The United Nations has chosen the first Monday in October, Oct 5th to be World Habitat Day – a day to stand up and let it be known that affordable, adequate housing should be a priority everywhere.

According to the United Nations, more than 100 million people in the world today are homeless. Millions more face a severe housing problem living without adequate sanitation, with irregular or no electricity supply and without adequate security.

More info can be found at http://worldhabitatdaynews.com/

U.S. Housing Facts

• About 95 million people, one third of the nation, have housing problems including a high-cost burden, overcrowding, poor quality shelter and homelessness. (National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2004)
• One in three American households spend more than 30 percent of income on housing, and one in seven spends more than 50 percent. (Joint Center for Housing Studies: 2006)
• The number of low-income families that lack safe and affordable housing is related to the number of children that suffer from asthma, viral infections, anemia, stunted growth and other health problems. About 21,000 children have stunted growth attributable to the lack of stable housing; 10,000 children between the ages of 4 and 9 are hospitalized for asthma attacks each year because of cockroach infestation at home; and more than 180 children die each year in house fires attributable to faulty electrical heating and electrical equipment. (Sandel, et al: 1999)

Global poverty facts

• By the year 2030, an additional 3 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable units every day and 4,000 every hour. (UN-HABITAT: 2005)
• One out of every three city dwellers – nearly a billion people – lives in a slum. (Slum indicators include: lack of water, lack of sanitation, overcrowding, non-durable structures and insecure tenure.) (UN-HABITAT: 2006)
• UN-Habitat has reported that because of poor living conditions, women living in slums are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than their rural counterparts, and children in slums are more likely to die from water-borne and respiratory illness. (UN-HABITAT: 2006)
• Housing formation generates non-housing related expenditures that help drive the economy. (Kissick, et al: 2006)
• Investing in housing expands the local tax base. (Kissick, et al: 2006)

Info taken from http://worldhabitatdaynews.com/

This is a picture of water samples collected from urban rivers and lakes in China. A very pretty and colorful photograph yet very gross and sad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Scientists have invented a machine that can give you a full nights sleep in just 2-3 hours. It works by magnetically stimulating the brain using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to induce slow waves. In english, it makes your brain think you are in a deep sleep the whole time which is how your body can get the most rest and recovery. This doesnt really have anything to do with green technology but if we have more time to do things, then we have more time to help the planet!! The picture of the cat also has nothing to do with anything, except for the fact that he/she is sleeping.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1264358,00.html