Why? Oceangoing ships present significant health, pollution, and efficiency challenges. The concept vessel E/S Orcelle is designed to be propelled without oil. Made of lightweight materials, it relies on energy sources obtained at sea—solar energy collected through photovoltaic panels in the sails, wind energy obtained through propulsion sails, and wave energy from fins, which can...
Why? Solar towers capture solar energy to heat air under an expansive collector zone. Based on the principle that heat rises, this air flows towards the center of the collector through electricity-generating turbines and up and out of the tower, like a chimney. When built, the tower will be about 750 meters high and could...
Why? After Hurricane Katrina, the Mary Queen of Viet Nam Church and the local Vietnamese community in New Orleans formed a community-development corporation, working with a design and engineering team to create a model for low-tech, sustainable site development. The Viet Village utilizes composting, crop rotation, and cover cropping as well as bio-filtration of water...
Why? This device reduces the load and stress on the lower body, reducing fatigue and injuries and enabling a broader range of activities among the elderly as well as workers who spend extended periods of time on their feet, climbing or descending stairs, or maintaining semi-crouched positions. Weighing less than fifteen pounds, the device supports...
Why? Another billion people, mostly in the developing world, will acquire access to cell phones in the next three years, unleashing a revolution in communications. The Next Billion Network partners students and local organizations to create mobile technologies for this population, expanding opportunities for self-reliance. For example, Mobile Care enables cell phones to become medical...
Why? In the Story of Stuff video, environmental activist Annie Leonard explains how products affect human society and the natural world as they make their way through the cycle of material extraction, manufacturing, consumption, and disposal. Free Range Studios worked with Leonard to create a compact, punchy script around simple, active stories, and iconic characters.
Why? This solar technology is distinguished by its use of mirrors to capture light and focus it onto a small generator to produce electricity and thermal energy. The parabolic optical dish follows the sun from dawn until dusk, harnessing seventy percent of the solar energy that hits it, making it much more efficient than conventional...
Why? Buildings in the United States produce the largest share of the worlds carbon-dioxide emissions. All aspects of the recently completed California Academy of Sciences, a natural-history museum, were designed for maximum environmental performance. The indigenous plantcovered, contoured roof design is a key component of the buildings overall ecological system, making it one of todays...
Time-lapse Why? The first purpose-built home of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet is both a bridge and anchor for the Oslo community. As part of the first phase of an extensive transformation of the waterfront, the Opera is a monumental gateway to the harbor. Its most distinctive feature is a white marble roof that serves...
Why? Another billion people, mostly in the developing world, will acquire access to cell phones in the next three years, unleashing a revolution in communications. The Next Billion Network partners students and local organizations to create mobile technologies for this population, expanding opportunities for self-reliance. For example, Mobile Care enables cell phones to become medical...
Why? The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored research for this configurable bionic-arm prototype, which mimics the speed and dexterity of a natural limb. Neural-integration strategies are being tested to control the arm and restore sensory feedback, from injectable myoelectric sensors that transmit signals instructing movement to muscle reinnervation, allowing for thought-controlled prostheses.
Why? Ocean waves are an abundant and untapped source of renewable energy. The bioWAVE harnesses this energy and converts it into grid-connected electricity. Mounted on the seabed, the unit is biomimetically designed to adapt to marine life. Each unit is expected to generate up to two megawatts of energy. Farms can harvest enough clean power...
Why? GoodWeave is an ethical certification program that seeks to end illegal child labor in the rug industry. Stephanie Odegards company was the first in America to work with GoodWeave. Sales of her carpets carrying the label support educational opportunities for children in South Asia. The Navaratna rug depicts the Navaratna, or nine gemstones, whose...
Why? This kite system harnesses the winds energy with a tethered wing that flies at high altitudes where the wind is both strong and more consistent. As the kite sweeps through a vast amount of area, small wing-mounted turbines extract power from the wind, converting it into electrical power. The tether transmits electrical power to...
Why? Mobility on-demand and shared use are alternatives to private car ownership, and CityCar is a concept vehicle that combines the two. This two-passenger electric car can be made available from a network of urban parking zones, where users swipe a card and take the first fully charged vehicle. It provides a non-polluting, noise-free, energy-efficient,...
