Mumbai church turns tonnes of waste flowers to eco-friendly cooking fuel

Austria rolled out the KlimaTicket, an annual pass that gives the holder access to all forms of public transportation in the country, to encourage increased use of public transport with an eye toward climate change mitigation. The uptake has exceeded expectations with 134,000 tickets sold within just the first two months, but it's still unclear what effect the program will have on the country's carbon emissions.

In order to encourage people to properly dispose of their waste, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has installed smart vending machines for recyclable waste at Connaught Place and India Gate. In return for making the sustainable waste choice, users receive monetary rewards via e-wallet.

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

With the prices of solar technology dropping and the opportunity to save drastically on energy usage and costs, businesses and organizations across the country are investing more in solar infrastructure for their buildings and facilities. The Better Buildings Initiative of the US Department of Energy is helping by providing guidance and documenting effective approaches and financing for renewables installations - from hotels, to schools, to big box retail.

Funded by federal grant money, the state, and the Office of Naval Research, Hawaii County public transit has developed its first hydrogen-powered shuttle bus. What’s been called the “fuel of the future,” hydrogen fuel cells create a power source that’s only emissions are clean water vapor. While a seemingly viable and scalable clean-energy source, such development and infrastructure requires large financial investments that many states have yet to prioritize.

What do you get when you combine the efforts of an engineering company with an energy company? In the Netherlands, you get a new type of environmentally sustainable roads. PlasticRoads, a piloted initiative in the city of Zwolle, uses discarded plastic to build bike paths that help cut down on plastic waste.

Solar power is a great advancement for renewable energy, but traditionally relies on connecting to a grid in order to function correctly. So when hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, even those with solar panels lost access to electricity. A micro-grid offers an alternative solution, however, by relying on battery power.

Pennsylvania law is preventing a Philadelphia neighborhood from converting an empty lot into a solar farm, but community members are working to fight against this by citing neighboring states that are seeing positive impact from similar projects. One such project is in Massachusetts where shared solar energy systems is helping to offset "80 percent of the power needs of a nearby assisted living facility, an affordable housing development, a family-owned hardware store and a non-profit serving those with disabilities."

In Eskilstuna, Sweden, there is a different kind of shopping mall – one that sells used and upcycled goods. In an effort to combat consumerism and bolster sustainability, the mall, called ReTuna, is nicely curated and organized, making second-hand shopping mainstream. The mall sees 700 people each day, on average, and has sold nearly $3.5 million worth of items.

Solar energy is a clean, cheap, renewable, and land-efficient resource, making it a valuable technology to scale up in the face of climate concerns and clean energy. Diversifying the supply chain for creating and sourcing solar panels can help make solar energy more reliable when faced with geopolitical and human rights issues.