Good News, Planet Earth! - August 2020

There are innovators all over the globe who are working to understand what this world needs and helping to create new solutions for it. Since everyone has their own unique set of skills, passions, and understandings, when we work together, we can make unbelievable creations that are needed to save lives. With a focus on collaboration, supporting others and believing in ourselves, we could do what is now thought of as impossible.

This world needs human systems to change, now more than ever before, if we want future generations to enjoy a livable planet. Thankfully, all kinds of creators are aware of this challenge. Many are working endlessly to find new ways to support life sustainably.

I hope these innovations from August are a reminder that a future of living sustainably is possible, so long as we believe it’s possible.

This New German Car Is Covered With Solar Panels and Charges as It Drives

By Andy Corbley – Aug 12, 2020

Photo : Sono Motors GmbH

• Sono Motors presented Sion, a car covered entirely in solar panels, providing enough power to drive more than the average daily commute in Germany

• Sion’s surface may look ordinary, but it generates up to 34 km (21 miles) of driving power each day

• Sono Motors also developed an app that allows people to share rides and share their vehicles

• The Sion has a bidirectional charging function, so you can charge other electric cars, or any electronic devices while you’re away from home

This Good News shows the beginnings of a future where there’s no need to stop at a gas station, pay for gas, or worry about your driving harming the environment, because your car charges itself with clean energy as it drives.

Algae-Based, Biodegradable Flip Flops Are Built to Go the Distance

By Nick Lavars – Aug 9, 2020

Photo : Stephen Mayfield, UC San Diego

• A team at UC San Diego helped create a pair of flip-flops from algae that are as durable as commercial footwear, but biodegrade in the environment in only 16 weeks

• Following years of experimentation, this team created an algae-based foam that material science startup Algenesis was able to turn into strong, long-lasting flip flops that are fully recyclable

This Good News shows the creation of yet another plastic product that is sustainable to create, biodegradable in environmental elements, and will soon make fossil-fuel based plastic a thing of the past.

Beautiful Mural in Warsaw Eats Up Smog, Purifying The Air Equal to 720 Trees

By Andy Corbley – Aug 15, 2020

Photo : Good Looking Studio

• Warsaw, Poland became the most recent city to add public art projects that clean city air through paint made with sun-activated, smog-clearing pigments

• This paint attracts pollutants in the air and transforms them into harmless nitrates when exposed to sunlight, purifying the air equal to 720 trees

• As a part of Converse’s City-Forests campaign, these murals will be spread across several countries, purifying the air as much as 3,000 trees would

• The murals will also include positive messages, such as “Create Together for Tomorrow”, and positive images, such as these smiling flowers

• Daan Roosegaarde originally used this photocatalytic nanotechnology on a series of billboards in Mexico, and since then this paint has been used in several projects all over the world

This Good News is a beautiful combination of art meeting technology to brighten people’s days through positive artwork while also creating a healthier environment by purifying the air of cities all over the world.

This California Highway Has Just Become the First State Road Made From Recycled Plastic in the US

By McKinley Corbley – Aug 30, 2020

Photo : Caltrans District 3 @CaltransDist3

• Sustainable landscaping company TechniSoil partnered with California’s Department of Transportation to transform 150,000 single-use plastic bottles into pavement for a one-mile stretch of road

• Their eco-friendly, 100% recycled plastic road formula is 2-3 times more durable than traditional pavement made of asphalt, and generates 90% less greenhouse gas emissions

• Technisoil is now working on launching plastic road projects all across California, and other countries around the world are now building roads out of used plastic

This Good News gives a great example of how we can upcycle plastic waste, so that once we stop producing fossil-fuel based plastic, we will be able to collect the plastic waste seen all over the world, remove it from our environments, and put it to good use, eliminating the need for asphalt in our roads.

Nigerian Entrepreneur Invents Giant Solar-Powered Refrigerators That Cut Spoilage to Help Farmers Earn 25% More

By Andy Corbley – Aug 17, 2020

Photo : ColdHubs

• Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu created the transformative technology ColdHubs, a solar powered refrigerator for off-grid areas that provides reliable, autonomous, 24/7 refrigeration in all weather conditions

• In West Africa’s humidity and heat, fruits and vegetables can only survive about two days, but these fridges significantly reduce this spoilage and will allow farmers and food sellers to receive much higher profits

• ColdHubs has installed 24 Hubs, saved over 20,000 tons of food from spoiling, and employed 48 women to provide service to the fridges

• The fridges only cost $1/day to rent, extending the life of fruits and veggies from 2 to 21 days, saving its many users days of work

• These fridges will save millions from nutritional deficiencies and save countless lives from food insecurity

This Good News is a great example of an innovation that solves several problems at once, providing better access to healthy foods in areas that need it most, which will eventually allow for an incredible amount of advancement in off-grid areas around the world.