Our staff highlights ten new exciting products and projects addressing environmental issues.

Editor’s Note: As with other projects and inventions on these pages, some of these are still in the developmental stages.

Air pollution isn’t just an outdoors issue. Carbon dioxide levels inside buildings aren’t just a threat to our health; they can affect our ability to concentrate and make decisions. Connecticut-based AgroSci creates green walls of living to rid the air of pollutants and naturally reduce noise and heat, via a patent-pending system that magnifies the purifying ability of plants. …

LifeStraw, conceived by Swiss global company Vestergaard, turns dirty water into drinking water without using chemicals—a boon for impoverished areas or those that have polluted water. When someone sucks through the straw, water is forced through narrow fibers that trap bacteria, protozoa and other contaminants. These are then flushed out by backwashing. … From The Netherlands, Vegua is a unique-looking fish bowl/pot plant hybrid that serves as a miniature aquaponics garden. Fish living in the transparent tank at the bottom excrete waste that produces bacteria, which is absorbed along with water into the rock mixture above the tank. Plants in the rock and sand eat the bacteria, keeping the water below clean. …

Trinity, by Icelandic company Janulus, is essentially a portable wind turbine that uses wind energy to power electrical devices. It comes in four sizes and can charge items ranging from your smartphone to an electric car. … The GoSun stove, from the Cincinnati company of the same name, underscores the growing popularity of solar cookers designed to harness the sun’s energy to heat, cook and pasteurize drinks. The GoSun cooks food in an evacuated tube that traps heat energy, reaching up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit in minutes. …

Graviky Labs, a consortium of engineers, scientists and designers in India, has created Air Ink pens in an effort to extract carbon from automobile exhaust to produce ink for pens. Each pen contains the approximate equivalent of 30 to 40 minutes’ worth of emissions produced by a car’s engine. …

Creativity is reaching new heights in addressing the millions of pounds of plastic that pollute the world’s oceans. Adidas is making running shoes made of recycled ocean plastic, part of the Germany-based company’s collaboration with Parley for the Oceans. Adidas Ultra Boost X shoes have also gotten strong reviews for comfort. … The makers of Ooho water gel packets, “water you can eat,” note that 80 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled. The packets contain servings of water encased in an edible algae-based gel. The product, from London-based Skipping Rocks Lab, is 100 percent made of plants and seaweed, and is biodegradable within 4 to 6 weeks. … Nigerian residents are fighting the country’s housing crisis by building homes made from plastic bottles. The bottles are filled with sand, then bound together with mud and cement to form strong walls. The houses are a joint project by The Developmental Association for Renewable Energies and London-based NGO Africa Community Trust. …

The U.S. Army is looking for a figurative silver bullet to replace bullet casings used during training exercises that are believed to take hundreds of years to biodegrade. Last year, the Army began soliciting bids from companies interested in developing biodegradable ammunition-carrying projectiles—and seeds that eventually sprout into plants. For centuries, artillery shells and other ammunition have been made out of lead and other heavy metals.