Current wind turbines are EACH equipped with a generator and a gearbox. We know large generators (such as used in electricity power plants) are more efficient, would it make sense to connect an array of wind mills via driveshaft to one large generator on the ground. Advantages: 1) high(er) efficiency generator 2) use only one big generator, not many small ones 3) big generator on the ground is easy to maintain (no climbing in towers) 4) individual wind mills can be cheaper...

This would be a good project for an Environmental Science/ Education Student. The physical object is quite simple, but the institution of the system would require much research and involvement. The actuall object: A backpack that holds a 32oz thermal mug, a set of flatware, and a lenin napkin. The hard part: One would need to do a cost analysis comparison between cost of waste removal and landfill use to the cost of distributing such a kit to all citizens of any given urban area....

In an effort to re-use the million of tons of building rubble produced each year, a way to recycle concrete with lightning was found. The lightning bolts of a short duration are more likely to pass through a solid. The idea is to produce lightning bolts and direct them to the concrete. As the lightning follows the path of least resistance, it separates the material into its fundamental components. A concrete recycling plant using the lightning method could be a reality in as...

We all have seen the mini-weather stations, but we could add a mini-Richter scale for even more fun, reporting your local area's total over all conditions when you call the reporting stations. This data would be collected and help grow an understanding of future predictions of earth quakes everywhere!

For some time we have had the ability to manufacture huge lenses. We also have computers and software that could make this idea happen. For a prototype, why not construct a large glass lens maybe 12 feet in diameter. Mount it about 30-50 feet above the ground. The base would be round and by computer be able to move round and up and down; tracking the sun 365 days of the year. The intense heat created by this large magnifying glass could be focused on some hybrid turbine and or steam...

Since lightnings create a lot of energy, can't that energy somehow be caught and stored for use?

I think the technology is all out there, I would like to see wave farms trapping air into a piping system with a floating collector which compresses and stores the air to be released into turbines creating electricity. If you had an array of high volume low pressure oscilating collectors forcing the air into pipes that bubble up into the floating collector where it is pressuized you can have 24/7 non polluting electricity.

As trees are one of the most efficient "carbon-storers", lowering the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and thereby helping to prevent a global climate catastrophe, federal, state and local governments should give tax breaks to those who either plant and/or conserve trees on their properties. This could come in the form of reduced taxes; perhaps a reduced property tax for homeowners whose property has a certain minimum density of trees per 1/4 acre, and reduced taxes...

I moved to the city a couple of years ago, and have noticed how clean the roofs always are. No leafs get up there. Further, from every roof there runs a pipe all the way along the edges of the roof, and to the ground in order to make the rain that ends on the roof go to the ground without pouring down on the windows. My idea is simply to put a little mill inside the pipes that go from the roof to the ground, the mill should run a simple generator in order to produce power. - Since the...

I have an idea about pollution that may really stop industries and the gov't from dumping trash in our backyards! There are countless examples of companies dumping their trash, usually on the poor side of town. I think that all companies and individuals should be ranked by how much trash/waste they produce. This could be done by producing trash cans & dumpsters with sensors that count the amount of mass in the container per week. For liquid waste (which many companies dump liberally...