Colorado is only state testing military tech to keep firefighters safe

Bangladesh, whose garment industry is second only to China’s in size, is responding to both international and domestic pressure and undergoing the most radical revamping of worker safety it has ever seen, in large part due to consumer and client pressure.

In the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, more than 200 clothing brands pledged to make their source factories compliant with international safety standards under two international agreements, using laws and rules to reform.

Eliminating sweatshops and child labor depends on regulation, not consumers' preferences, as supply chains have become so complex and obscure as to prevent simple labels from being valuable.

In the wake of the Rana Plaza collapse, Bangladeshi civilians—often first on the scene of disasters in poorer countries–are being trained to support emergency teams.

After a major fire, labor standards in Bangladesh are improving, but workers must have a voice if these changes are to be sustainable.

Summer in the Northwest presents a great risk of wildfires. A pile burning operation, just one facet of the strategy that Oregon has enacted to conserve its forests, clears undergrowth to lessen the risk of mega-fire. The work stimulates the local economy and provides employment, but it's also a very small part of what needs to be done.

Concerned with colony collapse syndrome in honey bees worldwide, scientists, farmers and tech companies teamed up in Australia to create a micro-sensor that collects data on the bee's environment.

New York City suffered from fires that erupted in overcrowded, run-down apartments. Then the city sleuthed through residential records and found that landlords who foreclosed let their properties fall apart and ignored safety-code violations. Greater Toronto wants to expand upon New York City’s method by using transportation surveys, census data and computer data to build transit lines.

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.

In the Mumbai slum of Dharavi, an NGO called Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (SNEHA) is working to make life safer by teaching men the importance of not being violent towards women. Through an app called Eyewatch, community members are able to document acts of domestic violence, which helps SNEHA team members locate victims and their abusers.