As we become increasingly aware of our impact on the environment, responsibility begs us to find a way to fix the problems we’ve created. There are some who fear our renewed interest in the stars and colonizing other planets. Fear that it’s some kind of insurance for just in case there comes a time where abandoning a sinking ship means leaving Earth for a better world. But perhaps the solution isn’t in trying to sweep everything under a massive rug–or into landfills and the like–but in taking our lemons and making not just lemonade, but apple juice out of it.
People have spent years trying to curb irresponsible behaviors person to person, and prevent businesses from scarring the planet with all forms of pollution through various incentives or restrictions. But some scientists are looking to complement those efforts not by ignoring pollution, but using it.
One of the most recent examples comes from MIT, where Media Lab graduate Anirudh Sharma has invented a way to turn collected soot into printer ink. Hailing from India, where heavy smog and soot are common in the bigger, more crowded cities, Sharma decided to create a device that can collect cities’ worst emissions and turn them into the very ink that fills books, magazines and more.
While his technology still has to pass toxicity tests for public use, he has so far been able to create HP inkjet ink that fill a cartridge in about an hour, and prints at 96 dpi resolution. He his project passes inspections, the cost of the ink will drop dramatically and allow for new ways to keep the environment clean while also benefiting the common person, from student to businessperson.
Another recent project comes from Kickstarter, where Studio Roosegaarde successfully crowdfunded an air purifying tower that turns smog into jewelry. Using their project to fund the Smog Free Movement with Smog Free Towers, Daan Roosegaarde and his team have designed technology that also takes the air pollution from modern cities and creates exclusive pieces of jewelry out of the carbon is filters out. Hoping to test their towers in cities like Beijing, Paris, Los Angeles and Mexico City, they hope they will garner enough attention to make their technology desirable all around the world.
But perhaps most impressive is the Janicki Omniprocessor, which turns human waste into clean drinking water and electricity.
This project, headed by Peter Janicki and Janicki Bioenergy, was funded by the Gates Foundation earlier this year and made waves with its ability to take feces and turn it into “delicious” drinking water and energy. Should all go well, they hope to use this technology all around the world to provide nourishment and electricity to impoverished cities and small third world villages.
But is this a good thing? While this kind of technology certainly leads to fantastic results, could it also encourage the actions that lead to their creation? Could it lead to a paradoxical reliance on pollution to take care of society? Could it enable those who create environmental problems to excuse themselves from responsibility?
There’s no denying that scientists and engineers developing ways to utilize pollution is probably the most useful alternative approach to cleaning up the environment that there is currently. Certainly in parts of the world where resources are scarce or the environment overly taxed, these kinds of technology will drastically change day to day life. Perhaps scientists taking a closer look at what ails the environment most and how to turn those into positive factors will not only change the planet for the better, but create a new relationship with our planet and impact the economy.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below and tell us your favorite waste converting solutions.
Sources: Gates Notes; Tree Hugger