The Most Promising Eco-Friendly Inventions
Time magazine’s recent selection of Greta Thunberg as its Person of the Year was hailed by many as a culmination of the efforts of climate activists around the world. From Fridays for Future protests to the UN Climate Action Summit, 2019 has experienced a growing awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment. This awareness has, in large part, been organized and led by youth. While environmental activism is multifaceted, one aspect of the movement focuses on creating and funding eco-friendly inventions. Read below for some examples of inventions designed to mitigate your carbon footprint as well as a short discussion of the pros and cons of green innovation!
The Ocean Cleanup, founded by Boyan Slat, aims to create and experiment with different technologies to remove plastic and other trash from the world’s oceans. Listen to him explain his invention.
The Seabin Project utilizes bins powered by water pumps to collect trash and other pollutants from the oceans.
Inventor Kevin Kumala developed a biodegradable bag made out of cassava root and natural starches to hopefully one day replace the use of plastic bags.
Ooho are edible water bottles that are plastic-free. According to the scientists at Skipping Rocks Lab, the skin of the water “bottle,” made from seaweed extract, can be recycled or even eaten by people!
Epson’s PaperLab is a machine that has the ability to make new sheets of paper by using recycled paper in offices.
AIR-INK transforms pollution from vehicles into ink that can be used in everyday pens to write or sketch.
Saltwater Brewery, located in Florida, has created edible, biodegradable beer packaging rings made from a base of barley and wheat. Normal, plastic beer packaging is a real hazard to marine life.
Beginning as a start-up, the Nebia team has gone on to develop a shower system to reduce water wastage when showering.
DB Breweries has constructed a machine that transforms beer bottles into sand that is later returned to beaches.
Can you imagine meat that tastes like meat, but doesn’t come from an animal? Meat grown in a lab setting may very well be a food of the future as well as a way to cut down on the negative environmental impacts of farming.
There has also been a multitude of eco-friendly inventions from Ukrainians.
18-year-old Valentyn Frechka from Sokyrnystia was inspired to develop a way to make paper from fallen leaves. His invention extracts the pulp from fallen leaves, which contain cellulose. The cellulose pulp can be repurposed into wrappers, cardboard, and cartons that are both cheaper and faster to produce. Frechka is optimistic that his invention, called Re-leaf Paper, can decrease the number of trees worldwide that are chopped down to make paper.
Dmytro Bidiuk developed FoodBIOPacks, which are biodegradable bags that can withstand both cold and hot temperatures.
PassivDom, started by Maksym Herbut, creates smart houses with energy saving features.
Effabrush is an eco-friendly toothbrush composed of sugar cane, corn starch, castor oil, and Nylon 4 created by Ilia Kichuck and Dariya Vasylenko.
Hempire UA uses a hemp mixture to insulate and build homes.
Oleksandr Pryimak developed a specially-designed wind panel for use in urban settings.
Lastly, the Zelenew Recycling Laboratory, located in Lviv, prides itself in using recycled plastic to create chic and modern home decor.
As you can see, the benefits of green inventions are numerous. By investing in eco-friendly products and making them affordable to the general public, further damage to the environment, whether to the oceans, air, or forests, can be averted. These pressing environmental issues can also motivate scientists, business people, and even students to be creative self-starters and set positive examples for future generations. Moreover, developing green technologies often requires collaboration and teamwork, which can bring diverse groups of people together to work towards a common goal. However, there are downsides to green inventions. For starters, since much of this technology is new, it may be too expensive for the average person to purchase or it may just not be well publicized. There is also no such thing as a completely “clean” product--every invention or technology requires some use of non-renewable energy sources to develop and bring to the marketplace. For example, to manufacture an electric vehicle, certain metals must be mined to create the battery itself, and diesel and electricity are often used in the process of assembling the cars in a factory and transporting them. Similarly, cloth tote bags require cotton, which uses copious amounts of water, and the production of paper bags also uses water, fuel, and cut-down trees. However, this should not deter the innovation of eco-friendly products. By being a smart inventor who cares about the environment and the people around you, you are already well on your way to changing the planet for the better!
Vocabulary list:
Hail (v.): to celebrate
Culmination (n.): the highest point of some effort
Multifaceted (adj): diverse
Mitigate (v.): to lessen
Extract (n.): the essence of something
Edible (adj.): can be consumed
Hazard (n.): a danger
Repurposed (adj.): recycled, reused
Withstand (v.): remain undamaged; resistant
Insulate (v.): to retain or keep heat
Chic (adj.): trendy, fashionable
Avert (v.): to avoid
Pressing (adj.): important
Deter (v.): to discourage
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A Texas native, Bianca Navia is currently in her junior year at Arizona State University, pursuing a dual major in Political Science and Global Studies. She is most passionate about international affairs, diplomacy, foreign languages, traveling, and teaching. A fun fact about her? She’s the oldest of four sisters in a big Cuban-Italian-American family!