Problems

There here are many food apps out there already, calorieking.com, gomeals.com, etc.  There are apps for blood sugars as well.  I would like an app that would collect blood sugars and put them in a format that is easy to read and fax or email but there is already a meter that does this. 

Another option would be something for exercise, telling children how to increase food and decrease insulin but there are so many variables with this.  That is the problem.  Kids with diabetes need to test their blood sugar levels at least 4 times/day, before each meal and at bedtime.  They also need to check if they feel “funny” as this means that they are too high or too low.  They need to take insulin before they eat any food with carbs in it.  They need to count the carbs and then enter them into the pump and also need to enter in the blood sugar level so that the pump can tell them how much insulin they need.  Exercise makes the blood sugar level go down and food makes it go up.  

Using mapping services allows health system workers to better understand the whole of the systems in which they work. In order for that mapping to be useful, it needs to have enough granularity of information. Currently when you want to add information about health system structures to OpenStreetMap, your only option is to add a "hospital" which is an insufficient level of detail. OpenStreetMap doesn't allow for mapping health systems with enough granularity; everything is a "Hospital". 

Let’s work with Open Street Maps to define with more granularity the different levels of a health system so that Volunteers and their counterparts can map the health services available in their country. At least 4 levels are needed:

• Advanced Hospital
• Basic Hospital
• Health Post
• Health Hut

Additionally, there should be fields that allow you to add more information about the health structures:

• Ambulance (Y/N)
• Operating Block (Y/N)
• CD4 testing (Y/N)
• Size of catchment area
• Private or Public
• Staffing: Doctors, Nurses, Midwives, Community Health Workers, etc.
    

Lastly, there should be a way to map the catchment zone of the health facility.

Developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and many dissorders can make communication hard for individuals.

Global statistics aren't well known, but currently 2,000,000 people in the US suffer from communication dissorders who could communicate better with access to various Augmented and Alternative Commmunication (AAC) devices.

AAC Devices exist, but are expensive.   Let's build Augmented and Alternative Communication software which works on any device, is universal, multi-lingual, free, personalized, learns from usage, and is maintained by a community.   

We have some code to work with!  It's in rails. Check it out on your phone or tablet FreeAAC.org, or watch this quick video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQN64-L-Us
 

Speak Freely!

1.  Organization Introduction:

Polar Bears International is the world’s leading polar bear conservation group—dedicated to saving polar bears by saving their sea ice habitat. We champion polar bears wherever they are, concentrating our strategies in areas of research, education, and action. Working closely with the world’s leading polar bear scientists, we take an innovative approach to conservation, building collaborations in the interest of the bears.

At PBI, we’re building momentum for action on climate change and working to ensure that, with your help and that of our partner organizations and sponsors, polar bears and the arctic ecosystem will remain for future generations. Following is a snapshot of the work we do.

2. Challenge:

Scientists project that two-thirds of the world’s polar bears could disappear by mid-century, followed by possible worldwide extinction by the end of the 21st century, due to a dramatic retreat of the arctic sea ice, the habitat polar bears need for catching their prey. These sea ice losses are fueled by a build-up of greenhouse gases caused by human activities.

Hope remains for polar bears and the arctic ecosystem if present levels of greenhouse gases are significantly reduced. 

We’ve entered a new era of conservation, where it’s no longer possible to preserve habitat simply by buying land (or, in our case, sea ice), fencing it off, and posting a guard at the gate. Today, the only way to save polar bears and their sea-ice habitat is to reduce CO₂. It takes a worldview, along with local conservation actions.

But what can be done?

At PBI, we foster the power of people working together to solve the problem of global warming. Because the good news is that since humans have caused this, humans can fix this—and the solution starts at the individual level.

First, we all must do everything we can to minimize our individual greenhouse gas footprints. Then we must convince our neighbors and our communities to make the same efforts. Next, we must support merchants and businesses that believe in a sustainable business model. And, finally, we must vote for leaders who believe like we do and want to see a sustainable economy and ecosystem rather than sacrificing our future for short-term gain.

Follow a model of Build Green, Live Green, and Choose Green in your daily life:

• Build Green -- By this, we mean the infrastructure of your home and workplace: insulate, use green power, weatherstrip doors and windows, and invest in energy-efficient appliances.
• Live Green – Let sustainable behaviors guide your everyday actions until they become habits: Take shorter showers. Don’t idle your car. Eat less meat.Line-dry your clothes.
• Choose Green – Vote with your wallet and in the ballot box in support of a sustainable future.

We also invite you to encourage others to join you. Time remains to save polar bears—but we must act soon.

3. Project description:

A lower carbon footprint from a single person won’t make a difference for polar bears—we’re well aware of that. But we aren’t one person. All of us have friends, families, communities, and countries. And the collective impact of our efforts—household by household, community by community, country by country—is what it will take to build momentum to a solution.

We need to find creative ways and tools to motivate and sustain the reduction of CO₂ in local communities. Saving energy produced by carbon-based fuels reduces our carbon emissions and can slow and even reverse global warming, which causes sea ice to melt. Polar bears require sea ice for reaching their prey. Without sea ice, polar bears can’t survive.

We focus on:

Transportation

• No idling
• Carpooling
• Alternative transportation (biking, walking, public transportation)
• Buying locally

Home heating and cooling

• Turning thermostats up/down
• Non-carbon energy sources

Food sources

• Meatless meals
• Buying locally

·        

Zero Garbage

• Reusable water bottles
• Composting