Environmentally-friendly

According to NASA, US airlines could save up to 250 billion dollars between 2025 and 2050. It will all be thanks to green technology pioneered by the agency and industry partners, as part of NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project.

A new flow battery technology promises to drastically lower the cost and sustainability of running energy storage systems. The battery uses low-cost and sustainable organic materials for electrolytes rather than the usual commodity metals, and it could be retrofitted to existing batteries.

Standing at 12 meters (40 ft) tall, the Big Delta, reportedly the world's largest delta 3D printer, will be used to build houses quickly and, through using locally available materials, inexpensively.

Toyota and Hino Motors have begun testing a jointly-developed fuel cell bus in Tokyo, Japan. The brief test, which is taking place on public roads in the central and waterfront areas of the city, is designed to will help Toyota improve the technology ahead of a possible market launch.

Plastic carrier bags are typically petroleum-based, take a long time to decompose and are often imported from distant countries. They're also tricky to carry when cycling. The new PaperJohn tackles all of these issues. It's a backpack made of biodegradable, 100 percent recycled paper.

Australian Architect Stephen Sainsbury has spent decades researching materials to reduce environmental impact. This has culminated in the development of Ecoshelta’s prefabricated modular building system.

As electronic devices are becoming outdated at an increasingly fast pace, e-waste continues to be a huge problem. That's why scientists have started producing "wooden" semiconductor chips that could almost entirely biodegrade once left in a landfill.

In tropical countries such as the Philippines, there are plenty of rice husks ... and also plenty of termites. A group of engineering students recently decided to use the former to address the latter, by creating termite-resistant particleboard from rice husks.

If you're trying to save power, you generally don't leave your lights on all night. With a few exceptions, however, that's what cities do with their streetlights. A Spanish team is addressing that situation, with a stand-alone streetlight that runs off of both solar and wind power.

Increasing numbers of people are outfitting their homes with sustainable technology, and the resulting boom in sustainable building is driving new levels of architectural innovation. Gizmag highlights ten remarkably innovative sustainable houses.

At this year’s American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo in Houston, BYD Motors amended the record books as it premiered what it claims is the world’s largest battery electric vehicle.

The cities of the future are envisioned as green oases powered by clean, renewable energy. A joint Chinese-Singaporean project hopes to provide a case study for just such cities. Binhai Eco City is designed to be an example of how cities can be completely green developments.