An Oregon group takes used Christmas trees and turns them into fish habitat. Can innovative ideas like these make us more sustainable?
Cassandra Profita
Can innovation save the planet? Ramez Naam thinks so.
The Seattle-based computer scientist is author of the book The Infinite Resource:The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet. Naam believes in the "power of innovation to overcome very real natural resource and environmental challenges that face us." He's speaking at Town Hall Seattle on Monday night.
Here’s a video of a presentation he did at Chicago Ideas Week:
Blogs like Inhabitat, EarthTechling and CleanTechnica are rooted in this intersection of science, tech and the environment.
In his Chicago talk, Naam proposes that instead of thinking we need to conserve or ratchet down our growth and resources consumption there’s another way. He says we have a wealth of renewable resources:
“Ideas, knowledge, technology -- those aren't depleted or consumed by usage. They grow and accumulate over time. Ideas are the ultimate multipliers of the value of any other resource we have. Through them we can grow richer while doing less damage.”
Ramez Naam Talk
Monday, September 9
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Town Hall Seattle
He goes on to give examples of how humans have innovated in different fields - such as agriculture and computer technology - somehow finding a way to make more with less. Whether or not you agree with Naam about not needing to conserve in order to sustain the planet, it is true that innovators are out there trying to help solve some of our environmental problems.
The environmental beat can be a world with lots of downers. (Cases in point: mosquito swarms coming out of a recently restored marsh wildlife refuge; the vanishing spotted frog is now being considered for endangered species listing; a dam near Tacoma which doesn't produce any power, but is producing tens of thousands of dead fish who can't pass through the river.) Solutions-oriented stories provide a nice counter to all the gloom of environmental reporting.
Here are some examples of such innovations reported on recently:
- An idea that came out of a contest looking for ideas on what to do with New York City's 12,000 public pay phones: turn them into EV chargers.
- The city of Tualatin, Ore., has turned a public swimming pool's parking lot into a 'parking forest' with permeable concrete and tree-friendly landscape. The lot reportedly now produces no stormwater runoff. None. Pretty impressive.
- Researchers in the Northwest are figuring out a way to make refrigerated trucks greener by replacing diesel cooling units with fuel cells.
- Dutch designers have come up with a fully electric scooter made of 'biocomposite' materials like hemp.
- In India, a social entrepreneur is deploying solar-powered 'water ATMs' to provide clean water to communities.
- Earlier this year Ecotrope did an inspiring series of profiles about 'Eco-Innovators' including a local 'community supported fishery' and a group who puts used Christmas trees to use as fish habitat.
Do you know of an innovator or entrepreneur working on a solution to some environmental conundrum? Share it with us below or send us an email.
_-- Toni Tabora-Roberts_
