Today marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, a series of events dedicated to raising awareness of this global epidemic. A massive concert was scheduled to take place today in Pune, India, but it has been postponed out of respect for those affected by the recent attacks in Mumbai. Roughly 33 million people are infected with HIV or AIDS—with new infections occurring at a rate of about 5 people per minute. The concept of ...

A year ago Aptera Motors promised they’d deliver their hyper-efficient, retro-futuristic Typ-1 model “in 2008″ for “under 30,000.” In the intervening year, they were not—as some had feared—sold to some established auto giant to be quietly euthanized. Instead, they raised $24 million in cash (including $2.7 million from Google.org in July), leapt into production, and started taking orders. For $500, you can now reserve a plug-in Aptera Typ-1 and have it in your driveway (as ...

The forgotten carbon-cutting effect of a product’s container Among all the services and gadgets aimed at cutting carbon from our daily lives, it’s easy to overlook the effect that a product’s packaging has on the environment. A tiny change in the shape of a ketchup bottle, for example, ripples outward from the store shelf to the truck that delivered it and—for more exotic items—the ship that ferried it. Every year, the shipping industry—including trucking, traveling ...

Data visualization guru Ben Fry has created a unique map of the United States by displaying all of the nation’s 26 million roads—and nothing else. As he says: “No other features (such as outlines or geographic features) have been added to this image, however they emerge as roads avoid mountains, and sparse areas convey low population.” The resulting image of a transportation network sans substrate is very reminiscent of the plastinated human circulatory system pieces ...

The average car vs. the average human Cars use gas to power themselves, just as people use food. And energy is energy, no matter where you get it. So, how many calories are in a gallon of gas? How does that compare to our food? View Burning Fuel: The Average Car Vs. The Average Human

In this morning’s laptop chat, Barack Obama outlines, in broad strokes, the new New Deal everyone’s speculating about. http://www.youtub... Thoughts after the jump. Obama says: “We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the ...

The Swedish designer Camilla Diedrich has created some stunningly luminescent wallpaper. It’s lit by freaking fiber optics. We can’t get over how beautiful this is. One could have the most amazing romantic weekend surrounded by this stuff. Actually, two could have an even more romantic weekend. You can buy it here (it’s more expensive than regular wallpaper, believe it or not). More pics at Inhabitat.

Ted “Series of Tubes” Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and seven-time convicted felon, lost his bid for reelection in Alaska in a recount. In his farewell speech from the Senate floor yesterday, he said “I don’t have any rearview mirror.” As an explanation for why he didn’t see the law creeping up behind him, that would have been funny. But he meant it as a public refusal to even begin discussing whether he ...

In retrospect, after a disaster, you’ll always be able to find someone who saw it coming. And in the case of the financial crisis of 2008, that person is Peter Schiff, who predicted the exact mechanics of our present collapse years ago. This video compilation pulls together some of his more prescient interviews. http://www.youtub... By the way, if you have any money managed by Laffer Investments or Ben Stein you might want to rethink that. ...

The winter holidays: a time to join with family and friends, give thanks, celebrate, and get out the plastic and cash. We are a nation of consumers and we consume the most in November and December—in those two months, the retail profits come rolling in. Fueled by cards, presents, and food, the holidays form their own annual economic boom. View GOOD Sheet: Our Present Economy This exploration of the economy is a collaboration between GOOD ...

We may have a new president and vice president, but the supporting roles are still being filled, and they matter a lot. After all, what would the Bush administration have been without Rumsfeld, Chertoff, and Condi? Below, we’ll be tracking the additions to Obama’s team as they become public. Drop us a comment if we’re missing anyone. Obama’s Cabinet (in order of presidential succession): Secretary of State: It looks like negotiations and vetting are still ...

On Monday, Cliff Kuang wrote a reasoned plea in favor of a government-sponsored bailout for automakers in Detroit. Today, just for the sake of entertaining the other side of the argument, we’d like to link to a counterpoint penned by the former Massachusetts governor (and GOP presidential candidate) Mitt Romney. He references his father’s work at American Motors, a company that was only able to make strides toward success after the total collapse of its ...

Cigarettes, as most everyone knows, give you cancer. And yet, we are still smoking, even in states where laws prevent smoking at work, in restaurants, and in bars. Here is a look at where the most Americans are still puffing away. SOURCES American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation; Centers for Disease Control

Coney Island, the ex-destination spot in Brooklyn, is on a downswing. It still gets crowds for three annual events: the Mermaid Parade (and its after-party/Ball), the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, and the Village Voice-curated Siren Music Festival. Other than that, it’s a shell of its former self, especially since its Astroland amusement park shuttered in early-Spetember. But, there’s been some good news today: The New York Post reported this morning that Mayor Bloomberg’s office ...

Silicon Valley is to tech, as the East River is to biotech. That could be an analogy of the future if the pols running New York City have their way. The city took a big first step in that direction this Wednesday when it opened the doors of a $20 million facility devoted to searching for a vaccine to fight HIV/AIDS. The lab is located in the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which served as a military…

Do you ever wonder what happens to your plastic, paper, or what have you after you toss it into the recycling bin? If so, then you are in luck. Our chums over at Recycle Bank (we’ve talked about them before) have created an interactive piece that walks you through each stage of the, um, cycle. Watch and learn. This week wasn’t all fun and games. It began on a sad note with the passing of ...

The most important number in the world … that nobody’s talking about. Any talk about solving the climate crisis is necessarily peppered with all sorts of measurements: global temperatures, sea levels, emissions reductions, and so on. But, there’s one metric out there that might be the most essential (and, sadly, least understood): the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere, More so than any other statistic, it holds the fate of the planet in ...

President Kennedy famously declared during his inauguration speech that we should ask ourselves what we can do for our country. National service takes many forms—from Americans deployed overseas to senior citizens teaching a new generation how to read. Now that the election is over, let’s continue the spirit of civic engagement. Find out what you can do for your country. View GOOD Sheet: You Want to Help This exploration of national service is a collaboration ...

Frustrated by this world’s problems? Why not try creating your own reality and then spreading the word? That’s what the liberal prank outfit The Yes Men did this morning in New York City by organizing a cadre of like-minded volunteers to distribute a bogus copy of The New York Times to bleary-eyed commuters. If the fact that the “paper of record” was on offer for free wasn’t enough to hint that something was amiss, the ...

Michael Lewis, the author of the Wall St. narrative Liar’s Poker, has an exhaustive exploration of the forces behind the current financial mess. This essay isn’t for the faint of heart—it’s full of death knells and damnation—but it offers a pretty definitive take on how things got this bad. Lewis spends some time discussing, “a handful of people [who] had been inside the black box, understood how it worked, and bet on it blowing up,”…