by Timon Singh, 07/21/12

filed under: News, Recycling / Compost, Renewable Energy
Egyptian teenagers are on a roll lately - if they’re not proposing the next-generation of space propulsion systems, then they’re figuring out how to use the country’s plastic waste for fuel! Sixteen-year-old Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad has found that an inexpensive catalyst ( Read more... )

IF THERE is any endeavour whose fruits should be freely available, that endeavour is surely publicly financed science. Morally, taxpayers who wish to should be able to read about it without further expense. And science advances through cross-fertilisation between projects. Barriers to that exchange slow it down ( Read more... )

Solar cookers are great and all, but they need the sun to function. This means you can't use them to cook the evening meal after the sun has gone down, or cook breakfast before the sun as come up...and that seriously limits the use of solar cookers in the places where they can do the most good ( Read more... )

Europe is having a love affair with offshore wind-energy farms, and no wonder. The wind is stronger and steadier out at sea than it is on most land areas, and you can build turbines close to population centers without having to compete for real estate. Wind power is also one way to meet the world’s growing energy needs without fouling the ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

"The business of having a home is harder now than ever. It’s expensive. It’s risky. And, of course, it’s not great for the environment. Finding, buying and moving into a new home could be more stress than you can handle. But if you don’t want to end up homeless instead, there isn’t any escape from it. Don’t worry, though: the future is bright home- ( Read more... )

NEW YORK, NY - An American architect in Abu Dhabi has won a prize for innovative design with a plan to produce green bricks by using sand, common bacteria, calcium chloride and urea (that's right, the compound found in urine) in a process called microbial-induced calcite precipitation.

Ginger Krieg Dosier, an assistant professor of architecture at ( Read more... )

BOSTON (Reuters Life!) - Fueled by leftover chocolate and with components made from carrots, potato starch and flax, the world's first sustainable Formula 3 racing car has a top speed of 135 miles per hour and can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds.Sound nuts? Not yet -- brake pads made from cashews are still under development ( Read more... )