In 2004, all waste generated in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital went to landfill. Presently, Ljubljana diverts 80% of its refuse from the landfill. Furthermore, 68% of this waste gets recycled.
Ljubljana won the title of the 2016 European Green Capital award. This was a major win because Ljubljana was the only nominee out of the 5 finalists without an incineration plant.
The Makoko Floating School was an idea inspired by the bustling water community of Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria. Kunlé Adeyemi completed the pilot project in March 2013. Kunlé and his team of architects and designers at NLÉ have collaborated with various partners around the world. From Venice in Italy, Bruges in Belgium and Chengdu in…
Sharklet antibacterial armour is a great example of science and technology inspired by nature. Sharks are the world’s largest fish, primarily thought of as fierce aquatic predators. In contrast to other large marine animals, sharks are resistant to fouling organisms in the water including algae and barnacles. Nanoscopic diamond-shaped scales called dermal denticles cover shark’s…
Imagine paper that is tear resistant, water resistant, bleach and acid free, bright white in colour and no trees were harmed to make this paper. The manufacturing process has a lower carbon footprint than with traditional paper. Well no need to imagine it. This paper is made from recycled stone.
A father from Henan, a central province in China makes toys using low cost materials. Using cardboard boxes, bottles, wood skewers, elastic bands, bottle caps, marbles and a whole lot of imagination. His goals was to encourage his daughter to spend less time in-front of a screen. The result was more quality time with his 5…
In 2018, Professor Gérard Mourou (École Polytechnique) and Professor Donna Strickland (University of Waterloo) jointly won half of the Nobel Prize in Physics for ground breaking inventions in laser physics. “For their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.” Chirped Pulses Professor Mourou and Strickland’s technique uses Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), which they initially imagined…
Hydrogen Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. The power source that most stars burn to produce energy. First observed by Paracelsus around 1525 when experimenting with metals and acids. In 1766, Henry Cavendish isolated a gas 7-11 times lighter than air. Antoine Lavoisier named hydrogen in 1783, Greek for born…