The Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative is a planned project to plant a wall of trees across Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara desert as a means to prevent desertification. It was developed by the African Union to address the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the Sahel and the Sahara. Crossing 11 nations this is a political as well as a physical and economic challenge and progress currently varies from … Read more
Solar water filter Solarizer used in ecovillage Aldea Feliz
To clean the water sufficiently for drinking ecovillage Aldea Feliz uses a UV filter system. Water is taken from the spring, which is the most clean, or from rain or tap. To filter out any residues like algae, leaves or insects it is first passed through a cotton filter. It is then passed into 4 liter jars and placed on the solarizer panel. The jars are not filled completely to the top, to prevent the lid from rusting. The water is filtered by UV from sunlight, and needs a certain amount of … Read more
Living plants create electricity Simple technology to generate power from living plants
Dutch company powers streetlights with living plants. In Hembrug, Netherlands more than 300 LED lights were illuminated by the Dutch company Plant-e in a new energy project called “Starry Sky.” Although the bulbs were ordinary, the electricity running through them derived from a new process that harnesses the power of living plants. Plant-e’s technology is the first to produce electricity from plants without damaging them. … Read more
Making roads ice-free Clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand and chemicals
Cold-climate researchers at Washington State University are clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand and chemicals typically used for highway snow and ice control. One of these alternatives is using leftover barley residue from vodka distilleries. … Read more
Billboards that clean air Hong Kong experiments with billboards that clean the air.
Designers in China have developed a concept for “parasitic robots” (they look like insects) which attach to city billboards to suck in carbon dioxide and purify the air. The company Fast Co Exist has developed these robots and is hoping to attach them to the neon signs in Hong Kong, where they would collect urban pollution in the daytime and use the heat from the neon lighting at night to harvest the carbon dioxide into an energy source. … Read more
Rope Pump Low cost and simple technology
Low cost modern materials as plastic pipe and rope are used in a rotating hand pump system. The rope pump works on the principle of the chain pump with the chain replaced by rope and the rotating chain drum by a specially constructed rubber disk wheel. Such a rubber wheel can be made from used car tires. Other needed materials can be found at little or no cost. … Read more
Composting difficult-to-compost waste Rapid composting in limited space with Bokashi
Alys Fowler reports her test of the system:- ' The bokashi bin is a Japanese system that pickles your waste (bokashi means fermentation) and is perfectly suited to small spaces. You need two bins (they can be kept indoors) and special bran inoculated with good bacteria. In goes all your cooked and uncooked kitchen waste and a sprinkle of the magic bran. I tested the system indoors by loading it up with the most revolting mix – fish skin, pork bones, soured milk, old meat, cheese plus all the … Read more
Small Homes Inspiration and ideas for lighter living
Thoughtful design of a small space is crucial if it is to work efficiently and provide warmth, light and comfort. Sharing ideas provides inspiration and a tool to make your space work without taking more resources than you really need. … Read more
Seawater Greenhouses Sourcing Water and Growing in Arid/Semi-Arid Regions
A fine spray of sea water is used to humidify and cool air entering a poly tunnel beyond which a filter excludes salt from the growing beds. The air is drawn through the tunnel by fans cooling the environment around the crops and when it strikes tubes filled with cold sea water condensation forms and pure fresh water that is fed back to the plants. … Read more
Graphene Miracle material?
Graphene are extremely thin sheets of pure carbon first produced in 2004. It is the strongest known material with the highest electrical conductivity and has numerous other qualities, some of which promise significant advances in sustainable technologies and ecological restoration. Far smaller lighter batteries will benefit renewable energy systems, nano-porous sheets of Graphene can be produced to filter and desalinate water, it can extract radio-active elements from waste water and there are a … Read more
