Every year, more than 250 billion pounds of plastic are produced worldwide. Much of it ends up in the world’s oceans, a fact that troubles MIT biology professor Anthony Sinskey.

“Plastic does not degrade in the ocean. It just gets ground up into tiny particles,” he says. In the Pacific Ocean, a vast swath twice the size of Texas teems with tiny bits of oil-based plastic that can poison ocean life.

Sinskey can’t do much about the plastic that’s already polluting the Earth’s oceans, but he is trying to help keep the problem from getting worse. Next month, a company he founded with his former postdoc, Oliver Peoples, will open a new factory that uses MIT-patented technology to build plastic from corn. The plant aims to produce annually 110 million pounds of the new bioplastic, which biodegrades in soil or the ocean.

Source - MIT News 

MEDFORD, Mass.--To build a home powered entirely by the sun, students here drew inspiration from Boston neighborhoods rather than the futuristic lifestyle of "The Jetsons."

College students from Tufts University and the Boston Architectural College on Thursday cut the ribbon for the opening of the Curio House, a building that will run entirely on solar energy. It's the New England region's entry into the Solar Decathlon, a U.S. Department of Energy-run event where 20 teams compete for the best solar-home designs.

Student teams, who have spent up to two years preparing, will disassemble their buildings and put them back together on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in less than three weeks. The homes, which will be open to the public, will compete over 10 days on design, market viability, and other technical aspects.

Source: CNET News - Green Tech