Too much waste plastic? Too many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Researchers in the UK may have a partial solution for both problems: a process that uses solar energy to convert plastic and greenhouse gases into useful products.
For Earth Day we talk about an idea by designer, artist and architect Henry Glogau. He's designed a skylight that can turn seawater into clean drinking water, and then power LEDs with solar energy and the leftover salt brine.
Jaundice is treatable with phototherapy, but not all places have access to light therapy machines. A startup in Nigeria is building solar-powered phototherapy machines to fill that gap.
There are countless efforts underway to bring more green energy into the world, and some of them are in some unusual places. Like a project in Massachusetts that’s going to try mounting solar panels on those sound-absorbing barriers on the sides of the highway. Plus: today in 1859, New York City is host to what's believed to be the first ever baseball game between two Black teams.
Summer in California can mean drought, so every drop of water counts. A research project there says putting solar panels over the state's many miles of water canals could save tens of billions of gallons of water a year. Plus: a museum in Rochester, New York is going to host the National Archives of Game Show History... if the price is right.
A research project has built a handheld device modeled on Nintendo's Game Boy that gets its power from solar panels and the energy created by pushing buttons - no batteries necessary. Plus: a programmer has recreated the classic video game Doom inside an electronic pregnancy test. Technology is pretty versatile, isn't it?
Humans have been trying to figure out how to replicate plant photosynthesis for a long time - and we’ve had some successes, but a team at the University of Michigan has taken one of the biggest steps forward, with a process that uses metals as catalysts to turn light, carbon dioxide and water into methane. Plus: a company in Japan will make a personalized mask for you in the shape of your pet’s face.
There's work out of the University of Arizona that says solar arrays can be even more efficient if you grow food underneath the panels. And no, the panels don't block the plants from growing by taking all the sun. Plus: Chandler, Arizona is hosting the Rockin' Taco Street Fest, which finally combines the goodness of tacos with lucha libre pro wrestling.
