Leading ideas in the race for sustainable eco-friendly technology

• Bright minds are bringing hope to the world in the face of growing environmental concerns with some brilliant ideas and solutions. Read on to learn more.

Creating cleaner and brighter future through innovative thinking

Much has been achieved by humanity over the course of our history, and much, as we are all becoming more aware of with each passing year,has proven to be at a most regrettable cost. A cost that we arefurthermore, only just beginning to bear the brunt of, as environmental issues across the world continue to mount, alongside, and ever connected to, the economic, industrial, as well as social, and political issues and factors of our day.

A more encouraging result of it all though, is that a whole new era of technological innovation is, thank fully, spring in gin to action. With it has come a greatersense of hopeand inspiration, as a wealth of new ideas, some already implemented and showing results, are leading the way towhat will, hopefully, become amore sustainable future.

For example, in the area of sustainable commercial and living environments, GBI, the Green Building Initiative, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, has made notable strides and gained major attention.Not only can theirinnovativeresource-efficient buildings be demonstrated to greatly lower the impact of urban and commercial development, but they also provide the businesses and developerswith all thenecessary tools and education to make it a common reality.

With the burgeoning of population and industry worldwide, though, pollutants like plastic and carbon emission have taken centre stage.Many new inventions and initiatives have been directed towards this, although there is a new innovationthat has recently come into the spotlight. AirCarbon is a product and material developed by the company Newlight Technologies and is formed by siphoning carbon emissions from the airvia specially designed processing plants, and using it to create a natural, environmentally friendly,carbon-negative material called PHB.This has been proposed as a suitable alterative to plastic, andwood or leather products.

With plasticbeing one the major issues facing the oceans today, Seabin, an ingenious invention created by surfers Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, has proven to be highly effective in gathering and filtering out drifting pollutants like plastic, as well as detergents and oil, from ocean water. Seabin is already well in use and making a huge impact by helping to clean up polluted ports, harbours, and coastal areas, all over the world.

When it comes to desertification, Groasis Waterbox, a company started by Dutch flower exporter, Pieter Hoff, has also created a simple yet effective innovation.It involves an “intelligent bucket” made of recycled paper, that can help germinate seeds and grow plants with far greater efficiency and water usage than ever before, and furthermore, in some of the most arid places on earth.

Though all important in the issues they address, these are but a few of the remarkable innovationsthat are currently turning heads, just like the tragamonedasenlineaChile do. From “solar glass”, being studied at Michigan University, able to capture and store sunlight in the manner of solar panels, to more preparative measures, such asB-Droids, miniature dronesdesigned as possiblereplacements for the world’s dwindling bee population.Some will undoubtedly be of vital use, while others, such as the latter, we can only hope, will never become necessary.