Recyclable items become 'Smart Trash'

One person's trash could be another person's treasure.

But now, if efficiently recycled, or our own trash could be worth some cash.

Valerie Thomas, an associate professor at Georgia Tech University, has developed an idea that provides a cash incentive for recycling called: Smart Trash.

Through Smart Trash, a scanner will be coded into trashcans that automatically records what is being disposed. The concept uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFI) tags that are already attached to many recyclable items, and Thomas hopes will soon appear in every item.

While recycling currently exists, through this system, more than paper, plastics and glass will find their way to the recycling bins - thus, making recycling a more efficient practice.

And with the incentive of extra cash, recycling can become a routine.

Thomas's goal is to have each Smart Trashcan's scanner linked to the internet that would register each item, and potentially, credit a person's trash credit, allowing them to receive a refund check with their garbage bill.

Meet Gwen

Playing with dolls can be a child's favorite past time.

From changing the outfits to styling the hair, creativity is unleashed through this one simple toy.

But more importantly, dolls can be used as a means for educating.

American Girl, a producer of such dolls, strives to teach young girls about who they are today, and who they could become tomorrow.

But a doll released in 2009 failed to meet these standards--Gwen, a blonde-haired beauty, who is homeless.

Gwen, though representing homelessness, comes styled in a white sun dress, pink flip-flops, a cute pink headband and costs $95.

Though the company charges this large amount for a doll and her story, American Girl is donating none of the proceeds from Gwen to actually help the homeless.

A $95 doll could help one of the 1.5 million homeless children in the United States.

American Girl is a company that prides itself on bringing diversity awareness to children, to help them better the future. But apparently, when it comes to itself, the bar is set too high.

Tropical storms to be defeated

For the first time in history, tropical storms may have met their match.

And the opposing force is someone unexpected: Bill Gates.

This Microsoft Founder, along with 12 colleagues has created a device to decrease the intensity of tropical storms.

Though this device is still in the patent and prototype form, the Salter Sink will mix warm water from the ocean's surface, with the colder water from its depths.

Warm ocean water provides the energy for each storm, causing increased evaporation and more humidity. The wind then forces this moisture into the sky to create rotating storm clouds, that in turn, form hurricanes.

By preventing or eliminating warm water, storm clouds can be kept from ever forming. If the water can be altered by just 4.5 degrees, the entire tropical storm could be completely extinguished.

Each vessel will be about 100 meters in diameter, or about the length of a football field, and will consist of two levels. The upper level will represent a raft-like apparatus composed of used tires. The lower level will contain plastic tubes that extend below the ocean surface. Waves will power the operation by entering the vessels, pushing the warm water downwards and igniting a turbine. The first turbine will ignite the second turbine and will pull up the cold water from the second tube.

The process seems to be simple, however, by altering nature unforeseen consequences are bound to occur, potentially creating a disaster for our planet.

Rudeness on the rise

Cursing, spitting and texting at the dinner table are actions that are hard to miss.

But evidently, these social faux pas are morphing into social norms.

According to The Charleston Gazette, 80 percent of Americans feel our nation's rudeness is on the rise.

Magicians Penn and Teller found similar results, and when they asked the same question, the remaining 20 percent told them to F-off.

And with the increased presence of social media and technology, it's no shock.

As a result of our fast-paced, need-for-immediacy lives we are focusing less on our people skills, which has made a lack of eye contact or updating a tweet during class socially acceptable.

Because a new decade has just begun, our nation has been given the chance to start fresh, and bring back the manners that were lost in the last ten years.

Valentine's Day about appreciating others

The week of Valentine’s Day keeps the thoughts of relationships in the minds of many.

With this day emphasizing love, this one passionate emotion has different meanings for each individual.

It’s about appreciation.

Appreciation for family, friends and significant others.

While the concept of a romantic love is typically the main focus of this holiday, it is imperative to remember that love does come in many forms.

It is only through the relationships we form that we truly learn the impact of one individual on our lives, whether this is a romantic relationship or not.

In the poem, The Crickets Have Arthritis, Shane Koyczan highlights the significance one person can have on the lives of others.

Through appreciation and lessons we learn from others, we, as individuals, are able to further understand ourselves.

World hunger at all time high

As reported by the Food and Agricultural Organization, for the first time in history, world hunger has exceeded one billion.

Of that one billion, there are 49 million Americans suffering from hunger and malnutrition - a number that has doubled during the last decade - and increased by 13 million in the last year.

Following the tragic events of the January earthquake in Haiti, $7.5 billion are now needed to eradicate this problem. The World Food Programme has been the largest food supplier to Haitian survivors and thus far, have reached one of the two million in need.

The WFP's Initiative, A Billion for a Billion, argues that the amount of hunger worldwide can be nearly eliminated through individual contributions.

If each person online donates just $1 per week for one year, the problem can be solved.

That's giving up just 52 sodas, 10 fast food meals or one pair of shoes for one year.

By targeting individuals to solve the short-term problem of feeding the hungry now, governments can focus on creating a more permanent solution, such as improving agricultural infrastructure.

Of each contribution, 93 percent will be spent directly on the food to feed those in need. The remaining seven percent will be spent on overheads for the organization.

Collegiate Forensics compete for an impact

Making a difference in the world, one speech at a time.

Cliche? Maybe.
True? Most definitely.

College students around the nation that participate in forensics programs strive to educate, through performance, about the world's newest and most urgent issues. From helping end hunger to decreasing our nation's rudeness, the competitors in this activity research and analyze feasible solutions to various problems.

Each weekend during an academic year, students share these ideas with their peers in a competitive atmosphere. But spreading the word is difficult to do alone.

After each competition, new ideas and concepts will be presented, so that as an online community, we can help produce change.