All posts by zap-editor

03. singing forests

o. When You’re Done Reading This Book, It Grows Into A Tree

WHEN YOU’RE DONE READING THIS BOOK, IT GROWS INTO A TREE

FCB&FiRe; Buenos Aires, Argentina
2015, 1 min 59 sec

We humans are notorious for hoarding books that we’re really only going to read once. And while it’s nice to think that all those trees weren’t cut down in vain because they give us lasting memory of a positive literary experience, it’s about time we think about some more sustainable options. E-books are one great solution, but what about when your kid wants something tangile to read?

Enter Mi Papá Estuvo en la Selva (My Father Was In the Jungle), from Argentinian publisher, Pequeno Editor. This childen’s book can be buried in the ground when you’re done with it to grow a brand new jacaranda tree – a native Argentinian species. Printed with non-toxic ink and jacaranda seeds embedded into the pages, the book is a cute little reminder about how easy it is to give something back to the environment that provides us with so much.

“Before planting the book, kids water the cover to help the seeds germinate, and leave it in a sunny spot indoors,” says Adele Peters at Fast Company. “Once the seeds have sprouted, the book can go in a garden or in the dirt next to a road or sidewalk.”

Sure, the idea isn’t going to change the world any time soon, because publishers don’t want to discourage us from hoarding their books, but it’s one of a growing range of products that promote new ways of thinking about sustainability on an individual level. And it’s not about devaluing the actual book either, as Raquel Franco, editorial director of Pequeno Editor, told Peters:

“We especially encourage re-reading it. We think this book must be planted after it has been read many times, in such a way that every time a kid looks at that growing tree he will perfectly remember the story that gave birth to it. It’s also a metaphor – everything we read also takes root in us and is part of our mental library, our culture, of who we are as people.”

08. climate

f. Vertical Forest

ASIA’S FIRST-EVER VERTICAL FOREST WILL PRODUCE 132 POUNDS OF OXYGEN EACH DAY

News Exposed
2017, 2 min 31 sec

It’s a good job that these vertical forests in Nanjing, China are going to produce 132 pounds (60kg) of oxygen every day, because they’ll literally take your breath away when you see them. They’re called the Nanjing Towers, and once they’re complete in 2018 they’ll be Asia’s first ever vertical forests. Designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, each tower will stand 656ft and 354ft respectively, and between them they’ll house over 1,000 trees and approximately 2,500 shrubs from 23 different local species. The taller tower will contain offices, a museum, a green architecture school and a rooftop club, while the smaller tower will house a rooftop pool and a 247-room Hyatt hotel. Balconies will afford visitors stunning views of the dizzying vertical forests that are intended to help regenerate local biodiversity. These aren’t the first vertical forests that Stefano has designed however. Two have already been built in Milan and similar buildings have been planned for Lausanne, Switzerland. In an increasingly polluted world, these green designs are a real breath of fresh air.

9c. wind

b. New Wind Turbine Design

NEW WIND TURBINE DESIGN
CAN TRIPLE ENERGY PRODUCTION

Kyushu University, Next World TV; Fukuoka, Japan
2011, 4 min 22 sec

A new wind turbine design is being developed at the Kyushu University in Japan. They look more like giant round fans with a diffuser that accelerates wind flow as it enters the turbine. They call them Windlands Turbines and generate 2 to 3 times the power of conventional turbines. Inventor Yuji Ohya believes that these turbines, when implemented on a large scale, can replace nuclear power.

9d. water

b. Water as Fuel Unlocked by Frequency Resonance

WATER AS FUEL UNLOCKED BY FREQUENCY RESONANCE

John Kansas
2010, 2 min 23 sec

Salt water’s oxygen hydrogen bonds can be broken in many ways resulting in high energy outputs that are stored in water. Since water contains an enormous amount of energy, the potentials are endless. This video demonstrates a single method of water bond breaking using radio frequency.

10. educology

b. The Barefoot College

THE BAREFOOT COLLEGE

Responsible Business, www.barefootcollege.org
2011, 6 min 38 sec

Established in 1972, the Barefoot College is a non-government organization that has been providing basic services and solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years, with the objective of making them self-sufficient and sustainable. These Barefoot solutions can be broadly categorized into the delivery of solar electrification, clean water, education, livelihood development (health care, rural handicrafts and communication) and activism.

10. educology

c. Growing a Model Sustainable Campus

GROWING A MODEL SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS: UMASS PERMACULTURE

UMass Permaculture, The University of Massachusetts; Amherst, USA
2012, 5 min 19 sec

This video summarizes the first two years of the Umass Permaculture Initiative which successfully designed and installed two permaculture ecosystems on the Umass Amherst campus in Massachusetts. It started out as a collaborative effort amongst students, staff, faculty and local community volunteers. Their aim is to plant a new permaculture-designed landscape each year to provide education to students, the campus community and to create an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable campus.

9d. water

c. Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

MAN MAKES DRINKING WATER OUT OF THIN AIR

5 KSDK.com, Granite Shoals, USA
2011, 1 min 48 sec

Water out of air? A Texas man has invented a machine that does just that, and it’s already caught the eye of some celebrities. “It’s just an awesome machine,” says inventor Terry LeBleu. The drought doesn’t worry him because he’s invented and patented a new machine. It’s called the “Drought Master” and makes drinkable water out of air. “It pulls the air through it, pulls out the moisture, and exhausts the air,” LeBleu says. Depending on humidity, the machine can make between five to seven gallons of pure water in one day. All you have to do is plug it in, and one gallon costs only 4 cents in electrical charges. An independent lab took samples of LeBleu’s water and found it had no bacteria and is free of metals. Lab techs say it’s similar to distilled water. Willie Nelson owns 50 of these machines, including an indoor version. Even Texas Governor Rick Perry owns one. But LeBleu wants his invention to benefit local farmers and ranchers. “It is good emergency water. Let’s say the power goes out of whatever. Once this thing fills up, it cuts off. It has a bubbler inside that keeps the water moving all the time,” LeBleu says. The machine is quieter than a refrigerator, and you only have to wash the filter every few years. Building one takes only two hours. The oldest model made is still up and running. It’s been functioning for a decade.

9d. water

d. A New Approach to Water Desalination

A NEW APPROACH TO WATER DESALINATION

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
2012, 1 min 48 sec

The availability of fresh water is dwindling in many parts of the world, a problem that is expected to grow with populations. One promising source of potable water is the world’s virtually limitless supply of seawater, but so far desalination technology has been too expensive for widespread use. Now, MIT researchers have come up with a new approach using a different kind of filtration material: sheets of graphene, a one-atom-thick form of the element carbon, which they say can be far more efficient and possibly less expensive than existing desalination systems.