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The Segway was originally imagined as a tool for reducing America's dependence on the automobile.
Courtesy of Segway
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To forge a future that is cleaner and more sustainable than the present, people must change their habits. Most of this change is behavioral—simply reducing needless consumption and focusing on necessities.
WATCH VIDEO: Top 5 Radical Green Inventions
There is a great opportunity for change, however, through new and innovative technologies. From unusual electric vehicles to smarter windows, vertical farms to better solar systems, these inventions are changing the way people generate, use, and conserve energy.
READ MORE: Minus Oil: Energized Ideas for Surpassing Petroleum
Count down the top five radical green inventions:
5. Segway
Image courtesy of Segway
In at number five, the all electric Segway is probably the most famous invention from globally renowned inventor Dean Kamen.
With more than 400 patents, including the Luke Arm and insulin pump, the intrepid inventor will be starring in the Dean of Invention, a new series to premiere on Planet Green later this month featuring a ton of eye opening green inventions from around the world.
Read more: Dean of Invention
4. Mobile Charger
Image credit: Easy Energy Inc.
One of the greatest challenges of powering green gadgets is how to do it off the grid. Enter the YoGen charger...
Unlike solar-powered devices which can take an eternity to charge, the YoGen portable dynamo charger takes about the same time as a wall outlet. Just tug on a string to get it going. Charging your phone or mp3 player has never been so easy or so green.
Read more: YoGen Makes a Splash in Pull-String Charging (Video)
3. Smart Windows
Image credit: Sage Electrochromics
Anyone who knows anything about windows knows they are the Achilles heel of buildings, which is why we're so excited about our number three entry in our Top 5 Green Inventions.
Green tech company, Sage Electrochromics has developed smart windows based on electrochromism—glass that can change its tint when an electric charge is applied. The technology practically pays for itself by saving on energy costs.
Read more: Energy-Saving Dynamically Tinted Glass Could Make Most Buildings More Efficient
2. Vertical Farming
Image credit: Valcent
From pesticides to water use to soil degradation, farming takes a huge toll on our environment.
Valcent's vision is to build our croplands like skyscrapers: straight up. The company has pioneered a hydroponic farming system that grows plants in rotating rows, one on top of another, to ensure uber efficient, sustainable farming.
Read more:
High Density Vertical Growth (HDVG) Garden: by Valcent
Vertical Farming System Among Best Inventions of 2009
Vertical Farm at UK Zoo: 20-Fold Increase in Yield Per Acre
1. Curved Solar
Image credit: Felipe Rodriguez Fernandez/Getty Images
In at number one, an Israeli tech company has found a way to increase solar capacity by a factor of five simply by using...curved mirrors.
ZenithSolar's out of the box thinking is making solar power cost competitive against fossil fuels for the first time. What's more, this technological advance can improve overall solar power conversion efficiency up to 75 percent.
Read more: Using Reflective Dishes to Raise Solar Potential
Credits:
Segway Courtesy of Segway
YoGen charger Courtesy of Easy Energy, Inc
YoGen charger 2 Courtesy of Easy Energy, Inc
Sage tinted window İEric Sahlin Photography
Sage tinted window 2 Courtesy SAGE
Valcent vertical garden Courtesy of Vorticom
Valcent vertical garden 2 Courtesy of Vorticom
Stock solar panels İSeth Joel/Getty Images
Stock solar panels 2 İFelipe Rodriguez Fernandez/Getty Images
