Eco-Innovation Articles From Around the World
Solar Power More Lucrative Than Crops at Some US Farms
Source: renewableenergyworld.com Published: April 5, 2016 By Bloomberg News Editors For more than a century, Dawson Singletary’s family has grown tobacco, peanuts and cotton on a 530-acre farm amid the coastal flatlands of North Carolina. Now he’s making money from a...
Mercedes-Benz Launches a US Energy Storage Company
Source: greentechmedia.com Published: November 3, 2016 Mercedes-Benz Launches a US Energy Storage Company Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz Julian Spector We knew the Mercedes-Benz residential battery would be coming to the shores of America in early 2017. Now we know it...
Israel Proves the Desalination Era Is Here
Source: scientificamerica.com Published: July 29, 2016 Sorek Desalination Plant. Credit: Photo courtesy of IDE Technologies By Rowan Jacobsen, Ensia From Ensia (find the original story here); reprinted with permission. July 19, 2016 — Ten miles south of Tel Aviv, I...
Apple Plans to Sell Excess Rooftop Solar Energy from New Home
Source: bloomberg.com Published: June 9, 2016 NOTE: This article requires a Bloomberg subscription to read in full. Photographer: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images By Alex Webb Apple Inc. plans to sell excess electricity generated by solar panels on the roof of its new...
Indian Firm Makes Carbon Capture Breakthrough
Source: theguardian.com Published: January 4, 2017 Tuticorin thermal power station near the port of Thoothukudi on the Bay of Bengal, southern India. The plant is said to be the first industrial-scale example of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU). Photograph: Roger...
Solar Shingles: Elon Musk Takes on the Roofing Industry
Source: understandsolar.com Published: October 31, 2016 Elon Musk’s next project is Tesla’s solar shingles – a roof entirely made of solar cells. Click here to watch “Tesla Unveils Powerwall 2 & Solar Roof”: https://youtu.be/4sfwDyiPTdU Usually, solar companies...
New Whirlwind-Attracting Bladeless Micro Wind Turbine Gets Harvard Cred
Source: cleantechnica.com Published: May 1, 2015 Image Credit (top, screenshot): Courtesy of Vortex Bladeless. Tina Casey We’ve covered vertical wind turbines before, but this one has them all beat. The startup Vortex Bladeless is developing a — you guessed it —...
Innovative Wind Turbine Technology
Source: linkedin.com Published: January 3, 2017 Overview Innovative Wind Turbine Technology Developed by Formula One aerodynamics and materials engineers, Anakata’s patented ‘Accelerator Technology’ and ‘micro-downstream’ uses leading-edge technology to create a...
Bowl-Shaped Roofs Harvest Rainwater and Promote Natural Cooling in Arid Environments
Source: inhabitat.com Published: January 2, 2017 The reservoirs are placed between building walls to help regulate indoor temperatures. Written by Lucy Wang Water scarcity is felt unequally throughout the world with some regions worse off than others. Iran-based...
A Microgrid Grows in Brooklyn
Source: scientificamerican.com Published: April 22, 2016 Lawrence Orsini is the founder of LO3 Energy, a company that was started in 2012 and now funds the Brooklyn Microgrid project. Credit: Image courtesy of Sasha Santiago By Morgen E. Peck One New York City...
62 Edible Wild Plants That You Didn’t Know You Can Eat
Source: basisgear.com Published: January 2, 2017 Did you know that there are plenty of edible plants out there that you'd never thought of? They Are Potential Lifesavers with this precious knowledge! By Colin You’re in the woods with some friends and realise...
Solar-Powered Farm from a Box Is a Compact Farm Kit That Feeds 150 People
Source: inhabitat.com Published: December 28, 2016 Farm From a Box fits all the essential equipment for a two-acre farm inside a shipping container, including solar power generation and a complete water system. Written by Cat DiStasio Two acres of land is enough to...
Meet the Incredible People Who Are Turning Plastic Bags into Mats to Help the Homeless
Source: onegreenplanet.org Published: December 29, 2016 When we hear the word crochet we immediately think, “Oh geez, more ugly hats and mittens that I will pretend to love and then hide in my closet until they can be re-gifted.” But Karen Lower has found a way to...
California’s Dairy Industry Knows How to Cut Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions, But Can It Afford To?
Source: sacbee.com Published: September 17, 2016 By Adam Ashton Greenhouse gas rules prompt California dairies to build methane digesters The rumbling of a tank-sized generator on the grounds of the Van Warmerdam Dairy is a sound of relief for the longtime farming...
The Role of Microgrids in Helping to Advance the Nation’s Energy System
Source: energy.gov Published: December 29, 2016 Microgrids are localized grids that can disconnect from the traditional grid to operate autonomously. Because they are able to operate while the main grid is down, microgrids can strengthen grid resilience and help...
World’s First Large-Scale Tidal Energy Farm Launches in Scotland
Source: theguardian.com Published: September 12, 2016 The Edinburgh-based Atlantis Resources hopes the project will eventually have 269 turbines and provide enough electricity to power 175,000 homes. Photograph: Mike Brookes Roper/PA MeyGen tidal stream project leads...
Scottish Fact Of The Week: The Falkirk Wheel
Source: scotsman.com Published: April 9, 2014 The Falkirk Wheel. Picture: Robert Perry A marvel of Scottish engineering, the Falkirk Wheel in central Scotland, completed in 2002, is known as the world’s first and only rotating boat lift. Set with the task of making...
New Concentrating Solar Tower Is Worth Its Salt with 24/7 Power
Source: scientificamerican.com Published: July 14, 2016 The 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Facility in Nevada is the first utility-scale concentrating solar plant that can provide electricity whenever it's needed most, even after dark. Credit: SolarReserve...
Morocco To Switch On First Phase Of World’s Largest Solar Plant
Source: theguardian.com Published: February 4, 2016 Phase one of Morocco’s vast $9bn Ouarzazate solar power plant provides 160MW of its ultimate 580MW capacity. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian Arthur Neslen Desert complex will provide electricity for more...
Hot Waste Water For District Heating
Source: stateofgreen.com Published: July 25, 2016 By Charlotte Gjedde A recovery of surplus heating from waste water is the focus in a new research project – the results can lead to energy savings, which both benefit economy and environment. Today the heating from the...
World’s First Electric ‘Straddling Bus’ Takes Test Drive in China
Source: ecowatch.com Published: August 3, 2016 Lorraine Chow China's incredible "straddling bus" went for its first test ride on Tuesday in the city of Qinhuangdao in the Hebei Province. Xinhua The Transit Elevated Bus, or TEB, first made headlines in May after a...
World’s First Solar Panel Road Opens in Normandy Village
Source: theguardian.com Published: December 22, 2016 A test phase will evaluate whether the solar panel road can provide enough energy to power street lighting. Photograph: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA Kim Willsher in Paris France has opened what it claims to be the...
How Cogeneration is Helping to Keep the Earth Greener
Source: michelgauchermexico.com Published: January 17, 2016 There has been a lot of talk about cogeneration over the past three decades. It is a growing trend today concerning energy generation. In fact, it has gained popularity around the world with a number of...
The Beautiful & Efficient Enki Biomass Stove Creates Biochar as It Cooks Your Dinner
Source: treehugger.com Published: December 20, 2016 © Enki Stove Derek Markham Whether you're camping or just cooking out, Enki portable pyrolytic stoves offer a clean-burning flame from found fuel. The latest entry to the biomass stove market is a stylish and...
Reindeer Antler Secrets Inspire Stronger Materials
Source: treehugger Published: December 20, 2016 CC BY-SA 2.0 m. prinke Christine Lepisto Reindeer smash their antlers together in mighty battles over territory or mates. The tough material of the antlers resists breaking in spite of these challenges. Now scientists...
Nonprofit Using Surplus Hair to Help Clean Up Oil Spills
Source: nbcbayarea.com Published: December 17, 2016 By Garvin Thomas Matter Of Trust specializes in connecting people who have too much of a resource with people who could put it to good use. Turing hair into mats to clean up oil spills has been a perfect fit for...
Urban Farming in West Oakland
Source: theatlantic.com Published: December 17, 2016 Emily Anne Epstein and Alan Taylor This photo essay by photographer Preston Gannaway focuses on inner-city agriculture programs. Here’s what’s behind the essay, in her words: Today, about a third of West Oakland...
America’s First Sustainable Urban Agrihood Is Growing in Detroit
Source: detroit.curbed.com Published: December 7, 2016 Michelle & Chris Gerard By Robin Runyan This week, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) revealed its plans for the first Sustainable Urban Agrihood in the North End. Wait, an agrihood? It’s an...
World’s Largest Redwood Forest Outside of California Is Coming — to Ireland
Source: mnn.com Published: December 1, 2016 The grounds of a medieval Irish castle might be the last place you'd think a couple thousand giant and coastal redwoods would be planted. But when you consider Birr Castle's rich botanical legacy, it starts to make sense....
The Solutions Project
Source: thesolutionsproject.org Published: December 2, 2016 The Solutions Project accelerates the transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for all people and purposes. To achieve this mission, we engage the public, celebrate and convene leaders, and advance...
This Foldable Bike Helmet Is Made From Paper
Source: money.cnn.com Published: September 8, 2016 The EcoHelmet by Parija Kavilanz The popularity of bikesharing is booming among city commuters, thanks to the convenience -- and affordability -- of renting a bike on the go. But it has one glaring drawback. There's...
Gas from Grass Could Heat Up British Homes
Source: seeker.com Published: November 21, 2016 Ecotricity By Kieran Mulvaney A green energy company in Britain has announced a plan that it says could enable that country to heat almost every home with gas derived from grass. Ecotricity, which claims to be the...
Bright Idea: Glow-in-the-Dark Dye Could Power Cars
Source: livescience.com Published: November 17, 2016 BODIPY dye glows brightly under a black light. Credit: Douglas Levere By Jesse Emspak If the world one day sees a boom in electric cars and renewable energy, people will need more efficient batteries than are...
A Guide to Solar Cookers
Source: sempersolaris.com Published: October 12, 2016 Solar cookers are devices that use the energy from directly sunlight to heat, or cook food and drinks. There are many different styles of solar cookers that are currently in use and most are low cost, low tech...
Biochar at COP22: Fighting Climate Change from the Ground Up
Source: psmag.com Published: November 8, 2016 A worker burns sugarcane waste, part of the process in making biochar, at the Eco Fuel Africa factory in Lugazi, Uganda Kate Wheeling Climate delegates from around the globe have converged on the COP22 Village in...
This Cement Alternative Absorbs CO2 Like A Sponge
Source: geek.com Published: November 14, 2014 Cement has been called the foundation of modern civilization, the stuff of highways, bridges, sidewalks and buildings of all sizes. But its production comes with a huge carbon footprint. Environmental chemist David Stone...
5 Techs Harvesting Energy from Tiny Motions
Source: seeker.com Published: November 1, 2016 Pavegen Floors, fabrics, sheets and bridges turn everyday human activities into power. By Alyssa Danigelis The low-power energy harvesting idea has teased us for years. Engineers and materials scientists looking at...
New York City Sets the First Citywide Energy Storage Target
Source: greentechmedia.com Published: September 27, 2016 New York City Sets the First Citywide Energy Storage Target Photo Credit: ventdusud / Shutterstock.com Julian Spector Only two U.S. states, California and Massachusetts, have set targets for energy storage...
America’s First Wave-Produced Power Goes Online in Hawaii
Source: apnews.com Published: September 19, 2016 In this July 26, 2016 photo, Patrick Cross, specialist at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, shows a model of a wave energy machine called the Lifesaver, a donut-shaped device that...
Repurposing Fills Gap For Nonrecyclable Junk
Source: chicagotribune.com Published: September 12, 2014 By Ellen Jean Hirst What do you do with 15,000 feet of old fire hose? Hammer it onto docks as boat bumpers. Weave it together for jungle gyms. Stretch it into horse fences. Cut it into pieces to sharpen straight...
Water-Saving Pumps Made from Recycled Materials
Source: goexplorer.org Published: October 20, 2016 Neptuno Pumps designs and manufactures energy- efficient water-saving pumps made from recycled materials. By Sustainia Located in the driest place on Earth – the Atacama Desert in Chile – Neptuno Pumps designs and...
Scientists Accidentally Turn Pollution into Renewable Energy
Source: independent.co.uk Published: October 19, 2016 Carbon dioxide is turned into ethanol ( Oak Ridge National Laboratory) ‘Carbon dioxide is a problem right now. If we can use it, then we’re preventing it from going into the atmosphere’ Ian Johnston Scientists have...
Kites Could Soon Power An Entire Region of Scotland
Source: motherboard.vice.com Published: October 11, 2016 Image: Wikimedia The kite-powered system could reduce the cost of offshore wind energy by about 50 percent. by Madison Margolin Kites are no longer just kids' toys gliding in the wind. By 2025, they will provide...
Egyptian Village Goes Solar
Source: ecowatch.com Published: October 11, 2016 Kristin Falzon Egypt's first solar-powered village is up and running in the Bahariya Oasis. KarmBuild's Tayebat Workers Village provides shelter for 350 people and was built with 90 percent local, natural materials...
Award-Winning Biodegradable Agar Packaging Could Replace Plastic
Source: inhabitat.com Published: April 16, 2016 The prototype agar packaging developed by a group of Japanese designers took top honors in the 2016 Lexus Design Awards. by Orion Rodriguez A group of designers from Japan have created a prototype design that could...
These Portable Solar Panels Fit in A Bucket and Assemble in 2 Minutes
Source: fastcoexist.com Published: September 22, 2016 By Adele Peters With no instructions or expertise needed, the kit is ideal for off-grid homes in the developing world. Installing solar panels usually takes a couple of days and trained workers. But a new solar...
Mark Shepard on Restoration Agriculture
Source: resilience.org Published: March 5, 2014 By Karen Rybold-Chin, originally published by on the earth productions Click here to watch “Mark Shepard, Restoration Agriculture”: https://youtu.be/aTa7TI3yrFE One of the world’s foremost authorities on restoration...
Micro Wind Turbine Is Light, Efficient, And Can Charge 24/7
Source: digitaltrends.com Published: October 3, 2016 By Marcus Yam For times when a portable battery pack and solar charger won’t do, the power of the wind could be the way to charge your smartphone. École Cantonale d’Art Lausanne design student Nils Ferber has...
Morgan Freeman Converts His Mississippi Ranch into A Giant Sanctuary for Wild Bees
Source: inhabitat.com Published: September 30, 2016 Morgan Freeman turned his Mississippi ranch into a bee sanctuary to help support the tiny pollinators. Written by Cat DiStasio Morgan Freeman has played so many roles during his long Hollywood career it’s difficult...
Looking to the Earth Itself as a Climate Solution
source: insideclimatenews.org Published: September 28, 2016 The agriculture industry is beginning to consider soil’s ability to capture and store carbon, a potential climate-saver long overlooked. By Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News Farmers, by using techniques...
Fleet Farming
Source: fleetfarming.com Published: September 28, 2016 In December 2013, John Rife, owner of East End Market, first pitched the idea of Fleet Farming at The Hive Orlando, an IDEAS For Us“think and do tank” that calls on citizens to come up with solutions to global...
Sonoma Food Runners
Published: September 27, 2016 Source: sonomafoodrunners.org Relaying excess food to the hungry throughout Sonoma County Our mission is to alleviate hunger, prevent food waste and build community. We collect quality, donated perishable and prepared foods that would...
This Company Turns Plastic Bottle Trash from The Ocean into Clothing
Source: huffingtonpost.com Published: September 27, 2016 Bionic Yarn has transformed millions of bottles recovered from shorelines. A jacket made with Bionic Yarn’s thread. Courtesy of Bionic Yarn By Kimberly Yam This article is part of HuffPost’s “Reclaim” campaign,...
Food Runners San Francisco
Source: foodrunners.org Published: September 27, 2016 About Food Runners The mission of Food Runners is to help alleviate hunger in San Francisco, to help prevent waste and to help create community. Food Runners is currently delivering over 17 tons of food a week that...
The Forgotten Climate Solution
Source: global.nature.org Published: February 17, 2016 By Justin Adams, Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance (Currently seconded to the TFA from The Nature Conservancy) Click here to watch “Natural Climate Solutions”: https://youtu.be/nU0yNgHHH1g Natural...
The Biggest New Thing in Solar May Be Coming Soon to a Highway Near You
Source: inc.com Published: September 19, 2016 Rendering of a Solar Roadway. Solar Roadways Project in Missouri will test whether highways can become a new source of power. By Kevin J. Ryan, Staff writer, Inc. Until now, capturing solar energy generally has meant...
One College Turns Its Football Field into A Farm and Sees Its Students Transform
Source: pbs.org Published: September 12, 2016 By — PBS NewsHour Transcript Audio At Paul Quinn College, where once there was a football field, now there’s an organic farm. It’s not just a symbol of renewal for this once-struggling historically black college in Dallas;...
Living Shorelines: How Nature Can Help Us Beat Back Rising Seas
Source: grist.org Published: September 20, 2016 By Jeremy Deaton Click here to watch “Living shorelines: How nature can help us beat back rising seas”: https://youtu.be/KcbTD_Uaa7U Next year, New York will break ground on the first section of a U-shaped wall around...
UCI Student Accidently Creates A Rechargeable Battery That Lasts 400 Years
Source: good.is Published: September 20, 2016 Image via Twitter. Behold the nanobattery. By Tod Perry There’s an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. There’s no better example of that than a recent discovery at the University of California,...
Grandmas Use Discarded Plastic Bags to Make Beds for The Homeless
Source: huffingtonpost.com Published: September 13, 2016 Crocheting has never been so badass. By Yagana Shah You might not think much of those plastic shopping bags you’ve been hoarding in the kitchen, but a group of resourceful older women in Tennessee are putting...
New Fabric Uses Sun and Wind to Power Devices
Source: news.gatech.edu Published: September 13, 2016 A piece of fabric woven with special strands of material that harvest electricity from the sun and motion. By Josh Brown Fabrics that can generate electricity from physical movement have been in the works for a few...
Green-Powered Boat Prepares for Round-The-World Voyage
Source: theguardian.com Published: September 12, 2016 Work on the hull of the Energy Observer in Saint Malo, western France. Photograph: Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images Agence France-Presse Vessel aiming to be the ‘Solar Impulse of the seas’ will be powered solely by...
Caia: A Robot That Fills Your Home With Sunshine
Source: indiegogo.com Published: September 14, 2016 Overview The first of her kind, Caia illuminates your home with real sunlight. She’s a smart robot that finds and redirects natural light for you. Caia remembers where to send the sunlight and keeps it there all day...
Growing Up Farms
Source: growingupfarms.org Published: September 13, 2016 NOTE: Growing Up Farms is now closed. Growing Up Farms is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to changing the modern food system. In 2013 we set out to prove that healthy produce can be grown sustainably in...
Cracks In The Surface: Why Grey Firms Will Have To Go Green
Source: economist.com Published: August 25, 2016 THE cement industry is one of the world’s most polluting: it accounts for 5% of man-made carbon-dioxide emissions each year. Making this most useful of glues requires vast quantities of energy and water. Calcium...
Meet the Woman Who Runs NYC’s First Commercial Farm in a Residential Development
Source: modernfarmer.com Published: September 8, 2016 Empress Green, a 4,500-square foot urban farm located at Urby Staten Island, a 900-apartment complex in New York City. Photography All photographs courtesy of Urby Staten Island Andrew Amelinckx Wouldn't it be...
15 Ways Urban Farming Can Revitalize a Neighborhood—and Help Farmers Too
Source: alternet.org Published: September 6, 2016 Written by Michael Ableman / Chelsea Green Publishing [Editor's note: What if farms and food production were integrated into every aspect of urban living—from special assessments to create new farms and food businesses...
A Fungus Recycling Plant Could Help Reuse Your Old Smartphone Batteries
Source: fastcoexist.com Published: September 6, 2016 [Photo: ThamKC/iStock] As the world runs out of lithium supply, better and more economical recycling methods are sorely needed. By Adele Peters The lithium inside your smartphone battery probably came from a huge...
Country’s First K-8 Urban Farm School Sprouting in San Francisco
source: urbangardensweb.com Published: June 15, 2016 Photo via Golden Bridges School and Inhabitat. by Robin Plaskoff Horton With an ecology and farming curriculum intended to “cultivate in the students and the staff a consistent and ongoing relationship with the...
Portable Hydroelectric Generator Lets You Take Your Power Station with You
Source: treehugger.com Published: August 29, 2016 © Enomad Derek Markham Just add moving water for clean, quiet, offgrid energy. For outdoor adventure folks, having a portable power source that can be recharged with solar or wind energy can make a big difference in...
World’s Most Powerful Tidal Turbine Set to Start Orkney Testing
Source: heraldscotland.com Published: August 30, 2016 A tidal turbine said to be the world's most powerful is due to begin testing in Orkney. The turbine is 63 metres (206ft) long and can generate more than 2MW of power. Scottish energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said...
Clear Orb Sculpture Provides Energy And Drinkable Water For The City Of Santa Monica
Source: designboom.com Published: August 29, 2016 By Nina Azzarello For the 2016 land art generator initiative, a team of designers from south korea has conceived ‘clear orb’ as a proposal for sustainable infrastructure in santa monica, california. The 40-meter...
Is Blue The New Green? Wave Power Could Revolutionize The Renewable-Energy Game
Source: linkis.com Published: August 27, 2016 A 30 MegaWatt "wave farm" of Pelamis Wave Energy Converters (Business Wire) There's enough wave energy in the oceans to power the world, and scientists are finally close to harnessing it. Diane Stopyra Unless you’re a...
OneLessStraw Pledge Campaign
Source: onelessstraw.org Published: August 26, 2016 Attention all teachers, school superintendents and community groups; My name is Olivia (13) and together with my brother Carter (15) we started our own nonprofit called One More Generation (OMG) back in 2009 in an...
This Floating Food Barge Is Nourishing Communities for Free
Source: youtube.com Published: May 18, 2016 Swale is a collaborative, floating food forest that’s dedicated to rethinking New Yorkers’ relationship with the environment and providing them with fresh, healthy food....
English Village Becomes Climate Leader by Quietly Cleaning Up Its Own Patch
Source: nytimes.com Published: August 22, 2016 Garry Charnock near some of the many solar panels in Ashton Hayes, England. Mr. Charnock, a former journalist, started the town’s emissions-reduction effort about 10 years ago.Credit...Elizabeth Dalziel for The New York...
Edible, Recyclable, Biodegradable Packaging Latest Weapons in War on Plastic Waste
Source: sustainablebrands.com Published: August 24, 2016 Wrapping food in plastic can reduce spoilage, but presents challenges related to waste recovery and recycling. It presents a tough choice for producers between prioritizing food waste or plastic waste, both of...
This Bible-Era Solution For Saving Food Is Making A Comeback
Source: huffingtonpost.com Published: August 13, 2016 Audrey Berman (right) founded Long Table Harvest, a food recovery organization, earlier this year. They’ve already saved many van loads of produce, but getting funding has been tough. Long Table Harvest By Joseph...
Real Foodies Compost
Source: globalcompostproject.org Published: August 24, 2016 Here in San Francisco, residents are given a free bin to collect compost materials. This is in an effort to eliminate all waste in landfills. Tara explains how you can make your own compost bin right in your...
Innovative Solar-Powered Pipe Will Desalinate 1.5 Billion Gallons Of Drinking Water For California
Source: trueactivist.com Published: August 24, 2016 Credit: LAPI 2016 by: Amanda Froelich It’s no secret that California is in the midst of a devastating drought. Though Governor Jerry Brown implemented California’s first-ever mandatory water restrictions last year,...
How America’s Dirtiest City in 1969 Became One of The Greenest
Source: inhabitat.com Published: August 19, 2016 Image via Wikipedia Written by Greg Beach One of America’s dirtiest cities has completely altered its legacy as one of the country’s greenest. Over the last few decades, Chattanooga, Tennessee has been transformed from...
Stanford Develops Chiclet-Sized Device That Purifies Water Using Sunlight
Source: kqed.org Published: August 15, 2016 The tiny water purifier doesn't require batteries and uses the visible spectrum of light to help kill bacteria. (Chong Liu and Jin Xie/Stanford University) Lindsey Hoshaw A tiny black tablet could prove to be a very...
Solar + Storage for Resilience – 2014 – 2016
There are over 6,000 photovoltaic systems installed on homes and businesses throughout San Francisco that will, for safety reasons, stop generating power when the grid is lost during an earthquake or storm event. Matter of Trust is the fiscal sponsor for this...
RESEARCH – How Compost Breaks Down Pharmaceuticals in Human and Animal Waste – 2016
The benefits of composting are well known, but what happens when pharmaceuticals enter the picture? Can material containing traces of pharmaceuticals – antibiotics in animal waste, for example – still be safely composted? And is composting a potential solution...
New Carbon Capture Will Use Pulp and Paper Emissions to Grow Vegetables
Source: triplepundit.com Published: August 16, 2016 Image credit: Serres Toundra Words by Leon Kaye Last week, a Canadian carbon capture technology firm announced a new project that will trap carbon dioxide emissions from a pulp and paper plant and transfer them to a...
Aquatic Ferns May Have Cleansing Properties to Absorb Oil While Repelling Water
Source: ibtimes.com Published: August 17, 2016 By Susmita Baral Scientists in Germany are exploring how aquatic plants can help clean up oil spills and there appears to be some potential in water plants. The team of researchers, who published their findings in the...
San Francisco – Urban Carbon Farming Project
Matter of Trust was serving as the fiscal sponsor for this San Francisco Urban Carbon Farming Project for 3 years which aims to take state-of-the-art science and protocol for measuring the carbon sequestration effects of utilizing compost as a soil amendment...
Revolutionary Tidal Fence Is Set To Trap The Sea’s Power
Source: theguardian.com Published: August 11, 2015 Illustration showing how Kepler Energy’s turbine rotor blades will look installed in a tidal fence configuration. Photograph: Kepler Energy Alex Kirby for Climate News Network, part of the Guardian Environment Network...
California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity
Source: laweekly.com Published: August 1, 2016 Credit: alohavictoria/Flickr Dennis Romero Freeways inspire road rage, serve as giant trash receptacles and take us home, often very slowly. And now, a new statewide initiative means they could soon be generating some...
16-Year-Old South African Girl Invents Drought-Fighting Super Material from Orange Peels
Source: inhabitat.com Published: August 10, 2016 The material's incredible moisture-retaining abilities come from its high polysaccharide and pectin content. by Orion Rodriguez In the midst of South Africa’s worst drought in recorded history, one Johannesburg...
Years of Living Dangerously
Source: nationalgeographic.com Published: August 10, 2016 This Emmy-winning series follows celebrity correspondents around the world, to witness first-hand the effects of climate change on our planet and to learn how we can save it for future generations. New Season...
Elon Musk’s New Solar Project: ‘It’s Not a Thing on the Roof. It is the Roof’
Source: ecowatch.com Published: August 10, 2016 SolarCity Twitter By Lorraine Chow With Tesla's historic acquisition of SolarCity now pending, Elon Musk has announced two new solar products, including one that could disrupt the roofing industry. As Electrek reported,...
This Startup Turns CO2 Into A Sustainable Replacement for Palm Oil
Source: fastcoexist.com Published: August 3, 2016 [Photo: Thomas Lefebvre via Unsplash] Today’s palm oil plantations are a huge climate polluter. A new company wants to create a product that eats CO2 instead. By Adele Peters In the 1950s, researchers at food companies...
One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts
Source: globalcompostproject.org Published: August 9, 2016 Excellent Carbon Farming short film from Project Drawdown board member Peter Byck Newest short film in the Carbon Nation: Soil Carbon Cowboys series. Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, tells us his...
El Cerrito: Living Roofs Top Middle School Buildings
Source: eastbaytimes.com Published: July 5, 2016 CREDIT: LIVEROOF-- The roofs on the Korematsu Middle School gymnasium and multipurposebuildings include layers of drought-tolerant sedum plants above awaterproof lining that channels rainwater runoff into storm drains....
A Tale of Thousands of Dumps
Source: saveonenergy.com Published: August 9, 2016 The average American tosses 4.4 pounds of trash every single day. It may not seem all that astonishing on the surface, but with 323.7 million people living in the United States, that is roughly 728,000 tons of daily...
What Teaching Kids About Energy Efficiency Can Teach Us
Source: greenbiz.com Published: August 4, 2016 Shutterstock By Lee Ann Head As crazy as it may seem to readers living in some parts of the country, kids start going back to school in a couple of weeks in much of the South. If you’re a parent, the words "back to...
This Farm in A Box Can Help Feed Your Community
source: dai.ly Published: August 5, 2016 NOTE: Source link no longer redirects to archived content. ‘Farm From A Box’ is a storage unit containing everything you need to grow and sustain a 2-acre farm, making it easy to provide for your community, teach children about...
San Francisco Preschool Makes Sunshine Smores
Source: matteroftrust.org Published: August 4, 2016 It’s never too early to learn about solar energy, especially when tasty treats are involved. The Kids Club preschoolers in San Francisco had a fun time making their solar ovens. Ovens made, now for the nachos The...
Can a Flower Help Cities Reduce Air Pollution?
Source: mnn.com Published: August 3, 2016 A new type of honeysuckle could keep air cleaner in cities where pollution-reduction goals will take some time to meet. (Photo: haris M/Shutterstock Starre Vartan Urban air pollution is a huge public health issue — it kills...