdoor activity, even in the shade, you can take a moderately healthy person having a stroke.

According to Kopp, a blend of heat and humidity could be responsible for this situation. The ability of the body to cool down depends on the evaporation of sweat, but if the humidity is high, sweat cannot evaporate and people can die as a result.

Until recently, it was believed that climate change would remove people from their homes or cities, especially in developed countries, due to floods, floods or other storms and extreme phenomena that make life impossible. However, in recent years, there is growing evidence that the increase in temperature is the main environmental force that will remove people from their homes and countries of origin.

The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, accompanies more than 7,000 homes in Indonesia, over a period of 15 years, and concluded that the extreme disasters have a much smaller impact on migration than the stress caused by the heat.

Thus, people who live in these homes react especially at high temperatures. On the other hand, advances the Scientific American, the breakdown of agricultural productivity as a result of heat is probably the greater cause of migrations that existed in these 15 years.

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British discovers distress call on garment label

Remember this slave who denounced Chinese forced labour a note hidden in toy? A new case, like, just be reported, this time on the label of a piece of clothing purchased in Primark.

The piece was purchased by Rebecca Gallagher, of 25 years, which read on the label instead of information about washing, the following message: "we are forced to work exhausting hours".

When he saw the message, the young man tried to contact the Primark to ask for explanations, but was not heard by the company. In fact, the company turned out to provide explanations, but only after Rebecca denouncing the case to the press.

A Primark spokesman said that the code of conduct of the clothing store ensures that all its factories and suppliers must offer fair conditions of work employees and asked that Gallagher returned the dress for investigation.

Primark is one of the cheapest clothes stores in the world, having several times been investigated due to slave labor, explains the sustainable planet. In 2008, the company was denounced for hiring Indian children with 11 years for sewing the sequins of her clothes. This year, the brand has created the site Ethical Primark, in which informs consumers of their environment-related practices.

So far, no human rights organization commented on the case of Rebecca Gallagher. Some do it?

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A castle built from garbage

Located on top of a quarry disabled, in Washington State, there is the "Junk Castle", a dwelling that resembles a castle and was built from recovered materials and garbage, as the name indicates.

The castle was built in the Decade of 1970 by Victor Moore, teacher and artist, for only €367 and from parts found in a dump site. Although they can be found at the scene pieces and sculptures of various kinds, the Castle stands out from the other buildings.

The materials used in the construction of the building varies between tiles, metal cans, parts of washing machines, various boxes, trays and even car doors. Since I built the Castle, Moore never had major problems with the authorities concerning the construction and the building there remains today, referred to Inhabitat.

Now, the American wants to sell the property, which includes a main house, which was built from a warehouse of milling and hopes that the new owners keep the garbage Castle standing, since it attracts many visitors.

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American students develop shingles which despoluem the air

There is much that air pollution is considered one of the major problems of society, especially in megacities and large cities, but little has been done to end this drama. A recent United Nations study showed that only 12% of the world's population breathes air quality, and that this is especially harmful in Asian countries.

To try to alleviate this problem, students at the University of California, Riverside in polo, are developing a roof that helps clean the air in lab tests, they coated clay tiles with titanium dioxide, a common compound found easily in various products, from paints to cosmetics wall.

The tiles were placed inside a Chamber that reproduces the atmospheric environment, built with wood, PVC and teflon tubes. The camera was connected to a source of nitrogen oxides and a device that reads the concentrations of the pollutant, formed when certain fuels are burned at high temperatures, for example by combustion in cars.

According to the sustainable planet, researchers used ultraviolet light to simulate sunlight, which activates the titanium dioxide and lets him break nitrogen oxides. The result is impressive: the shingles withdrew between 88% and 97% of the oxides of nitrogen.

According to the team of students, 21 tons of nitrogen oxides would be eliminated daily if one million roofs were coated with the mixture of titanium dioxide. They also calculated that it would cost only €3,6 ($ 11.1) to coat a midsize residential roof.

Currently, there are no other tiles on the market that help reduce pollution from nitrogen oxides. However, there are few data on allegations that they reduce pollution, explains the team of scientists.

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Dutch brand creates jeans made with plastics collected in the oceans

On the market for 25 years, the Dutch brand G-Star clothing revolved reach more people through an idea linked to sustainability. The brand has launched a campaign to clean up the oceans that turns out the trash found in jeans.

In addition to giving you a new worldwide visibility, the campaign was still one of the main awards of the Festival de Cannes, the main event of the world that rewards creativity in marketing and communication.

The campaign has enjoyed the attention given by Pharrell Williams, musician who designed parts. Pharrel is also creative director of Bionic Yarn, a company that manufactures yarns and fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles.

According to the international press, the manufacturing process begins with the selection of bottles, which are then milled and processed into fibers. These are then braided with polyester and used to make wires of the tissues.

According to the G-Star, of the 100 million tons of plastic produced annually, about 10% end up in the oceans. Pollution affects birds, mammals and marine life. "The challenge was to create a collection of quality to look and dress as well as the normal jeans", advanced the company.

Another concern was intended to make the collection appealing to consumers. "It allows people from all over the world can express their concerns to the pollution of the oceans, wearing them," concluded the G-Star. Although the company has financial worries, the truth is that this new collection â€" and especially the visibility that Pharrell Williamas gives you â€" it may be important to change mindsets when it comes to consumption (non-literal) of plastic.

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The beauty of spiral staircases

The stairs are probably one of the most unlikely photographic objects. But the spiral and helical stairs can be a pleasant surprise to the unsuspecting photographers. Obtained from the right perspective, simple steps can become in fantastic photos.

Lots of good pictures of stairs owe their beauty to the mesmerizing spiral shape of stairs. The spiral staircases are appreciated by the architects and designers by creating space and columns by dynamic shapes. Technically, most of these stairs are helical and spiral â€" not true spiral staircases must revolve around a central point, while the helical stairs turn a set distance from a central point.

Historical applications of spiral staircases are also interesting. Have you ever noticed that the spiral stairs of the castles and towers are almost always in a clockwise direction (from the point of view of who climbs)? The stairs were built this way so the soldiers who defended the castle could take advantage of the confrontation with the enemy in the case of the fight to get on the stairs, referred to Bored Panda. The invading soldiers (who climb the stairs) had no room to manoeuvre the swords (assuming that the majority was right-handed), while the soldiers who defend the castle had enough space to handle their weapons.

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Super-bananas may end up with a lack of vitamin A in underdeveloped countries

Genetically modified foods have their pros and cons, being bad in many regions of the globe. However, sometimes these modified foods can surprise by the positive. An Australian University researchers have developed a genetically modified banana type that can be grown in underdeveloped countries in order to put an end to the lack of vitamin A in these locations.

To this end, researchers enriched normal bananas with alpha and beta carotenes, transforming them into super-bananas able to meet the nutritional needs, especially of children.

Every year, more than 650,000 children die due to lack of vitamin a. However, these genetically modified bananas â€" that are being tested in humans in the United States â€" can help prevent many deaths. The lack of vitamin A is responsible for at least 300,000 children blindness annually, which could be easily avoided. However, food shortages in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are preventing many children receive the nutrients needed for the proper functioning of the organism.

In sight, the new bananas are equal to ordinary, with the exception of banana bark that is orange instead of yellow, referred to Inhabitat. The project developed this genetically modified banana is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was developed at the Queensland University of technology in Australia.

Currently, the bananas are going through a testing phase of six weeks to determine whether they can be used as a good source of nutrition. If the tests are successful, the new super-banana can begin to be cultivated in developing countries in 2020.

This new food, is right, will continue the controversy of GMOs, which clearly we disapprove of. And the reader, what is your opinion on the subject?

Foto:  Konstantin Zamkov / Creative Commons

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