Today’s Solutions: November 21, 2024

Design

Solar-(em)powered: These stree

Solar-(em)powered: These streetlights illuminate a path towards climate resilience

The necessity for climate-resilient infrastructure is increasingly evident to prepare for the future. Solar-powered streetlights are one such innovation with enormous promise. These lights provide a stable and independent source of illumination by harnessing the sun's energy, even during power Read More...

Inventive solution saves swimm

Inventive solution saves swimming pools and data centers

Public swimming pools in the UK that were about to close due to rising energy costs have been given a second chance thanks to new water heating technology. New tech startup Deep Green's chief executive, Mark Bjornsgaard, has tested an innovative concept at Exmouth, Devon. He has installed a Read More...

Removable solar panels might s

Removable solar panels might soon be rolled out on railway tracks

Solar panels are being laid out "like carpet" across Swiss train rails as part of the country's renewable energy initiative. Swiss startup company Sun-Ways will begin installing solar panels in the western part of the country this spring, next to the Buttes train station, pending approval from Read More...

Traffic in downtown Chicago with people, train, car and bus

US reveals the “Blueprint”: a plan to entirely decarbonize transportation

The United States Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency have produced a much-needed Blueprint for decarbonizing the entire US transportation system. It is hoped that the policy will reduce all greenhouse gas emissions from the Read More...

Separated egg white and yolks into two bowls and broken egg shells are at background

Are egg whites the missing ingredient for cheap effective water filtration?

As microplastic contamination and the lack of drinkable water worsen, finding efficient technologies to filter and desalinate seawater becomes increasingly vital. A novel airgel, fabricated from egg whites, shows great promise. An egg-citing concept Professor Craig Arnold of Princeton University Read More...

automobile congestion in the morning rush hour

Mathematicians can make traffic jams history—all we have to do is listen to them

It may be difficult to find things that we all agree on—but we’re confident that everyone will agree on this: traffic jams suck! What makes traffic even more irritating is that, according to traffic flow experts, most of the congestion on the road is completely unnecessary. According to Read More...

Sunlight through a forest of trees.

Solutions Thinking and Climate Change

Open Minds and Optimism: Keys to Solving the Climate Crisis In February 2022, the world’s leading climate scientists released the most urgent warning on climate change to date. The report, released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), describes the implications of our Read More...

Cooling system made of bamboo in Vietnam

Cooling bamboo system is a green alternative to air conditioning

As is happening all over the planet, the number of sweltering days affecting people each year in Vietnam has grown significantly in recent years as a result of climate change. Using air conditioning may help reduce people’s exposure to life-threatening hot temperatures. The problem is, always Read More...

Skin conditions

This app can save time and lives by diagnosing skin conditions

After a concerning brush with melanoma, where a lengthy test dangerously delayed her treatment, Susan Conover began her studies in skin diseases and dermatology. She explored technological solutions to skin problems in the MIT System Design and Management graduate program and then founded Piction Read More...

Plastic sugar

This plastic alternative breaks down into sugar

While banning plastics is an important measure for curbing pollution, replacing plastics as a practical consumer material is important.  Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne have developed a plant-based alternative for plastics that decompose into Read More...