Creating a sustainable human age we actually want to live in.
Global paper consumption is rising, and recycling paper uses more fossil fuels than virgin paper. But a switch to renewable energy and better wastepaper disposal practices could drastically cut carbon emissions.
By chemically tweaking it with a natural plant extract, scientists have boosted the liquid-sopping ability of wheat gluten by over 10 times, making it a perfect sustainable absorbent material for diapers.
Putting solar farms on water has benefits, but coupling them with hydropower amps them up and could provide almost half of the world's electricity.
A supercapacitor made partly from from the plant polymer lignin is a step towards sustainable energy storage.
Thermocells are a low-cost technology to convert heat to electricity without moving parts, noise, or greenhouse gas emissions. Now researchers have found a way to make them efficient.
An ancient enzyme helps some land and freshwater bacteria produce a building block of plastic when they metabolize sulfur
By drawing heat radiated from a person's body rather than cooling and dehumidifying air, radiant-cooling panels could cool people in outdoor spaces using little energy
Naturally available compounds in the peels are a benign alternative to the harsh chemicals used today to extract valuable metals from discarded batteries
Sunlight-absorbing sheets that make fuel from carbon dioxide and water could reduce greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, and our dependence on fossil fuels
Modified E. Coli bacteria convert a chemical derived from plant lignin into a key ingredient for making nylon
