Go Green: With Cosmetics

Our skin is our largest organ. Yet, almost 90% of the 10,500 known cosmetics and skin care ingredients have not been evaluated for safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution. To do more than scratch the surface, we got the skinny at Planet Green’s “How to Go Green: Natural Skin Care.“

Back to Basics: Every few months or so, we’re treated to the emergence of some new skin care “breakthrough.” Don’t believe the hype. Planet Green’s advice: “All you need is a basic cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and broad-spectrum sunscreen to keep your skin in tip-top shape.”

It turns out beauty is more than skin deep: The average person slathers, lathers, rubs and sprays, 10 different skin care products on his or her body every day—and since our skin acts more like a sponge than a barrier, we absorb the nearly 130 chemicals we regularly expose ourselves to. Cosmetics companies and the FDA maintain that these chemicals are safe, and many of them are—in small doses at least. But consider that the average woman ingests as much as four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime, and you begin to understand how a little dab here a quick spray there begins to add up. The fact is, no one really knows how certain chemicals affect us over a time, or how they react in our bodies in combination. Other chemicals have known dangers: Phthalates, for example, which are often found in artificial fragrances, are a class of hormone disruptor known to cause birth defects, sperm damage, infertility, and the feminization of baby boys, for instance.

Almost 90 percent of the 10,500 cosmetics and skin care ingredients known to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have not been evaluated for safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution, according to the Environmental Working Group. To be fair, no one’s dropping dead after a using a mascara wand or a body wash, and manufacturers have an interest in creating products that don’t harm their customers. But complex chemicals with potential unknown side effects lead us to follow the Precautionary Principle. That is to say, if we’d prefer to err on the side of safety until we know. We’re not the only ones who feel this way: More than 1,110 personal-product ingredients have been banned for use in cosmetics in the European Union because of concerns that they may cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive ills. By contrast only 10 are banned here in the U.S.

Egg Shower

The proteins in an egg can do wonders for your skin, but how about taking a shower in one? I’m talking about the egg-shaped shaped Cocoon Shower Stall that literally cocoons you once you shut all the glass slides. The usual spa features seen in such kinda stalls are included, but to spell them out: shower, bathtub, hydro massage (Jacuzzi) & mood lighting are there. The rain-showerhead is plum in the center of the ceiling, but I’d much rather use this for the hydra therapies!

Designer: Arina Komarova

AgeLab : MIT trying to solve the problem of aging

The world’s population is aging at a staggering rate. The 50+ population is the fastest growing segment worldwide and predicted life-expectancies are at a historical high.

• An American turns 50 once every seven seconds.
• Within the next few years, 50% of the European Union’s population will be 65+.
• By 2030, in Italy, retirees will outnumber active workers.
• By 2050, the median age in Thailand will rise to 50.

Let’s see how MIT is going about solving this problem. Should Georgia Tech expand its Aware Home initiative to include some research in this area?

Visit the website to read more:

http://web.mit.edu/agelab/index.shtml

- Ramakrishnan

PlaceLab MIT: context-aware computing at home

This is an initiative by MIT and TIAX LLC to experiment with new research ideas and to create a test bed to prototype and test new products. This is very similar to the Aware Home initiative that we have at Georgia Tech. I thought of posting this here since it is relevent after the Aware Home visits and showcases similar experiments that are being conducted at other universities.

http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/placelab.html

One of the experiments going on in PlaceLab is about context-aware computing. an excerpt from the website goes something like this:

“We believe that environmental sensors combined with wearable sensors may offer the most potential for automatic recognition of everyday activity to enable new generations of context-aware computing devices. We are developing algorithms that automatically detect some activities from portable biometric and motion sensors. We have created software that runs on PocketPC devices and can be used to collect data using context-aware experience sampling – where sensors automatically trigger a computing devices to ask a volunteer a set of questions in a particular situation. This software is being used both for studies of people and technology in natural environments such as homes and workplaces as well as to collect data needed to develop new context detection algorithms.”

Recognizing and remembering Activities - Memento

“Memento”  is a prototype context-triggered reminder system, which presents users with “3 best guesses” about what they are currently doing and lets them associate an audio reminder with the most appropriate choice. The system uses Hidden Markov Models and the MITes to infer activity context.

Prof. Gregory Abowd at Georgia Tech also worked on something very similar to this.

http://awarehome.imtc.gatech.edu/research/future-tools-for-the-home-1/plp.html

- Ramakrishnan

Key Facts

Energy: 81% reduction in energy use for heating, 45% reduction in electricity use (compared to local av.).

Transport: 64% reduction in car mileage 2,318km/year (compared to national av.).

Water: 58% reduction in water use 72 litres/person/day (compared to local av.).

Waste: 60% waste recycled.

Food: 86% of residents buy organic food.

Community: residents know 20 neighbours by name on average.

Microsoft’s Future Home

An example of what a near-future home looks like. Computers around the house interact with real-world objects, perform relevant tasks. For example, putting a bag flour on the kitchen countertop brings up recipes, and placing a business card and a cellphone together automatically inserts the contact into the phone, etc.

A picture speaks more than a thousand words!!

Here is an interesting article that I came across…

It talks about the ways in which picture frames can change the look of your house

http://www.designingonline.com/home_decorating_articles/decorative-picture-frames.html

eco-home Products – Provide Easy Energy Savings

Lutron Electronics launches the eco-home line of products – making it easier than ever for consumers to save energy while adding ambiance to their home.

Composed of the following products, the eco-home line helps homeowners reduce their energy consumption to conserve both natural and financial resources.

• eco-dim® dimmers: This line of dimmers guarantee a minimum reduction in energy consumption of 15% and an increase in light bulb life by at least three times when replacing a standard switch. This is achieved by setting the maximum light output to 85% instead of 100% brightness, a barely perceptible change to the human eye. The increase in bulb life results in fewer light bulb changes and fewer light bulbs in landfills.

Offered in Ariadni®, Diva®, Maestro®, Skylark® and Rotary dimmer styles, eco-dim dimmers are available starting at a suggested list price of $14.60.

• eco-minder™ dimmers: Lutron’s innovative, new, eco-minder dimmers feature an LED display that provides the user with instant feedback when they are saving at least 15% energy and extending bulb life by three times, allowing them to see as they save.  The eco-minder reminds users to dim their lights to reduce energy consumption, as well as allows them to show others how to conserve energy.  Replace a standard switch with an eco-minder dimmer and save up to $30 per year*.

Offered in Maestro or Meadowlark dimmer styles, eco-minder dimmers are available starting at a suggested list price of $24.80.

• Maestro Dimmer with Occupancy / Vacancy Sensor: This new Lutron product takes the company’s popular Maestro dimmer and adds an unobtrusive sensor to the sleek design. Equipped with Lutron’s exclusive XCT™ detection technology that detects fine motion, the sensor ensures that the lights stay on when the room is occupied and are off when the room is not in use, greatly reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Replace your standard switch with a Maestro dimmer with occupancy sensor and save up to 50%** in energy costs.

The Maestro dimmer with Occupancy / Vacancy sensor has a suggested list price of $54.

• eco-timer™: This new, eco-friendly product allows consumers to save energy by automatically turning a fan or light off after a set period of time. With the Maestro eco-timer, users can set a countdown time of as short as one minute but no longer than 30 minutes. The timer cannot be overridden to remain on which guarantees the fan or lights will always turn off. The LED lights on the side of the eco-timer move every five minutes as time winds down, indicating to the user approximately how much time is remaining.

The Maestro eco-timer has a suggested list price of $48.

Eco-home products are available at lighting showrooms, electrical distributors, home improvement centers, online retailers or lutronstore.com.

About Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. (http://www.lutron.com)

Lutron Electronics Co. Inc., headquartered in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, is the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of lighting controls, architectural lighting control systems and shading solutions for residential, commercial and institutional applications.

*Actual savings may vary depending on use and application. Stated savings based on dimming (4) 75 W incandescent reflector lamps (rated at 1500 hrs each, costing $1.75 per lamp) by 50% (perceived light level corresponding to 40% reduction in power level) for 5 hrs per day with electricity cost of $0.104/kWh. To calculate your own savings visit: www.lutron.com/energy

**50% energy savings based on dimming the lights by 20% and the sensor reducing average lighting usage from five to three hours a day by preventing the lights from being left on in unoccupied spaces. Actual savings may vary depending on usage.

Easy Living Home

At Georgia http://www.easylivinghome.org/

The Wednesday January 20th from 9 to
10:30AM at Room 207 in the Health Systems Institute (HSI) Building,
located at 828 West Peachtree Street, NW 2nd Floor Atlanta, GA 30332.

The Design and Technology for Healthy Aging Initiative at Georgia Tech
welcomes Ken Mitchell, AARP Georgia State Director, who will discuss
the activities in the Atlanta chapter and the Easy Living Home
initiatives in particular.  You can find out more about their
organization and initiatives at http://www.aarp.org/states/ga/ and
http://www.easylivinghome.org/

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Feng Shui – Create the harmony!

Feng Shui is a science which helps people to create positive energy in their lives. Similar to the Vaastu Shaastra , Indian version of Feng Shui aims at the happiness and well being of a family. I found this interesting video on Feng Shui

Interesting Video on Feng Shui