Latest posts
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Pivot Irrigation in Africa: Green Circles Against Food Insecurity
Fly over farmland in a dry region, and you may spot perfect green circles in the sand. These are pivot fields. Pivot irrigation is a modern, low-waste way to water crops, and it is spreading fast across Africa. The idea is simple: a long sprinkler arm turns around a central point, so water reaches every…
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Climate Change and Sustainability: The Role of Plants on Wellbeing Indoors
We spend about 90% of our lives indoors. Meanwhile, climate change pushes us inside even more, into cooled offices and heated homes. So the question matters: what do plants do for us in there? The honest answer has two parts. First, plants do not clean your indoor air — that is a myth. However, they…
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Climate Change and Sustainability: The Role of Trees in Urban Landscaping
No machine cools a street like a tree does. Meanwhile, our cities keep getting hotter, wetter and more polluted. In an era of climate change, that matters more each year. So planners everywhere are rediscovering the oldest piece of climate technology we have. In a city, large trees especially do a lot of good —…
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Climate Change and Sustainability: The Role of Green Roofs in Urban Landscaping
Cities feel climate change first. To begin with, summers grow hotter and cloudbursts grow heavier. Meanwhile, most cities are covered in stone, asphalt and bare roofs. That is a problem, but also an opportunity. After all, every flat roof is unused space. However, cover it with plants, and it starts working for the city. In…
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The Watercone: Six Glasses of Drinking Water from One Sunny Day
Big problems do not always need big machines. The Water Pyramid makes drinking water for a whole village. However, its tiny German cousin serves just one family: the Watercone. This small cone of clear plastic sits on a pan of salt or dirty water. Sunlight does the rest. One cone yields about 1 to 1.5…
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Flower Fashion: Cloud Dancer, Colour of the Year 2026
Once a year, Pantone selects the colour of the year. This colour should capture the mood of the moment across the world. To find it, Pantone studies trends in fashion, art, travel, technology and society. For 2026, the choice is special. For the first time ever, the colour of the year is a white: Cloud…
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Flower Fashion: Salix with Pink-Red Catkins
Fluffy pink catkins: so cute, and so hot. Everybody loves silky willow catkins. When you see them, you simply want to touch them. And here is the good news: they also come in a lovely pink-red. Moreover, the colour is 100% natural. No dye or paint is involved at any stage. When this article first…
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Contour Trenching: Just Dig, and the Desert Turns Green
Can a simple ditch bring a desert back to life? Yes, it can. Dutch inventor Peter Westerveld proved it in Africa. His method is called contour trenching. You dig trenches in dry land, and they catch the rain. As a result, plants return — even in places with less than 100 mm of rain per…
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The Waterboxx: A Passive Tree Growing Method
How do you grow a tree in a desert, without any drip line or water truck? Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff found a simple answer: the Waterboxx. This smart bucket collects dew and rain. Then it feeds that water to a tree sapling, drop by drop. Today, his invention has helped plant 2,000,000 trees in 55…
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The Water Pyramid: Drinking Water from Sunlight – Then and Now
Lack of water threatens drinking water and food crops in many warm regions. However, Dutch engineer Martijn Nitzsche found a clever answer: the Water Pyramid. This large solar still turns salt or dirty water into clean drinking water. Moreover, it needs nothing but sunlight. Twenty years on, the pyramid has a strong track record. Meanwhile,…
