How To Make Hydropower More Environmentally Friendly

To the two social entrepreneurs who founded nonprofit Feedback, the massive amounts of food waste being tossed into landfills in the UK and USA each year was a mounting challenge that required a creative solution. So they founded Toast Ale, a craft brewing company that not only reduced food waste by using unwanted bread from bakeries to brew their ales, but helps bring awareness to the issue through the brand, which is growing in popularity.

Although solar installations have been on the rise, it's often those that could most benefit from this renewable energy source that can't access it. The Darebin City Council in Australia recognized this challenge faced by very low-income households, and began what is now known as the Solar Saver program. Although it initially began as a way to help these families cut electricity costs, it is now focused on making solar more accessible by providing no cost installations and a 10-year payment plan that ultimately helps the families cut costs.

American cows are not typically made to withstand the warmer summers occurring across the United States. To combat the negative side effect of a decrease in milk production, farmers are trying solutions such as using fans and misting water and even going so far as to create a new breed of cow.

As technology advances, so does the electronic waste that it produces as people throw out their old products to make way for the new ones. To reduce their e-waste footprint and keep the materials out of landfills, companies such as Dell are pushing for closed-loop recycling – a process that reuses the recycled product to make the same product again.

With climate change warming agriculture lands, many communities are losing ground for farming. In one Guatemalan indigenous community, this resulted in many children becoming malnourished. The community rallied together to make changes that included taking advantage of the warmer weather and learning new techniques for diversifying their crops and conserving water.

As cities grapple with higher temperatures, state and local governments are looking for ways to play a larger role in combatting the impacts. Throughout the United States, some of the entities are turning their attention towards solutions that make road more heat-resistant.

Aiming to improve road conditions and cut down on plastic waste, a Scottish engineer found a way to blend the two. After testing a series of different recipes, he found the perfect recipe that is now being used across United Kingdom and the Gulf, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The invasive prickly pear cactus is spreading over grazing lands in Kenya and is harming herders’ livestock. So a local environmental science graduate is testing a system to turn the cacti into biogas. While the system can be expensive to install, the gas can be used for cooking and fertilizer, which can free up time for pastoralists and reduce the amount of firewood used. The graduate is training eight women’ groups to use the system.

Localscapes is a program in Utah promoting more water-efficient landscaping. The program includes state-based horticulturists, landscape professionals, and water experts who help interested people make the most sustainable use of their yards and lawns. "The program focuses on five techniques: a central open space, gathering areas, activity zones, paths and planting beds."

Sausages made of fish processing waste and other bait alternatives are under development in Canada as members of the fishing industry work to save the declining populations of popular lobster bait fish like mackerel and herring.