33 Great Ideas From Around The World (page 6 of 6)

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A Better World

Smog Scrubber
A new cement coating developed by Italcementi takes smog right out of the air. The material, called TX Active, contains titanium dioxide, which neutralizes nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide when exposed to light. The pollution eater, which can be painted on buildings, bridges and streets, also keeps surfaces white and bright.
-- Italy

Search for Good
Now you can raise money for your favorite charity just by surfing the Net. Every time you search the Web at GoodSearch.com, a penny goes to the nonprofit of your choice. The site uses Yahoo! Search—the second most popular search engine after Google—so you get results you can trust. Yahoo! and GoodSearch share the site’s advertising revenue, generated when users click on sponsored links; GoodSearch, a for-profit philanthropy, gives away half its cut, or about 1 cent per search. For some beneficiaries, it’s no chump change. So far, GoodSearch has helped the Save Darfur Coalition raise $3,635; the ASPCA, more than $6,000.
-- U.S.

Can Do
Would a funny-looking bin make you more likely to recycle your empty Coke cans? Designer Patricio Forrester’s “Feed the Cow” design inspired many in Buenos Aires to dispose of plastic bottles, paper and glass more responsibly—62% more over 3 months—and now the CowBins have migrated to the U.K. Maybe sheep are next.
-- Argentina

Mirror, Mirror
In the Andalusian countryside, just outside Seville, there’s a field of 600 mirrors, each one 1,290 square feet. Their job: direct the sun’s rays to the top of a concrete tower, where the heat turns water into steam, which is used to drive turbines that generate electricity—11 megawatts of it, in fact, enough to power 6,000 homes. The operator of this solar thermal power plant, Solúcar, is working to increase the yield to 10 times that so the plant can someday serve all of Seville.
-- Spain

This Bot’s Hot
Any fire department would be lucky to have the RoboGat. The robot is designed to douse flames in tunnels and other hard-to-reach places. Inventor Domenico Piatti, a fire engineer from Naples, went to work on the project after 39 people perished in the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire in 1999. Last June, Piatti successfully demonstrated his working prototype, which uses cameras and sensors to locate a fire, moves on tracks, and blasts water out of pipes that can withstand temperatures of up to 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit.
-- Italy

Biofuel Bugs
Researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have found a new source of renewable energy: bugs (photosynthetic bacteria, to be precise). Like plants, these microbes use energy from the sun to grow, and scientists have found that the fat by-products can be used to make high-energy fuel such as biodiesel. It’s an appealing alternative to biofuels that come from corn, soybeans and switchgrass, which can divert land away from food and feed production, and are sometimes processed in coal-burning plants.
-- U.S.

Cheesy Currency
Giving hope to struggling entrepreneurs everywhere, French organic dairy farmers Manuel and Sandrine Rogeri are paying their debts—in cheese. The couple solicited private loans from some 70 individuals, raising more than $41,000. In exchange, the lenders will receive a share of the produce—a range of blues and Gruyères, from both cow’s and goat’s milk—for 6 years. Get the local vintner on board and it’s a party.
-- France

The Light Is Green
Energy-efficient light-emitting diodes are popping up in public spaces around the world, from Toronto city parks to the streets of Guangzhou, China. Although LEDs can run at triple the cost of conventional lighting, they consume 30%-90% less power and can last 20-30 years without being replaced or even wiped clean—so there are cost savings in the long run. The city of Raleigh, North Carolina, expects that the LEDs illuminating a new 900-space parking garage will save $75,000 the first year.
-- Global