Cell phones usually contribute to urban noise pollution. But the folks at Paris’s Sony Computer Science Laboratory have created an app that lets any GPS-enabled phone help us understand the problem. Behold NoiseTube:

Serenity now!

I often carry with me through airport security more than 3 ounces of toothpaste, in the hopes that I can helpfully explain to a TSA agent that toothpaste is not a gel, aerosol, or liquid, but is—by definition—a paste. Sadly, they have yet to try to take my toothpaste.

Luckily for me and all travelers, the TSA knows how complicated deciding what fits into the ever-nebulous “gel, aerosol, and liquid” category, especially with holiday specific items,…

Apparently very little. A Times reporter took one out for a test drive past its 40 mile battery range. What happens is that the gas-powered generator kicks in—silently—giving more battery power to the car. Its not as if you suddenly switch to a gas-powered engine; you’re still using electric power, just not stored electric power. Indeed, even while the generator is on, accelerating is silent, as you’re just putting more battery power into the engine, not…

Today on Twitter we asked our followers when they last went to see a doctor or dentist and whether the visit was covered by health insurance. We collected some of our favorite responses below. We ask a question to our Twitter faithful once a day, so if you’re not yet following @GOOD, make sure to sign up and participate in the conversation.

From our friends at TreeHugger:

We aren’t sure if this is in the wild, or someone’s pet crab to whom the owner gave an offering of a broken bottle as shelter. Either way, it’s kinda cute and kinda frightening. It doesn’t take much of a leap of though to figure this might be increasingly what our ocean critters look like—from crabs using broken bottles to octopi and eels using various discarded baskets and jugs for homes.

Read…

Yesterday, we featured the work of the photographer Richard Mosse, whose series “Breach” documents U.S. soldiers living in Saddam Hussein’s former palaces. Today, Mosse’s striking new series “The Fall” opens at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City. It’s a collection of plane wrecks from around the world, and it’s utterly breathtaking. You can see a few photos after the jump. Here’s the description from the Jack Shainman site:

The Fall is a photographic survey of our historic…

We can’t avoid all the wasteful packaging in our lives, but we can try to reduce it.

There’s a Jack Johnson song called “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” and we all know these three R’s are a good place to start when it comes to living a more sustainable life. While recycling tends to get the most attention, reducing and reusing can be equally effective tools in the battle to get by without creating a mountain of waste in…

A look at what the internet is doing for learning, curiosity, and creativity outside the traditional classroom.

The average cost of a Bachelor’s degree at a public, four-year liberal arts university is $26,340. At a private one, it’s $100,520, and the Ivy League commands more than $160,000. And while the value of education is universally indisputable, the emergence of new online tools and platforms has challenged its price tag, empowering us to take charge of our own…

Today on Twitter we asked our followers when was the last time they cooked a meal, and what they made. We collected some of our favorite responses below. We ask a question to our Twitter faithful once a day, so if you’re not yet following @GOOD, make sure to sign up and participate in the conversation.

Did you read that great article in The New York Times Magazine called “The Case for Working With Your Hands”? Well, if you want to put Matt Crawford’s advice into practice and make some money fixing real, tangible problems, check out this comprehensive guide to setting up and operating your own bike repair service from The Oil Drum. Bonus: This job can’t be outsourced.