  We propose a framework in which the quantum gravity scale can be as low as
$10^{-3}$ eV. The key assumption is that the Standard Model ultraviolet cutoff
is much higher than the quantum gravity scale. This ensures that we observe
conventional weak gravity. We construct an explicit brane-world model in which
the brane-localized Standard Model is coupled to strong 5D gravity of
infinite-volume flat extra space. Due to the high ultraviolet scale, the
Standard Model fields generate a large graviton kinetic term on the brane. This
kinetic term ``shields'' the Standard Model from the strong bulk gravity. As a
result, an observer on the brane sees weak 4D gravity up to astronomically
large distances beyond which gravity becomes five-dimensional. Modeling quantum
gravity above its scale by the closed string spectrum we show that the
shielding phenomenon protects the Standard Model from an apparent
phenomenological catastrophe due to the exponentially large number of light
string states. The collider experiments, astrophysics, cosmology and gravity
measurements {\it independently} point to the same lower bound on the quantum
gravity scale, $10^{-3}$ eV. For this value the model has experimental
signatures both for colliders and for sub-millimeter gravity measurements.
Black holes reveal certain interesting properties in this framework.
