Holland-based firm VolkerWessels has recently introduced plans to start building roads out of recycled plastic instead of asphalt. According to them, this would reduce construction costs and maintenance time, as well as prolong the lifespan of roads. (more…)
The more widespread adoption of renewable sources of energy is at least in part hampered by our poor ability to store energy. But a team of MIT researchers has recently a made a breakthrough in developing a new battery system. This all-liquid battery system is more efficient at storing energy, and costs less to produce, than currently available solutions. The further development of this system and use could make solar and wind energy more attractive and therefore facilitate its wide scale adoption.
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Two Russian scientists, Leonid and Sergey Plekhanov, both of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) are trying to crowdfund the building of a prototype of Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe tower, which could allow for wireless transmission of power. Should they succeed, it is conceivable that the entire planet could be powered by renewable energy sources with very little energy loss during transmission.
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The firm Estudimoline Barcelona, Catalonia recently came up with a very innovative product, the so-called Bios Urn. Basically, the special urn they sell will let you grow a tree from the ashes of your loved ones, and even your deceased pets. While this idea could be called a little macabre, it is also quite nice in the sense that after you die there will be one more tree in the world.
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Growing food in the colder months of the year is a challenge, and growers in colder climates that want to extend the crop-growing season are always looking for a better way to do so. Greenhouses are a great option, but they cost a lot of money to construct and heat during the colder months. The American sustainable agriculture non-profit organization Benson Institute has come up with a set of easy to follow instructions on how to build a much cheaper alternative, the so-called walipini, which means “place of warmth” in Aymara Indian. The walipini is basically an underground, pit greenhouse in which it possible to grow vegetables all year, even in the coldest regions of the world.
There are more people living in urban areas than rural areas than ever before in human history, and is expected to rise to 70% in this century. Much of this growth will occur in low-lying deltas and be vulnerable to climate change and flooding. Scarcity of resources requires cities to become increasingly self-sufficient.
