theoxygenproject-top-15-inventions-that-could-save-the-planet-today (2).pdf

15 MIND-BLOWING INVENTIONS THAT
COULD SAVE THE PLANET
By: Lauren Pezzullo / July 11, 2020
1. Organic Burial Pods
Cemeteries are a grave business—and
not just because of what lies six feet
under.
Each year,
4 million acres of hardwood forest are
cut down to construct wood for caskets,
and cemetery lawns are then continually watered and synthetically fertilized.
But two Italian artists are rethinking the way we do our burials—and it’s
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actually quite beautiful. The Capsule Mundi is a biodegradable burial pod
that allows your body to become the ‘seed’ of a new tree when you die. Not
only does your death create new life, but the tree serves as a living memorial
to your life as well— it’s a much more beautiful tribute than a concrete slab.
2. Plastic-Free, Edible Flight Meal Trays
humans still find a way to generate
unnecessary waste. In fact, passenger
flights accumulate 5.7 million tons of
garbage per year, between one-time-use
plastics, food waste, and more. That’s
why the eco-friendly flight meal trays
from design studio PriestmanGoode are such a blessing for the aviation
industry—and our collective carbon footprint. The trays are biodegradable,
plastic-free, commercially compostable, and even feature edible packaging,
such as reusable dishes made from wheat bran, lids made from banana
leaves, and utensils made from coconut wood.
3. Plastic-Eating Caterpillars
Cambridge University researchers
discovered that moth larvae can chew
through plastic. It’s a breakthrough
discovery because plastic waste makes
up around 40% of the world’s ocean
surfaces. It also endangers marine life—
including fish, sea birds, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and seals—who are
injured or killed after accidentally consuming or becoming trapped in plastic.
Although they’re tiny, these little superheroes are equipped with bio-
degrading powers that could be key in helping reduce plastic waste—an
ecological must for saving our oceans.
4. Biodegradable Coolers
Hate that squeaky, nails-on-a-chalkboard sound styrofoam makes? Well,
turns out the much-hated material is just as bad for the environment as it is
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Even when we’re high up in the sky, we
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for our ears. Styrofoam is really just Dow Chemical’s trademarked name for
extruded polystyrene – a foam that contributes to greenhouse gases, doesn’t
degrade for hundreds of years, and can potentially kill turtles, fish, and other
creatures, who mistake it for food.
Thankfully, you can continue to keep
your drinks cold while also being good
to the environment. Igloo has created a
biodegradable cooler made from paraffin
wax and recycled paper called RECOOL
. Because it’s water resistant, it can be reused many times, and once it’s no
longer usable, it can be composted, recycled, or used for dry storage.
Why buy traditional leather when you
can choose cruelty-free leather that
lasts just as long? Two business owners
from Mexico launched Desserto, the first
vegan leather made from nopal (prickly
pear) cactus. The sustainable
alternative to traditional leather is free of the toxic chemicals and phthalates
that pollute our oceans after entering waterways. Plus, the cactus-leaf-
turned-leather is flexible, breathable, and will last for ten years or more,
making it just as durable as traditional leather—and much better for the
environment.
6. Solar-Powered Glow-in-the-Dark Bicycle Path
Poland is no stranger to bike-friendly
cities—and with solar-powered glow-in-
the-dark bike lanes, their cities could
become even safer for cyclists at night.
Created by a Pruszków research
institute, these luminous cycling strips
are made from blue luminophores, a
synthetic material that emits light after being charged by the sun. The solar-
powered strips beam light for ten hours at a time—which means they glow all
night without needing an additional power supply.
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5. Partially Biodegradable Vegan Leather

7. Drainage Pipe Nets
Kwinana, Australia has
introduced a simple yet genius
way of combatting water
pollution. Nets placed around
storm water drainage pipes act
as traps for trash and plastic,
catching it before it makes its
way to the city’s waterways. Once full, the nets are driven to a waste
management facility, where they’re separated into recyclable and non-
recyclable materials. Within the first three months, the nets caught a
whopping 815 pounds of garbage. Because polluted waterways are
dangerous for humans and wildlife, and have long-lasting effects on the
environment, we hope more cities will get on board with this simple yet
powerful solution to pollution!
8. ‘Living’ Chandelier
Move over glass chandeliers. One UK engineer
and biotechnologist has created the blueprint for
environmental elegance with a lighting design
that is both beautiful and eco-friendly. The living
chandelier is made with algae-filled leaves,
which purify the air by absorbing carbon dioxide
and releasing oxygen. While this chandelier is
still in a prototype phase, the designer is
working hard to apply the concept of
photosynthesis to larger buildings, giving them the opportunity to shrink their
carbon footprints, too.
9.
Sneakers & Sportswear Made From Plastic Ocean
Waste
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The future of footwear is here, and it has a name—the Adidas Futurecraft
Loop. In 2015, the sportswear giant partnered with the environmental
organization Parley for the Oceans to turn marine pollution into footwear with
these 100% recyclable shoes. Once worn out, you can return your sneakers
to Adidas, who will reuse their materials
to manufacture new one. Their goal is to
make 11 million pairs of shoes with
recycled ocean plastic—and considering
that the clothing industry is the second-
largest polluter in the world, this is a
giant step toward sustainable fashion.
10. Solar-Powered RV
RV company Dethleffs has found a way
to make your next road trip cheaper and
safer for the environment. Their solar-
powered RV harnesses the power of the
sun for energy, which means no fuel or
charging station is necessary to get you
where you need to go. The 3,000 watts of energy last for 100 miles, at which
point you both get to stop and soak up some sun before setting out for more
adventure.
11. Vertical Forest
planner is paving paradise for
a parking lot. He’s the designer
of global vertical forests —
buildings covered with
pollution-absorbing trees and
plants. His latest project is based in the Egyptian desert, and it’s the first
vertical forest on the African continent. The trees, plants, and shrubs on the
building’s terraces absorb harmful carbon dioxide and produce more oxygen,
while also creating habitats for birds and insects.
12. A Concept for Removing Ocean Plastics
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One Italian architect and urban

Greta Thunberg isn’t the only teenager whose environmental activism is
helping lead the way for climate justice action. Fionn Ferreira, an 18-year-old
from Ireland, won the 2019 Google Science Fair grand prize for his project,
which aims to remove
microplastics from our oceans.
His innovative method uses
ferrofluid – a magnetic liquid that
attracts plastic particles by
removing them from water. After
close to one thousand tests, his
method successfully removed nearly 88% of the microplastics from the water
samples. Fionn plans to apply his design towards larger bodies of water in
the future, in order to help remove microplastics in our oceans worldwide.
13.
Plastic-Made Roads That Last 10x as Long as
Asphalt
Why send more plastic to the
landfills when you can pave new
roads with it instead? That’s
exactly what UK-based company
MacRebur is doing. Their
renewable asphalt—a mix of
industrial and consumer plastic
waste—replaces the oil-based sealing material that holds asphalt together in
roads. The result? A newly improved asphalt that’s 60% stronger, more
durable, and—most importantly—eco-friendly.
14. Fully Transparent Solar Cell
Researchers at Michigan State
University have designed a
technology called a transparent
luminescent solar concentrator, which
could revolutionize the future of
green energy. Transparent materials
are inherently incapable of producing
energy, since light passes through
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them, rather than being absorbed. And that’s why traditional solar panels are
black and roof-mounted, in order to accommodate the bulky weight. However,
the MSU researchers have created see-through solar materials that can be
applied to any window or sheet of glass. This enormous source of previously
untapped energy holds the power to drastically reduce fossil fuel
dependence for new construction, making solar cities and transportation a
very real possibility in the near future.
Hemp is a naturally beneficial
material for manufacturing rope,
clothing, textiles, paper, and
insulation—but that’s not all it’s good
for. An Australian biotech company
has shared its plans for a line of 3D-
printed homes made from the cannabis plant material. The plans include
floors, walls, and roofs made from hemp biomass, in addition to transparent
solar materials that will allow sunlight to pass through windows, while also
converting it to energy. As more builders and architects incorporate
sustainable materials like hemp, we move toward a homebuilding industry—
and future—that’s more energy-efficient than we thought possible.
Looking for more ways to live a low-impact lifestyle? Check out our blog for
tips on how to make packing for your next trip environmentally friendly, no
matter where you travel!
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15. 3D-Printed Hemp Houses

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