Sustainability

The Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab will be offshore of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland for three years, in an effort to test its viability as a substrate for futuristic floating cities.

Designing Floating Buildings With an Eye to the Marine Species Living Underneath

A prototype deployed in San Francisco Bay imagines the underside of a floating building as an upside-down artificial reef

More than 50,000 empty plastic bottles were used to construct Panama's Plastic Bottle Village.

From Bottles to Newspapers, These Five Homes Were Built Using Everyday Objects

Open for visitors, these houses model upcycling at its finest

Fishless filets are on the rise.

Move Over Fake Meat, It's Time for Veggie Seafood

Here are six companies bringing you animal-free fish products, from tomato-based sushi to "Fysh Sauce"

Starlit Stratus rendering, by Sunggi Park

These Wild Sculptures Could Bring Sustainable Energy to the Desert

Winners of this year's Land Art Generator Initiative competition proposed beautiful, power-generating works of public art for Abu Dhabi

In July 2016, a solar-powered airplane flying over the desert region of Andalusia in Spain photographed breathtaking images of the Gemasolar concentrated solar power plant.

How Engineers of New Energy Technology Are Taking Cues From Nature

From sunflower spirals to schooling fish, renewable energy innovators are uncovering ideas for improving efficiency and output in natural phenomena

Rust film could be used to cover buoys to generate power for scientific equipment at sea, or on bridges to create electricity for nearby structures.

Could a Rusty Bridge Generate Electricity?

New research shows that water flowing over thin layers of rust can generate power

Ruthie Mundell stands among new and vintage chandeliers—all salvaged and ready to find a new home.

How Women Are Leading the Charge to Recycle Whole Houses

From lobbying for changes to city laws to running reuse centers for building supplies, women are dominating the deconstruction industry

A prototype floating dairy farm in Rotterdam, Netherlands is home to 35 dairy cows. In the future, similar platforms will be set up nearby to grow vegetables and farm eggs.

Will Cities of the Future Have Floating Farms?

In the Netherlands, an experimental floating dairy farm promises to reduce emissions and increase food security

In Asia, many jellyfish species find their way into cuisine. The largely tasteless animals are used predominately for their texture.

To Make Jellyfish More Appetizing, Add Light and Sound Effects to the Dining Experience

Gastrophysicists are going to great lengths to convince Westerners to indulge in the tasteless sustainable seafood

Scientists bioengineer living plants to emit light.

These Glowing Plants Could One Day Light Our Homes

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum gives us a glimpse into a world where we read by a natural greenish glow

This New Plastic Can Be Endlessly Recycled

The new material, dubbed PDK, can be deconstructed down to the molecular level

Transparent wood becomes cloudier as it cools.

This Transparent Wood Could Be an Energy-Saver in Green Buildings

Researchers in Sweden have developed a material, able to store and release heat, that could potentially be used in windows

Scientists and ocean advocates are hoping to find a way to both protect sea turtles and other threatened species and help fishermen make a living.

How Scientists Are Using Real-Time Data to Help Fishermen Avoid Bycatch

Using a strategy called dynamic ocean management, researchers are creating tools to forecast where fish will be—and where endangered species won't be

It was during another experiment in his lab that Naohiro Kato realized that microalgae might be a good ingredient for bioplastic.

Made From Microalgae, These Mardi Gras Beads Are Biodegradable

Louisiana State University molecular biologist Naohiro Kato is confronting plastic pollution one necklace and doubloon at a time

Ovie Smarterware alerts you when your food has hit half of its shelf life.

Seven Technologies That Could Help Fight Food Waste

From food-sharing apps to "smart" storage systems, these innovations might reduce the amount of food you toss

There are now zero waste supermarkets from Brooklyn to Sicily to Malaysia to South Africa.

The Rise of 'Zero-Waste' Grocery Stores

A growing number of supermarkets sell food without packaging in an effort to reduce the toll of plastic on the environment

Flushing the Toilet Is the First Step in Making Better Bricks

Incorporating biosolids from sewage treatment plants into bricks makes more insulating bricks and keeps the sterilized sewage out of landfills

By providing disincentives for discarding trash—and adding musical motivation for doing things right—Taiwan has achieved a recycling rate many envy.

How Taiwan Has Achieved One of the Highest Recycling Rates in the World

Once nicknamed "Garbage Island," the region now has a success story to share

Your Christmas Tree May Be Turned Into Mouthwash One Day

A new sustainable chemical process can turn pine needles into a chemical feedstock for paint, food sweeteners, mouthwash and other products

A young caribou gazes out from under an adults head.

A Photographer's Quest to Document the Last of the Rainforest Caribou

In a new book, photographer David Moskowitz turns his lens on the story of a rapidly declining species and habitat

Page 6 of 15