Miscellaneous
Stringent sustainability standard for textile industry launched in Virginia
The textile and clothing industry is riddled with unsustainable practices, including exploitation of human labor and severe environmental degradation. MetaWear, a T-shirt manufacturer in Fairfax, Virginia, has decided to lead by example, launching the first American-based Global Organic Textile Read More...
Anti-corruption stance of Nigeria’s president-elect causes regional ripple effect
Corruption has long been regarded as a crime against development, and rightly so. Sub-Saharan African nations are overly represented among the worst affected. In Nigeria, rich oil reserves and prolonged armed conflicts have made the country a hotbed for corruption. This week’s pledge by Read More...
Hyundai’s hydrogen-powered SUV to run on sewage in South California
For all the recent advance on the electric car market, it is good to see that other alternatives to fossil fuel transportation are also making progress. Low-emission-car pioneer Hyundai is soon to introduce a fuel cell version of its 2015 Tucson in Orange County that will run on biogas produced Read More...
Scientists in China show organic farm can store more carbon than it emits
Agriculture is a driving factor of global greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock alone contributes 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The good news is that healthy soil is a carbon sink. The main technology required is affordable, readily Read More...
Uganda to use new data app to prevent corruption in public works
Nowhere is corruption as endemic as in public works, according to Transparency International. One major enabler is the absence of accurate, reliable data. M-App, an app developed by two students from the New School in New York, aims to change that. It recently won joint first prize at the social Read More...
If flying is greener than driving, what does that say about our daily commute?
Unless you’re driving an electric car powered by renewable electricity sources, or are carpooling to work, chances are your driving habits produce more greenhouse gas emissions per mile than air travel. This is the conclusion reached by Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Read More...
Turning off the lights in New York to save migrating birds
It is estimated that one billion migrating birds crash into buildings in the U.S. every year due to disorientation caused by electric lights. Since New York State is a heavy bird migration route, the state authorities have decided to turn off bright outdoor lights at all public buildings between Read More...
3D printing startup bioengineers rhino horn to save wildlife
Illegal wildlife trade is a $20 billion global market. Killed for its horn, the rhinoceros is a primary target. The Western Black Rhinoceros was hunted to extinction and only five known Northern White Rhinoceros remain. San Francisco startup Pembient recently demonstrated it can use keratin to 3D Read More...
Cities are growing smarter, greener, more human-friendly
Pollution, congestion, noise, unfriendly public space… is this what awaits humanity as 70% of the global population lives in cities by 2050? Most likely, the answer is no—judging by recent developments in various European cities and by the visionary work of urban planners, urban designers and Read More...
MIT develops cheap, portable, solar-powered desalination system
Solar-powered desalination plants have been a promising technology for a while, but their prohibitive cost has prevented them from being considered a solution in water-deprived, typically poorer parts of the world. Using the electrodialysis process, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Read More...