Sustainability

Ideas like building apartment blocks that double as air-cleaning towers are becoming an increasingly entertain-able proposition. The latest metropolis to green-light such a project is Paris, which will welcome a new wooden structure to be shrouded in thousands of trees and plants.

​The gold, silver and bronze medals handed out at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games may also feature a hint of green, with the organizing committee launching an initiative to craft the awards with metals harvested from unused electronic devices.​

Google will run entirely on renewable energy next year, it says. The tech giant says it plans to buy enough wind and solar electricity to power all of its operations, including data centers and offices, as well as invest in the creation of new renewable energy sources.

An adventurous spirit landed German-born Alexander Wopper in the southern Chilean city of Valdivia 30 years ago, and it's that same spirit that emboldened him to breathe new life into the underused river that cuts right through its center.

The FIA Institute has awarded Formula E team Mahindra Racing "Progress Towards Excellence" status as part of its sustainability program. The accreditation recognizes the steps Mahindra is taking to minimize its environmental impact.

In an effort to demonstrate the use of a construction material that is more sustainable than common alternatives, Dutch students have constructed a 14-m (46-ft) long footbridge out of hemp and flax fibers. The so-called "biobridge" is to be located in Eindhoven and will open this week.

The International Living Futures Institute has awarded the first full certifications for its Living Product Challenge standard to a desk chair and a sit/stand desk. The scheme recognizes products that are sustainably produced, improve our quality of life, are beautifully designed and functional.

New research focusing on a coastal rainforest in Canada has found that human occupation over thousands of years is causing the region to flourish, with a penchant for shellfish and need for warmth a big part the reasons why.

There’s nothing like a good shit show to bring in the tourists. The Shit Museum, or Museo della Merda, is a research and data-collection institute set in a medieval castle in Northern Italy that houses documents and information on excrement in culture, technology, science and history.

The team behind the Green Village has been bending bamboo into spectacular luxury villas in the Balinese jungle for years, so New Atlas ventured into the island's heartland to see how the pioneering architects at Ibuku are changing perceptions of this wildly abundant material.

Earlier this year, Ford unveiled its brand new EcoBlue diesel engine with fanfare of efficiency facts and savings stats. The engine isn't just efficient to run, but to produce too, with the new production line at its Dagenham Diesel Centre said to cut energy and water use by 50 per cent.

On the way to buildings that act like “large-scale living organisms”, scientists at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) are developing smart bricks which make use of microbes to recycle wastewater, generate electricity and produce oxygen.