As the heart of the festive season fast approaches, we think it’s time to review the top 10 most read good news stories we’ve published in 2012, as voted by your pageviews. There is of course always plenty of bad news to go around, but hey, who really wants to read a lot bad news at this time of year? Besides, we are all about working towards a positive future here at The9Billion.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to extend a very big thank you to all those who have visited and supported The9Billion thoughout the year. We would not have been able to carry on for this second year without you.
Now, as far as sustainability goes, and especially clean technology, there have been quite a few good news stories this year, so let’s get right to the roundup.
10. Former McDonald’s CEO Opens Healthy, Sustainable Fast Food Chain
Mike Roberts, former president and CEO of McDonald’s, has co-founded a restaurant called LYFE Kitchen, aiming to bring a health-conscious approach to the fast food world.
9. Wind Turbines That Produce Water From Desert Air
What do you do when you’re in the desert and in dire need of drinking water? According to Eole Water, it’s wind turbines that could be the secret to creating water with dry desert air.
8. NASA Releases Blue Marble 2012: ‘Most Amazing HD Image Of Earth Ever’
NASA has released a new Blue Marble image of Earth. NASA says it’s the “most amazing, highest resolution image of Earth ever†(see feature image above).
7. The Printable House: Made With A Computer, A ‘Printer’, And Plywood
Armed with only a computer, a printer, and 820 sheets of plywood, Danish architects Frederik Agdrup and Nicholas Bjorndal, and collaborators Facit Homes, were able to construct a 1,345 square foot (125 square meter) home. The new “printable house†called Villa Asserbo is located in a forest North of Copenhagen and took only 4 weeks to build.
6. World’s Biggest Solar Power Plant Fires Up
In Andalusia, Spain, the world’s biggest solar power plant has fired up. The solar plant, Andasol, includes and incredible 600,000 parabolic mirrors, all electronically following the sun on its daily path across the sky. The lines of solar mirrors cover an area about the size of 210 football fields.
5. Underwater Skyscrapers Could Turn Pacific Garbage Patch Into Energy
A group of Serbian architects have created a concept for some underwater skyscrapers. The concept is called the Lady Landfill Skyscraper, and it’s proposed that a number of them could be placed near in garbage patch zone to collect trash and turn it into energy.
4. It Has Begun: 51 Percent Of German Renewable Energy Is Owned By Citizens
Recently we reported that, for a highly industrialized country, an impressive 20 percent of Germany’s electricity now comes from renewable resources. Now, even more impressively, it has been pointed out that 51 percent of renewable energy generation in Germany is owned by the country’s citizens, not by power utility companies.
3. Construction Begins For Plantagon Vertical Farm In Sweden
Although vertical farming has been talked about for over a decade, technical barriers have prevented construction of these unique urban farming solutions. But for the new Swedish company Plantagon, vertical farming is no longer an elusive architectural feat. In fact,construction has just begun on the Plantagon vertical farm in Linköping, Sweden, with the hopes that urban dwellers will soon be enjoying food produced on a large-scale in their very own city.
2. A Huge 3D Printer Can Build A Custom, Enviro-Friendly House In 20 Hours
Are huge 3D printers the future of construction? In the embedded TEDx video, Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis from USC explains and demonstrates how building customized, eco-friendly houses with large 3D printers is not only possible, he and his team are already showing how it can be done.
1. MIT Invents Simple New Way To Clean Up Oil Spills: Magnetic Liquids
A team of MIT researchers has developed a new, less chemically-invasive way to separate oil from water that could be used to clean up oil spills in the future.
So there you have it, some of most read good news stories we’ve published in 2012. Thanks again for visiting The9Billion throughout the year, and we look forward to continuing to bring you many more good news stories in 2013.
Image CC licensed by Jumanji Solar
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