Do you love camping, but hate sleeping on the ground? Do you envy the lives of acorns and pinecones, getting to hang from a tree all day? Well have I got an invention for you.

It’s called the Tree Tent. Designed by Dutch sculptor Dré Wapenaar, the Tree Tent is a 13-foot tall ball that you hang from a tree. Its hardwood floor and round mattress lend an air of dignity to the zaniness of the Tree Tent.

Luckily, it only costs $50,000 to buy yourself one. At that price, I think I’d rather just hang a bag on a tree and crawl inside, but if I was super-rich, I might be tempted to get me one of these. If your bank vault is getting full, you can buy a Tree Tent here.

Arsenic in water is a big problem in the developing world. It can cause death within 30 minutes. Worse, it is usually odorless and flavorless, so it’s hard for people to detect. Luckily, Dr. Vicki Colvin, a professor of chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice University, has invented a very easy way to produce a “pollution magnet” that will pull arsenic out of water.

How to Make an Arsenic Magnet

Colvin’s process to make an arsenic magnet is very simple and cheap, which is great for developing countries. Here’s how to make an arsenic magnet:

1. Fry a teaspoon of rust in a mixture of oil and lye. This breaks the rust down into nano-sized pieces.
2. Use a magnet to pick up the rust dust.
3. Put rust-covered pollution magnet in water with arsenic.
4. Pull out arsenic.

The system is up to a hundred times more efficient than existing methods, and the simplicity (and cheapness) of its production means that even dirt-poor people can make these arsenic magnets.

Dr. Colvin’s arsenic magnet system could go global as soon as the next five years (if it passes governmental regulations). If her arsenic magnet is mass-produced, it could ease water (and arsenic) worries for millions of people in the developing world. For her invention, I have decided to award her the prestigious EcoJoes Eco-Hero award. Hear hear.

Americans throw out tons o’ tires each year.  In 2003, we threw out approximately 290 million scrap tires.  But the good news is, more and more are being recycled.  In 1990, only about 17% of our discarded tires were reused or recycled; by 2003, about 80.4% were being recycled.  Scrap tires can be used for many things, but until now, I did not know that they could be used for rubber sidewalks.

How Many Tires in Rubber Sidewalk?

It takes one tire to make about one square foot of rubber sidewalk.  That means that for every 400 square feet of rubber sidewalk made, two tons of scrap tires are kept out of the landfill!  Very good.

Who Invented Rubber Sidewalks?

I’m glad you asked.  Richard Valeriano, the Public Works Inspector for the city of Santa Monica, California, invented these.  His thinking was that they would be able to bend around growing tree roots, thus cutting down on the maintenance needed to keep the sidewalks up to snuff.  After testing the rubber sidewalks in Santa Monica for three years, they are now on the market.

Rubber Sidewalks Save Money

Yes, that is true.  When concrete sidewalks crack, they have to be entirely demolished and rebuilt.  So much money and time (and resources).  But with rubber sidewalks, they can be lifted for periodic tree root trimming and replaced at a fraction of the cost of concrete sidewalks.

Health Benefits of Rubber Sidewalks

With rubber sidewalks, there are no cracks where people can trip and get hurt.  Also, it is easier on the ol’ knees than walking/jogging on concrete sidewalks. 

I’d like to get a chance to check them out in person.  If anyone has tried them out, please let me know how rubber sidewalks made from recycled tires compare to old-school concrete sidewalks.

I recently found out about Litracon, and man does it seem like a great green invention. Blocks made of Litracon have the strength of standard concrete, but also have a system o’ embedded fiber optics that allow light to come through the blocks.

Litracon Inventor

Litracon was recently invented by Hungarian Áron Losonczi, who had this to say about his light-transmitting concrete: “Thousands of optical glass fibers form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two main surfaces of every block. Shadows on the lighter side will appear with sharp outlines on the darker one. Even the colours remain the same. This special effect creates the general impression that the thickness and weight of a concrete wall will disappear.”

Benefits of Litracon

You can even build very thick walls with Litracon, as the light can be transmitted up to 20 meters through the concrete with no loss of brightness. If more and more buildings begin using this technology, more natural light can be used to light offices and stores. This could lead to huge drops in the amount of electricity used to light buildings, since they’d be naturally lit during the day. Also, people who get exposure to the sun are generally happier and more productive, so that is another reason for businesses to use this light-transmitting concrete.

I’m excited to see if Litracon catches on in the construction world. If you know of any real-life examples of someone building with Litracon, please let me know.