There has never been a greater drive towards sustainable products and technologies than what we are seeing today.
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Our world is at a critical point. Climate change is changing the face of it, and innovators around the globe are thinking out of the box to come up with sustainable solutions. Here are just a few ways they are paving the way for a greener lifestyle:
1. The Green Building Initiative (GBI)
You may have already seen green buildings in the UAE and other parts of the world. As an international effort, GBI ensures sustainable, resource-efficient buildings are the future of construction. Their goal is to establish a standard of best practices for green buildings globally, and their certification programs are helping make even commercial buildings get up to date with sustainable infrastructure.
2. The Smog Free Project
Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde blended technology with art when he invented the world’s first smog vacuum cleaner. His Smog Free Tower measures about seven metres high; it sucks in polluted air, cleans it through a process of ionisation, and then releases clean air. At its peak, the Tower cleans up to 30,000 cubic metres of air per hour. You can even buy and wear rings made of compressed smog particles collected from the tower! The project has been launched around the world, including in South Korea, China, and Mexico.
3. Robotic bees
Over the past two decades, bee colonies have been disappearing in what is known as the “colony collapse disaster”, according to the National Geographic. The US National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates a 60 per cent reduction in the number of bees within the country, from the year 1947 to 2008. It’s why robotic bees could be the solution. B-Droid, created by researchers at Poland-based Warsaw University of Technology, is just one of the ways robotic bees are being used to pollinate crops as effectively as their original counterparts. Swarms of autonomous and semi-autonomous bees are helping boost the natural bee population by doing the hard aspects of the job and letting organic bees recover.
4. Solar glass
What if the windows of your building could produce energy? It’s not wishful thinking. Researchers at US-based University of Michigan are developing solar glass that could change the way homes and commercial buildings are constructed. According to the researchers, 5 to 7 billion square metres of usable window space exists – enough to power 40 per cent of the US’s energy needs using solar glass.
5. Sustainable plastics
US-based organisation Newlight Technologies has developed a fully green and sustainable alternative to plastic, called AirCarbon. Made from carbon emissions that would otherwise be released into the air, it has a wide variety of applications. And because it’s not made from oil, like other plastics, it’s a cost-effective alternative to synthetic materials.
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