Disaster alerts could be sent to mobile, gaming devices

Scott Martin in USA Today: Natural disasters, including the recent rash of tornadoes that cut a destructive path across the U.S., have spurred savvy technologists to develop ways to alert people via popular mobile devices and gaming consoles. That's in part because the U.S. government hasn't yet carried out the Warning Alert and Response Network Act that would make alerting the nation's mobile phone customers a reality.

"Right now, the government is finalizing its gateway and working with the wireless carriers," said Brian Josef, assistant vice president for regulatory affairs at wireless association CTIA. "There's a lot of coordination and a lot of moving parts to make sure it works without hiccups."

Those details are being hammered out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission. The agencies are working with carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, Metro PCS and Cricket, among others. April 2012 is the deadline to have the federal system up and running.

But there are others rushing in to fill the void. Some states have even taken matters into their own hands. The state of New York has its own working system. Known as NY-Alert, its website allows area people to sign up for alerts by text message, RSS feeds, e-mail and more than a dozen other ways. NY-Alert has 6.6 million subscribers….

A woman talks on her cell phone in a market in Kep, Cambodia. May 2009. Shot by Adam Jones Adam63, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Award for rainwater harvesting in Yemen

Zawya: Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) has today announced the winners of the Philips Livable Cities Award, a global initiative designed to generate innovative, meaningful and achievable ideas to improve the health and well-being of city-dwellers across the world. The overall winner of the Award, announced at a gala ceremony held at the world famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, was named as Sabrina Faber based in Sana'a, Yemen, for her idea 'Rainwater Aggregation in Sana'a'.

Sabrina's idea was praised by the supervisory panel for its unique approach to modifying existing structures in Sana'a to capture, filter and store rooftop rainwater. Through her scheme, Sabrina hopes to help solve the water shortages commonly experienced in the city during dry spells, whilst providing clean drinking water. This could potentially result in significant health benefits for the whole population. Sabrina will receive a €75,000 grant from Philips to enable her to realize her vision.

Richard Florida, Professor, Author and Chair of the Philips Livable Cities Award supervisory panel, commented: "What really impressed us with Sabrina's scheme was the proposed execution of a relatively simple concept that will have such a significant impact on the lives of so many people across the city of Sana'a. We're looking forward to seeing her idea come to life and improving the health and well-being of the residents of Sana'a."…

The Old City in Sana'a at night, shot by Antti Salonen, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license