The best sustainable inventions

Sustainable and global development is always subject to technological innovation. The research is aimed at improving the lives of all inhabitants of the planet, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities.

In this gallery we compile some of the inventions that are destined to become great allies of sustainable development in the coming years as they are advances that help promoting socioeconomic development and are environmentally friendly, as these five sustainable inventions that you can not miss.

The first invention of this list is proof that simplicity often beats complexity. A barrel of water lying on the floor with a bar at each end as a handle represents a huge advance.

One in six people in the world spends eight hours walking to and from a water supply, and usually carries the weight on the head and back. The Hippo Water Roller, devised by Wello Water, will reduce the time and pain to millions.

A 17-year-old Vietnamese student could have marked a milestone in the history of sustainable development. Loi Nguyen Tan has invented a device capable of converting fresh drinking water from salt water by using solar panels, which means it is environmentally friendly and can be used in areas where there is no conventional electricity.

Moreover, another great advantage is that if it reaches a stage of industrial production, this water treatment will cost only $ 45. The possibilities for agriculture, livestock and the development of coastal rural areas are almost limitless. An innovative ecological invention that can change the world.

Another great invention at a low cost is the new creation of the Nigerian teacher Mohammed Bah Abba. The desert refrigerator is a vessel inside another with a layer of wet sand therebetween. This water evaporates cooling the sand and the contents of the vessel.

Thus, food can be kept in good condition for weeks in areas where there is no access to electricity. Rural areas of Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Niger, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo have already benefited from the desert refrigerator.

A great ecological progress that needs the collaboration of everybody is the use of reusable bags. Every year, many billions of plastic bags are discarded after a single use, which means one of the biggest pollution factors of the planet.

That is why the use of ecological bags is a huge relief for the environment and encourages responsible consumption, trying to put an end to the throw-away system. These bags can be made of many sustainable materials: organic cotton, potato starch, bamboo, biodegradable polyethylene, recycled paper, jute...

Biodiversity loss and climate change have much of their origin in the deforestation of the planet. Illegal logging has always been a headache for the authorities as it is very difficult to control large areas of forest all the time.

Now, thanks to a young physicist and engineer, it is possible to detect illegal deforestation in real time. Topher White has created one of the most interesting inventions to care for the environment: a system in which old mobile phones are recycled to capture the acoustic signals of chainsaws and send a warning signal to the guards immediately

In the late 30s, Finland was an impoverished country with a very high mortality rate. The government decided to launch a project for newborns that today has become a true national symbol: the carton boxes.

This is a kit that the government distributes to all mothers when their baby is born and contains the basics for the first months of life: clothes, sleeping bag, mattress, toiletries, diapers ... as long as the mothers have gone to the gynecological examination recommended by the national health system. Many Finns have slept in these cartons during its early days, and today Finland is a prosperous country with a mortality rate lower than 5 per 1,000.

What if it were possible to generate clean electricity while practicing sport? The invention of the company Uncharted Play combines these two sustainable goals through Soccket: a ball that is charged with kinetic energy while being used to play football.

A 30 minute match allows to keep lit a LED lamp for three hours. Its price is $ 100, so donations are still needed to make the Soccket available for the most disadvantaged communities.

 Convert excrements into drinking water is a level of recycling that until now was only available to science fiction. However, thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is now a reality.

The founder of Microsoft and Janicki Bioenergy have created the Omniprocessor, a machine capable of converting 100 tons of organic waste into 80,000 liters of drinking water a day through a distillation process, in addition to producing energy and ashes as fertilizer. It is an invention that is destined to change the landscape of water shortage in the third world.

Bring light to areas where there are problems of energy supply is one of the main social demands to ensure a global sustainable development.

The Salt project has contributed with its innovative lamps, which use only water and salt. They are the perfect substitute for the dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps and can illuminate eight hours a day for half a year.

Sources: El País, Wello Water, El País II, El Confidencial, Estampabolsas, La Bioguía, BBC, Uncharted Play, Janicki Bioenergy and Salt.