Sustainable Technologies
Sustainable technologies work to reduce waste while maintaining efficiency. Learn about new ways to reduce your environmental impact in this section.
What Do the Numbers Inside Recycling Symbols on Plastic Items Mean?
How FIPEL Bulbs Work
How Water-powered Clocks Work
A New Green Solution for Dyeing Blue Denim
The Whitest Paint Ever Produced Could Save Energy, Fight Climate Change
Kernza: The Environment-friendly Wheat Crop that Wants to Feed the World
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From the chemicals that pollute and the massive use of water, the traditional method of dyeing blue jeans is an environmental disaster. Nanoparticles made from wood pulp might be the answer to the problem.
Purdue University researchers have developed an ultra-white paint that reflects more than 98 percent of sunlight and could reduce the need for energy-consuming air conditioning.
Kernza is a wheat-like grain that doesn't have to be replanted each year, making it the ideal crop to aid in the fight against climate change and help to feed the world.
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In Africa's Ivory Coast, a group of women saw a need and came together to collect plastic for recycling into bricks to build schools.
A new technology can speed the purification of water using sunlight, potentially providing clean water to billions of people.
By Jim Marion
There are seven different numbers you might see on a plastic container. And each number has its own meaning.
The forward momentum on recycling has stalled in the U.S. and other countries, but some experts say there's still potential for growth.
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Cockroaches are taking a big bite out of a Chinese city's trash problem.
By Loraine Fick
Urine is so much more valuable than we think. Soon, we might be building houses with pee bricks.
While green roofs make sense in a lot of ways, requiring their installation isn't as simple as it might seem.
While plastic such as Styrofoam may be cheap and convenient to use, it contributes to costly health issues and is an inconvenient pollutant that takes up to 500 years to biodegrade.
By Carrie Tatro
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Wine pomace — the portion of grapes left over from winemaking — has a variety of uses, from fertilizer to a nutrition-enhancing ingredient in foods.
Fog harvesting has been going on in some form since ancient times, but scientists have been refining the method so people living in some of the most arid climates can have water.
By Mark Mancini
In Colorado, a recycling robot uses artificial intelligence to sort through discarded cartons more efficiently.
And they're ready to help you do it, whether it's just you, your school, your company or your neighborhood.
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We live in an age when DIY has taken on exciting, nerve-wracking connotations. Add in some knowledge and some money from crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, and you have a recipe for a transformed world. Will glow-in-the-dark plants be a part of it?
As far back as 1500 B.C.E., people were trying to purify water to make it drinkable. And we're still at it. Today inventors use tools as simple as clay and as sophisticated as carbon nanotubes to bring clean water to the world.
Imagine a different kind of light bulb, one that lasted as long as a fluorescent bulb, but without the buzz, as energy-efficient as a CFL but with a more pleasing light. Meet the FIPEL bulb.
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We live in a universe of clocks. The technology may not sound as dependable as your cell phone alarm clock, but humans have turned to water-powered clocks for more than three and a half millennia.
By Robert Lamb
If you're like most folks, you spend a few hours a day on the computer. What changes can you make to save power without compromising the way your work?
By Julia Layton
If you turn off the lights in your computer room, you'll probably see the glowing eyes of vampire electronics peering back at you. A smart power strip can help you cut down on how much energy they waste.
While you shouldn't expect to find a "flying electric" option at the airport anytime soon, electrically powered aircraft not only exist, but the technology continues to evolve at an encouraging rate.
By Robert Lamb
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LED light bulbs have taken over the market. But what are their pros and cons?
Solar air conditioners take advantage of the sun at its brightest and use its energy to cool you during the hottest part of the day. What are we waiting for?