Inventions That Can Help Make Life Sustainably Green

Many people have made New Year’s resolutions to live their lives in a greener, more sustainable manner. If you are wondering how to make your life more sustainable and green, there are numerous ways you can go about doing this. You can add solar panels to your home, put up a wind turbine in your backyard, opt to drive an electric or hybrid vehicle, grow your own food and more.

The problem is not everyone is interested in making such dramatic changes, or more importantly, not everyone can afford to make major sustainable upgrades. Fortunately, there are a few cool inventions that can help make almost anyone’s life more sustainable.

Sustainable Designs Greening the Individual and Home

Eco-Friendly Water Bottle: This particular water bottle is designed to heat your drink simply by shaking it. So, no matter where you are or what you are doing, you can have a warm drink thanks to this innovative bottle. The “Warm Tech Bottle” is also a reusable container, so it saves on waste as well as saving on energy.

Tea Kettle Alternative: This alternative tea kettle runs cooler than a traditional kettle, is easier to clean and is more eco-friendly. With this tea kettle, you won’t be wasting energy or gas on heating extra water. You simply heat the exact amount you need. In reality, it’s a portable induction stove with a cool twist. Making a little honey, lemon water to soothe a sore throat, or a cup of tea on a cold winter day is easy with this invention.

Low-Tech Water Collector:  Conserving water is extremely important, particularly in many drought-stricken areas around the world. This cool, low-tech water collector (the Gris) can be placed on the floor of any shower. According to inventor, his device can collect close to 95 percent of the dirty or “gray” water, so it can be used elsewhere. Another helpful feature is the water collector can be separated into different pieces to allow for easier transportation. Lawns, toilets, gardens and even indoor plants can all thrive on collected and reused water.

Copenhagen Wheel: With the Copenhagen Wheel any bicycle can be transformed into a smart hybrid, electric bike. With this cool invention, riders will be able to increase their pedal power by up to 10x. There’s no real complexity to it. You simply put on the tire, connect it up and start riding. Think of how many people would opt for this eco-friendly form of transportation, if their bicycle gave them a little extra help.

Green Plus® Liquid Fuel Catalyst: Green Plus is a liquid fuel catalyst people can use to help reduce the pollution in the air being generated by their vehicle’s harmful emissions. This particular product has also been proven to increase fuel economy and improve engine power. Using Green Plus in your vehicle can help you drive greener and cleaner. There is even a Green Plus product designed to significantly reduce home heating oil costs.

Sustainable Inventions for the Workplace or Urban Settings

Wind Tree Turbines: These silent wind tree turbines are a innovative way to beautify energy production and spruce up urban areas throughout your city or town. While it’s not necessarily as green as a tree, these tree turbines are taking wind energy production to a new, far more artistic level. Reduced noise, no significant obstruction of view and less harmful to local birds and other wildlife are just a few of the benefits.

Eco-Friendly Cement Substitute: Who would have ever thought waste steel dust could be used to make a sustainable and stronger cement substitute? Well, it can. Turning waste into new materials and products is a great example of sustainability.

Poo-Powered Bus:  While a poo-powered bus may not necessary sound like a great idea, rest assured it is not the stinky idea you might have believed it to be. Scientific American reports that humans produce an average of 360 pounds of poop per year. Rather than simply disposing of this human waste, the UK has opted to convert it into biomethane and use it to fuel it’s new “bio bus.” Just think, if biomethane-fueled buses take hold, we could see “Number 2” buses popping up across the globe.

Now, not all of these items may have arrived to your area or hit the market quite yet, but the future does look promising. These inventions just go to show that there are countless ways to go about living a greener, more sustainable life.

Solar wind image by Vik Walker via Flickr Creative Commons license.