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The City of Copenhagen, located in Denmark, has decided to use their city as a huge experiment, in order to figure out whether energy efficient street lamps -- also called smart lights -- will actually help cut carbon emissions on a measurable level. According to Denmark's official website, the city plans to be a "role model for many of the world's cities when it come to sustainable town development." Copenhagen has been making extensive efforts to become known as a leading city for green technology. Along with the smart light experiment, they have announced a citywide climate change plan that has the lofty goal of making the city "carbon neutral" by 2025. This means that carbon emission levels will be cut so dramatically as to be essentially insignificant and completely negated by o...

X Factor and former American Idol judge Simon Cowell recently posted on Twitter the most adorable selfie with his six month old son Eric Cowell. The two sported Cowell's favorite iconic designer Ray Ban sunglasses on his luxury yacht on Wednesday August 13 as he and his girlfriend Lauren Silverman enjoyed the scenery. Cowell just recently became a first-time father when little Eric was born this past Valentine's Day. The 54 year-old British music critic sensation enjoys his privacy, but this picture was too cute to keep to himself and had to share it with his followers. Cowell is usually spotted wearing his Ray Bans while on the go and seems to be teaching his son Eric how to be a suave Hollywood star. Sunglasses first become popular during the 1930's when actors and actresses would ...

How often should you be reapplying bug spray? The U.S. government is rolling out new product labeling for bug spray in order tohelp Americans reduce their likelihood of developing the illnesses that insects like mosquitoes and ticks spread from person to person. The updated graphic will indicate just how long consumers should expect bug spray to protect them from biting outdoor insects. It was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, and will start showing up in stores next year, giving bug spray companies time to adjust accordingly. Although bug-spray manufacturers are not required to change their labels, if they do want to showcase the new graphic, they will need to submit data to the government showing that the product will actually work for as long as the graphic claims ...

If you haven't checked out your homeowner's policy within the last six months, you may be in for a less-than-pleasant surprise from a potentially expensive new deductible sneaking it's way into many policies.Most homeowners write one deductible into their policy, set anywhere from 250$ to $1,000 depending on how much the homeowner is willing to pay. However, homeowners who request insurance quotes are finding out that many large insurance providers are slipping in a new deductible for hail, wind, and other types of damage that seems to be particularly focused on conditions that can damage roofs. Unfortunately, these deductibles aren't set dollar amounts, and they aren't determined by homeowners. They're set by large companies like Farmers, Allstate and State Farm and they deduct a perce...

Each year, thousands of people visit hospital emergency rooms for dental maladies that aren't life-threatening emergencies. In fact, a quarter of Americans who have health insurance don't have dental insurance -- which prompts them to go to an emergency room when they have a dental concern. The resulting effect is longer wait times at emergency rooms and skyrocketing costs for emergency room visits -- which the Affordable Care Act is looking to reverse by offering grants to help fund the construction of emergency dental clinics. According to an August 7 Asbury Park Press article, one such dental clinic that has received this funding is Asbury Park, N.J.'s Dr. Barry D. Elbaum Dental Center at the Monmouth Family Health Center, which will open its expanded practice and emergency den...

If you drive to and from work every day and have to commute through a densely-packed highway, you're probably all too familiar with that feeling of envy as drivers in the HOV lane whiz by you (or, if you carpool with others, you may be one of those lucky passengers who gets to smile at all of those unfortunate souls as you casually drive by). But there may be a new way to get a coveted pass for the HOV lane, and no, we aren't talking about a life-sized doll that looks uncannily human. In many urban areas, fuel-efficient and hybrid-electric vehicles are being allowed into these lanes. High occupancy lanes are pretty standard these days on busy highways, and the purpose of HOV lanes is to reduce traffic congestion and fuel emissions by only allowing cars with two or more passengers, motor...

A macaque monkey stole the camera of British nature photographer David Slater back in 2011 and inadvertently took a series of selfies. Now, the photographer is struggling to get the Wikimedia Commons, the organization behind Wikipedia, to remove the photos. The problem? Wikimedia claims that Slater shouldn't own the photos' copyrights, because he technically was not the photographer -- the monkey was. The organization argues that the monkey is responsible for the photos because the monkey was the one who actually pressed the shutter button, whereas Slater contends that "A monkey pressed the button, but I did all the setting up." Wikimedia's stance on the copyright issue has been clear. In the licensing conditions they put beneath the monkey selfie, Wikimedia put, “This file is in the...

Being able to navigate city sidewalks isn't something that most city residents and visitors have to worry about, but as a new lawsuit points out, disabled pedestrians often find the streets of New York City to be largely inaccessible.The advocate group Disability Rights Advocates recently filed a lawsuit against the city, noting that visually impaired pedestrians and residents struggling with mobility have an unreasonably difficult time navigating the city's sidewalks -- if the sidewalks are accessible at all for the disabled -- and that this is a fundamental violation of federal disability laws. The dangers that too many pedestrians encounter on a daily basis include steep curbs without ramps at crossings, raised concrete barriers, and broken surfaces on paved streets which make mobility ...

If there's one thing we know about hackers, it's that they're opportunists: there is no company, organization or server they won't try to access if the defenses are weak enough. This week, members of the Chicago Yacht Club learned that this same concept applies to the wealthy. The yacht club discovered malware on its computer this past June, and sent a notice to its membership at the end of July. They discovered the club's server had been compromised, and that hackers potentially had access to credit card numbers, address, names, and bank account numbers -- all linked to some of Chicago's most important business people. Luckily, the bank and credit card data was encrypted, so it is less likely that the hackers were able to successfully use that information. The heist, however, highli...

In Phoenix, Arizona, police continue to diligently search for the suspect behind a recent string of residential burglaries. Three victims have already been identified by investigators after locating an abandoned vehicle loaded with stolen property. A suspicious vehicle was reported by a resident, who stated the driver might be breaking into other vehicles and into garages. The suspect fled when officers attempted to stop him. However, police later located the suspect's vehicle less than 2.5 miles north of where the suspicious activity was first recorded. Officers found nearly 50 items of stolen property and at least six garage door openers while searching the suspect's vehicle.Police believe the suspect stole the remotes from unlocked vehicles parked in driveways, using them to...