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Ever since 1960, automatic entry doors and systems have provided universal access to millions of people. Today, we find them in supermarkets, hospitals, schools, shopping malls, and variety of other public buildings, and although they are not mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act in the U.S., they are still essential in making lives easier for many individuals. 

A recent video on YouTube shows that they are also making buildings accessible for… birds?

At the University of Victoria in British Columbia, a group of swallows had begun nesting in an underground parking garage. When the building was converted into a campus bike center, the birds soon learned to use the structure’s new automated doors by hovering long enough to trigger the mechanism that opens them. 

The birds, as seen in the photographer Grant Hughes’s video from May 17, are shown flying up to the door’s sensors and then flying back out of the building. The birds are also seen reentering the building in the same manner.

Hughes wrote in the description, “The swallows quickly learned how to trigger the motion detectors to open the doors and go in and out whenever they want. Smart birds!” The video currently has over 660,000 hits.

Animals frequently have a habit of entering human spaces, sometimes as pests and other times for amusement. In 2012, a monkey named Darwin, wearing a small coat, was found and filmed walking around outside an IKEA store in Toronto, Ontario.

By now, the news of Elliot Rodger’s shooting spree on the University of Santa Barbara’s campus that left six dead and 13 wounded is old news. Rodger’s belief that he was unfairly scorned by women in a time of his life he thought should be all about expressing his sexuality has been buried beneath layers of nonsense ranging from “if only people were nicer to him” to “what a poor, misunderstood guy.” Regardless of the mass media’s disturbing take on what should be a clear cut case of misguided value’s and mental illness, Rodger’s assault that ended in taking his own life is prompting lawmakers across the country to reconsider gun control laws, mental health reform, and the role of the media, just as has been the case with every other mass killing for the last decade.


Rodger’s Rampage Kicks up Talk of Gun, Mental Health Reform
Mr. Rodger bought the semiautomatic weapons used in the Santa Barbara slayings legally. He had no criminal history nor any background of mental health issues that a background check would have flagged. This ability for someone that has demonstrated publicly a desire to do others harm is prompting some legislative changes in California. Many lawmakers are now supporting so-called “gun violence restraining orders.” These orders can be issued by judges. As when seeking out a lawyer, those seeking out a judge’s assistance would have to demonstrate the credibility of their claims and the target individuals actions for the event or events they are seeking assistance. It’s a mild measure when compared to calls for complete prohibition on Capitol Hill, but it could be an effective one.


Of course, as those paying attention to national politics will know, there are many who believe that any sort of gun control legislation will have no effect on deranged individuals’ ability to do harm. Instead, many argue the focus should be placed on mental healthcare reform. Representative Tim Murphy (R-PA) is currently supporting a bill that would give families the ability to make decisions for their loved ones who demonstrate that they might have a problem. Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ) is similarly supporting a mental health measure that would expand federal programs that aim to treat people with mental illness. As is so often the case after a shooting, however, there was a lot of immediate support for reform, but it quickly died out as the issue began to fade from collective memory.


Others Push for Greater Responsibility for Media Outlets
For many, both mental health reform and stricter gun control laws can and should work together to form a tighter net that will catch the criminally deranged before they take any legal action. However, many also argue that the media needs to be made responsible for their part. Consider Youtube’s role in all of this: Google has confirmed that some of Mr. Rodger’s videos that demonstrated his declining mental health as he prepared for his attack on Santa Barbara were removed from Youtube for violating its terms of service. However, with no legal responsibility to report Elliot Rodger as a threat to public security, the company did nothing more than that. 


For that reason, many are calling for laws that would place a legal burden on Google and other online outlets to report people they believe to be a threat to authorities as part of a digital Good Samaritan law. Perhaps then, in concert with gun law and mental health reform, we can finally see an end to these mass killings that have become so common.

New York State Andrew Cuomo will fund researchers’ initiatives to develop clean energy alternatives. Nine groups of scientists are competing in the New Energy Xcelerator to bring clean energy technologies to the general public. “Participants in the program receive roughly $55,000 in funding, mentoring and support to develop a clean-tech innovation,” The Rochester Business Journal writes. “Additionally, regional seed fund Excell Partners Inc. has committed to investing $150,000 to one or more teams that emerge from the program, which is managed by High Tech Rochester Inc. and partially funded by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.”



Scientists are developing a wide range of clean energy innovations, from water-based technologies to efficient LED lighting and even mass-produced fuel cells. The SUNY College of Environmental Forestry in Syracuse, NY is, for example, “developing a proprietary process that converts organic waste into high-value biomaterials,” The Rochester Business Journal continues. “David Wetter Consulting and Kelson Solutions,” on the other hand, “are working on a method to mass-produce fuel cells to provide low-cost, efficient electricity,” according to The Democrat and Chronicle. Ultimately, the groups are working to improve any and all energy expenditures — on both residential and commercial levels. Air conditioning, for example, is widely used in U.S. housing — with at least 87% of American households using some kind of air conditioning, according to The Atlantic. Reducing these costs and improving AC energy efficiency would make an incredible difference. 



Officials selected the nine teams from an original pool of 56 applicants. The ongoing event is managed by proof-of-concept center NEXUS-NY, which is, in turn, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and High Tech Rochester.