Grieving Mother Dedicates Her Life to Planting Millions of Trees in Memory of Her Son
Meet Yi Jiefeng, a Shanghai woman who has helped plant millions of saplings in Inner Mongolia, over the past 12 years. Her goal is to reforest the arid Alashan Desert while keeping alive the memory of her son who passed away 16 years ago. In the year 2000, Yi’s only son, Yang Ruizhe, was killed in a […]
These Floating Trashcans Could be the Answer to Cleaning Polluted Oceans
A couple of Australian surfers have come up with a creative solution to clean up polluted oceans – they’ve designed an automated trashcan that can suck up floating garbage, right from plastic bottles, to paper, oils, fuel, detergent and more. Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski, who spent their childhood around the ocean, said they were frustrated with the […]
Filipino Entrepreneur Creates Revolutionary Lamp That Runs on Saltwater
Meet Aisa Mijeno, a Filipino architect and scientist who invented a revolutionary lamp that runs on a glass of saltwater instead of batteries. Her vision in creating the SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) lamp was to “light up the rest of the Philippines sustainably,” by finding an environment-friendly alternative light source suitable for people in coastal areas. She […]
Man Generates Almost No Garbage in Two and a Half Year Trash-Free Experiment
Darshan Karwat, a post-doctorate at the University of Michigan, is making headlines for having maintained an incredibly frugal and sustainable lifestyle during his student years. The man gave up fast food, new clothes, and even toilet paper, until he got to a point where his trash for an entire year fit in just two plastic […]
Self-Taught Artist Paints Beautiful Landscapes on Fallen Leaves
16-year-old Joanna Wirazka has a very interesting choice of canvas. Instead of paper or fabric, the self-taught artist from Poland paints colorful artworks on fallen autumn leaves. Her works are not only stunning to look at, but also carry a strong environmental message. Every autumn, Joanna puts aside her regular canvas for something that’s free, readily […]
This Environment-Friendly Bathing Suit Cleans Polluted Water as You Swim
Thanks to this cool new two-piece bathing suit, cleaning up the world’s oceans might actually become the ‘in’ thing to do during the hot summer months! The 3D-printed Sponge Suit bikini is made of flexible, carbon-based filler materials that function like a sponge, absorbing all sorts of pollutants from water. So you put it on, wade […]
India’s Lake of Toxic Foam Is So Polluted It Sometimes Catches Fire
Despite its tropical climate, parts of Bangalore city in southern India have been experiencing what looks like snow. Except, it’s not actually snow, but a toxic foam from a severely polluted lake! The 9,000-acre Bellandur lake is the largest one in the city, and also the most polluted. Decades’ worth of untreated chemical waste and sewage in […]
Landscaping Company Carves Live Trees into Beautiful Artworks, Sparks Controversy
A landscaping company in China recently angered nature lovers by carving dragons and other art forms on live camphor trees. Workers apparently cut off all the branches and stripped the top layer of bark before carving intricate figures into the soft wood underneath. The sculptures were then painted in gold. About a dozen such trees […]
Dutch Students Turn Wasted Rotting Fruit into “Fruit Leather” Accessories
A team of six undergrads in the Netherlands have come up with a brilliant use for wasted fruit – they’re converting it into leather! The eco-friendly project – titled ‘Fruitleather Rotterdam’ involves transforming rotten fruit into a durable, malleable, leather-like material. It started off as a school assignment at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, […]
The Pages of This “Drinkable Book” Make Contaminated Water Drinkable
‘The Drinkable Book’ is a new invention that could potentially save millions of lives around the world. Its pages are made of treated paper that can purify water when passed through, killing over 99% of bacteria. The book is the result of postdoctoral researcher Theresa Dankovich’s hard work. For several years, she developed and tested […]
Dutch Eco-Hero Proves That One Man CAN Make a Difference
Tired of witnessing copious amounts of trash strewn across the banks of River Schie in Rotterdam, Dutch artist Tommy Kleyn decided to step up and do something about it. He singlehandedly organised a cleanup of the entire bank, leaving absolutely no trace of trash whatsoever, proving that anyone can indeed made a difference if they […]
China’s Eco-Heroes: Blind Man and Friend with No Arms Plant 10,000 Trees in 10 Years
Jia Haixa and Jia Wenqi are the most unlikely pair of environmentalists we’ve ever come across. The former is blind, while the latter is a double-amputee. Yet, they’ve managed to use their symbiotic relationship to plant over 10,000 trees in the past decade. Haixa and Wenqi began their beautiful partnership when they were unable to […]
This Woman Has Produced Only a Jar-Full of Trash in the Last Two Years
Lauren Singer is a sustainability-conscious entrepreneur who has produced almost no waste in the past two years, proving that a trash-free lifestyle is indeed possible. Lauren majored in environmental science at NYU, and it was during her student years that she began working towards a ‘Zero Waste’ goal. Today, the New Yorker does several things […]
Meet Professor Dumpster, the American College Professor Who Lives in a Dumpster
Dr. Jeff Wilson, a professor of environmental science at a university in Austin, Texas, is living in a 33-square-foot dumpster for a year. He kickstarted the unique project in February, and his efforts have earned him the nickname ‘Professor Dumpster’ among his students. Harvard-educated Wilson says that his goal is to show people that it […]
Man Plans to Live Alone on an Iceberg until It Melts
In a bid to get people to take climate change more seriously, Italian adventurer Alex Bellini is going to live on an iceberg until it melts. He plans to take on the challenge in the spring of 2015, on an iceberg in Greenland. He expects that he’ll have to live there alone for at least […]