A new solar panel system will be able to track the sun while floating on the surface of artificial waterways, increasing efficiency without taking up any space on land. The floating panels will use reflectors to increase the efficiency of the solar energy capture during different times of the day. The panels will also use the water to help stay cool, reducing costs to 20 percent less than conventional, ground based systems.

A new sort of super glue for molecules could be created using the same bacteria that eats flesh and causes strep throat. The idea is to develop the binding agent by isolating the protein FBab from the Streptococcus pyogenic bacteria. The FBab protein creates a chemical bond between amino acids, and attaching fragments of the proteins to molecules will create a bond powerful enough to withstand chemical detergents. The technology could eventually be used to join enzymes on...

Why not develop the idea of bouncing information off the ceilings in data centers to increase transmission speed by up to 30 percent. The method will allow the wireless beams to have direct communication between antennas while reducing the chances of interference. The process will involve attaching flat metal plates to the ceiling to reflect the data, while an absorber material on the rack will prevent the signal from bouncing back up.

The idea is to develop a self-healing concrete, which could cut building costs by reducing the amount of steel needed to add structural support. Under strain, concrete will develop cracks that will eventually spread and weaken the structure. Why not mix the spores of limestone-producing bacteria and some nutrients into the concrete material. The spores will remain dormant until they are activated by rainwater, at which time they will eat the nutrients and produce limestone, filling...

Almost everyday I get home and find page after page of ads and coupons in my mailbox. I immediately discard this physical "spam" in the conveniently placed recycle bin, which is full of the same ads that my neighbors in my apartment complex have thrown away. It seems that most people don't even glance at these ads and it is a huge waste of paper (not to mention extremely annoying sifting through to make sure you don't throw any important mail away). I propose initiatives to cut back,...

Create a huge cone shaped Helium balloon with a big funnel like opening in the center. Now place a wind turbine in its center to generate electricity, tie this structure to ground and release it up at a very high altitude to get high-speed winds. Ropes should be tied in such a way that the concave side of the balloon faces the direction of coming wind. The Concave shape will trap more wind and will result in greater efficiency of turbine. At high altitude there is more wind (look at...

Have you ever seen the city lights at night ... noise pollution right? Well what about all the costs associated with those lights? Think of all those huge parking lots that have giant lights glowing all night long ... why? Now the facility owners and management will tell you it's about security, which is vaguely reasonable. However, they only need to be on when someone is there. IDEA: Add motion sensors to all those light poles so that when someone moves in the area at night, the...

I had this idea for a few years and just want to put it out there. There are hepa air filters in homes that are ionic and clean pollutants in the air. So why can't we build one big ionic hepa filter for the air pollution we already have. We can also reuse the oils that are captured as another way conserving. Also if this is too much money maybe we can create smaller versions and put it in the exhaust of our cars. If it works in our home why not in the open air.

Large windfarms generally take up a lot of land and that space on the turbine blades or the top of the generator house retrofitted with flexable solar cells could easily increase the amount of power produced without taking up any more land. Anyone else have any other ideas on increasing the renewable power production on current power installations shout it out.

What happens to the millions of little hotel soaps that are only used once or twice? They are thrown away. Why isn't there a central collection agency that gathers all of the soaps, recycles them into new soaps or distributes them to people in need? The hotels could donate the soaps to the agency, and therefore get a charitable tax break. If the hotel wanted to buy back new (recycled) soaps imprinted with a logo or something fancy, they could pay extra (also to charity).