We're slowly moving to a world where printing 3-D objects will be common. At which point one could steal real-object IP as well as movies and music. READ»
"Shrilk," made from proteins found in crustacean and insect shells, is strong, stretchy, and fully biodegradable. It may be how you carry your groceries home in the future.READ»
How long does it take for petroleum-based plastics to break down? Some say 500 years, but no one knows for sure. The scary truth is that they never completely disappear. But if you must consume plastic, you might as well put it to ...READ»
Usually, we're trying to keep plastic out of water sources, but it turns out that a little bit of plastic can go a long way in making contaminated water safer to drink.READ»
New technologies don't just recycle plastic into new plastic. Instead, they make oil from it. A new plant in Akron, Ohio plans to divert old bottles from landfills and churn out 80,000 barrels a year.READ»
Chances are, you've thrown out some plastic already today. And you're going to throw out a lot more. In fact, Americans generated 30 million tons of plastic waste in 2009. That's more than 12% of our total waste. Try as you might to ...READ»
Plastic is one of the great inventions of the 20th Century. But is it a half-formed innovation? We need to push the innovation of plastic further, and throw the current brand of plastic in the recycling bin. READ»
Researchers expend lots of energy (and money) hunting for environmentally gentle alternatives to plastic. But as Studio Formafantasma shows, the alternatives are already out there and they have been for centuries: You’ll find them ...READ»
Plastic doesn't have to end up in landfills or the ocean. It can be converted into energy (it's made of oil, after all). But do the risks outweigh the benefits?READ»
While dedicated e-readers are pretty likely to be eclipsed by full-featured tablet PCs, the tech that makes them tick--electronic paper--is likely to remain, thanks to its usefulness. And Sony's just boosted that fact with some new systems that are more flexible than their peers.READ»
Talk about the right marketing at the right time. Electrolux is taking advantage of our collective (and justified) fixation on the ocean by launching Vac from the Sea, an initiative that will turn plastic pollution from the ocean ...READ»
What happens when you bring together an artist, a marine biologist, and two futurists for an interactive art installation? The answer, on display this week at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, is Plastic Century, ...READ»
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a jumble of plastic trash that spans hundreds of miles northwest of Hawaii, has gotten lots of attention ever since billionaire adventurer and environmentalist David de Rothschild announced his plans ...READ»
At a time when extreme weather events seem to be relatively common, would you feel safe living in a home made out of recycled plastic? Affresol, a U.K. modular home designer, is betting on it. The company is launching a range of ...READ»
A mind-boggling 13 billion plastic
bottles are tossed in the trash or recycled each year. And while most plastics are recyclable, the resulting materials are limited to "second generation reuse" only--so anything made out of ...READ»
