Sustainable Technologies
Sustainable technologies work to reduce waste while maintaining efficiency. Learn about new ways to reduce your environmental impact in this section.
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'The Fighting Women' of Africa Collect Plastic to Build Schools
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.
New Technology Turns a Sunny Day into Safe Water
A new technology can speed the purification of water using sunlight, potentially providing clean water to billions of people.
What Do the Numbers Inside Recycling Symbols on Plastic Items Mean?
There are seven different numbers you might see on a plastic container. And each number has its own meaning.
Have We Hit the Peak Recycling Point?
The forward momentum on recycling has stalled in the U.S. and other countries, but some experts say there's still potential for growth.
Cockroach Farms Turn Food Trash Into Treasure
Cockroaches are taking a big bite out of a Chinese city's trash problem.
Bricks Made of Urine — Our Pee Is 'Liquid Gold'
Urine is so much more valuable than we think. Soon, we might be building houses with pee bricks.
Why Don't More Cities Require Green Roofs?
While green roofs make sense in a lot of ways, requiring their installation isn't as simple as it might seem.
Step Aside Styrofoam — Make Way for Nanowood
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.
What Do Winemakers Do With Grape Waste?
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 Provides Water in the World's Driest Zones
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.
Robotic Sorting Could Be the Efficient Future of Recycling
In Colorado, a recycling robot uses artificial intelligence to sort through discarded cartons more efficiently.
Precious Plastic Wants You to Build Your Own Plastics Recycling Center
And they're ready to help you do it, whether it's just you, your school, your company or your neighborhood.
What are eco-drones?
Drones and other unmanned flying machines are going green.
Could glow-in-the-dark plants replace streetlights?
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?
10 Innovations in Water Purification
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.
How FIPEL Bulbs Work
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.
How Water-powered Clocks Work
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.
Top 5 Solar-powered Gadgets
Electronics use a lot of juice. So what's an environmentally responsible citizen to do? Going solar might just be the answer.
Top 5 Green Gadgets
There is no accepted standard of what makes a "green" gadget. With that in mind, here are five devices that do not use any energy at all or that find novel ways to rethink a common gadget while also making environmental improvements.
Top 5 Things You Can Do to Compute Greener
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?
How Ecodrain Works
When you take a shower, the hot water moves quickly from the showerhead down the drain. What if you could reclaim that wasted heat to warm up new water?
How Smart Power Strips Work
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.
How Electric Aircraft Work
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.
How LED Light Bulbs Work
While many of us are phasing out our incandescents for CFLs one bulb at a time, there might be a third contender on the market soon enough. LEDs are making the shift from your headlights to your bedside lamps.
How Solar Air Conditioners Work
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?
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