The majority of bicycles you’ll find on the market today are built from steel, titanium, aluminum or carbon fiber. But bicycle design is constantly evolving, and designers and engineers are always testing out alternative materials. While some of these materials offer little more than an aesthetic appeal, many others offer genuine cutting edge advancements over standard components.

Chances are you’ll find something you like on this list whether you’re a hipster, engineer or environmentalist. Here are some of the top bikes made out of alternative materials:

Photo Credit: Renovo

Wood

Nothing looks quite so vintage as a polished wooden bicycle. Wood is probably most used as a frame material due to its aesthetic appeal, though it also has a number of performance advantages that shouldn’t be ignored.

Take for instance this beautiful wooden-framed bicycle by Renovo (pictured above). According to the folks at Renovo, wood frames are lightweight and offer superior shock absorption. Wood’s fatigue life rivals carbon and is substantially longer than aluminum or steel, and it also won’t dent like metal frames can.

Because wood is renewable, it is more eco-friendly too. And since it is a relatively cheap and abundant resource, it is ideal for bicycle construction in remote communities, such as in East Africa.

For a more diverse look at how wood has been utilized as a material by bicycle designers, check out this thorough roundup at Mother Nature Network.

Photo Credit: Segal

Magnesium Alloy

Segal bikes, a company out of the bike-friendly nation of The Netherlands, specializes in bicycles made from magnesium. Since magnesium has only about 64 percent of the density of aluminum, a chief advantage of this material is that it is ultra-lightweight. (About 35 percent lighter than aluminum and 75 percent lighter than steel).

According to Segal, magnesium bikes are also superior at absorbing energy, making them a more comfortable ride. Eco-conscious cyclists can also rest assured that they are fully recyclable.

You can customize your own magnesium-framed bike at Segal here.

Photo Credit: Boo Bicycles

Bamboo

Bamboo might be the trendiest alternative bike material for the eco-conscious consumer, and for good reason. Because bamboo is a fast-growing grass, it is as abundant as it is renewable.

It also looks great, and performs even better. Bamboo’s durable, hollow shaft seems purposely designed by Mother Nature for bicycle construction. Some of the material’s principle advantages include improved vibration damping and high crash tolerance. It also offers a smooth and comfortable ride even over harsh terrain. The fact that a bamboo bike blends in with its natural surroundings on the trail just adds to its aesthetic appeal.

There are a number of designers specializing in bamboo on the market today, but a notable one is Boo Bicycles. Their bikes are among those which have been raced at the highest level by professional cyclists.

For a nice roundup of some of the other options available for bamboo bikes, check out TreeHugger’s list here.

Photo Credit: EADS UK via bikeradar.com

Nylon

Could a functional bicycle really be made out of nylon? Thanks to some Space Age technology, yes it can. Not only is this bicycle made from nylon, but it is actually as strong and sturdy as steel.

Designed by development engineers Andy Hawkins and Chris Turner of the Aerospace Innovation Centre, the bike is constructed of successive, one-tenth-of-a-millimeter-thick layers of fused nylon powder. The manufacturing method was borrowed from a process also used in the construction of satellites.

Though this prototype’s unusual design is not exactly ideal for the professional cyclist, a more practical version is supposedly in the works. Who knows, this might just be the future of high-performance bicycles.

A video by the BBC featuring more about this bike’s construction can be seen here.

Photo Credit: videonatelinha/Youtube

Plastic

Plastic is unfortunately one of the most ubiquitous materials around today, and since most plastics are not biodegradable, they don’t make for very eco-friendly construction materials. But what about recycling some of that plastic and using it to construct eco-friendly bicycles? That’s making the most out of a bad situation.

One inventor in Brazil is doing exactly that, creating the Muzzicycle. Built entirely from plastic collected in some of Brazil’s largest landfills, Muzzicycles turn trash into transportation. At their website they even keep a running tally of how much plastic they are able to recycle annually. The bikes are also economical and can be bought over the internet for only about $140.

You can view a CNN report about how the bikes are constructed here.

Photo Credit: Giora Kariv/Vimeo

Cardboard

Cardboard is probably the last material you would choose to construct a bicycle with. It might even seem like an impossible feat. But that’s just because you aren’t as inventive as engineer Izhar Gafni, designer of the world’s first completely practical cardboard bicycle.

Gafni’s inspiration was the physics of origami. By folding cardboard over itself in the right way, he found that it could actually be made remarkably sturdy. Gadfi admits that his first prototypes “looked like delivery boxes on wheels.” But just take a look at the finished product: it’s not only functional, but pretty stylish too.

They are “strong, durable and cheap,” according to Gafni. He estimates they could sell for as little as $60 each.

Though the bikes aren’t ideal for the high performance cyclist, they are entirely suitable for the eco-conscious, casual commuter. Check out a short documentary about how Gafni constructs the bikes here. You may have to see it to believe it.

Photo Credit: Onyx via bikemoments.com

Hemp

Is there anything that can’t be made out of hemp? The Onyx Hemp Bike by Onyx Composites makes use of cannabis in a way you might not have imagined possible before.

To build the bike frames, hemp fiber is dunked in epoxy resin and wrapped around a styrofoam core. The resultant frame ends up being 60 percent hemp and 15 percent bamboo, with the rest made from carbon and aluminum.

According to Nicolas Meyer, the engineer behind the design, the formula creates a frame that is sturdier than bamboo or carbon fiber alone.

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Unfortunately, train travel is hardly what it used to be — in the United States, anyway. Travel by plane is now quicker, more convenient and often cheaper. America’s highways have replaced the romanticism of the cross-country train ride with the freedom of the “roadtrip.” Meanwhile, train travel has lost a lot of its former luxurious grandeur. Coach cabins are crammed, the dining cars seem to have misplaced their chefs for microwaves, and travel is slow and full of delays.

In many parts of the world, though, trains have experienced a revival over the last several decades: they’re reasonably priced, comfortable, convenient … and fast. So fast, in fact, that they often rival air travel in expedience and travel time. The technological development of bullet trains has made traveling by train sensible again. And even though the countryside whizzes by at a dizzying pace, it still offers a more intimate travel experience than air travel ever did.

High-speed rail is also much more energy efficient, especially on routes where ridership is high, than travel by motor vehicle or plane. These are just some of the reasons why trains are getting a second look in the U.S., with high-speed rail projects already planned in California and the Midwest.

To get a look at what the U.S. has to look forward to, here are the 9 best high-speed rail rides in the world.

Photo credit: Oxyman/Wikimedia Commons

Eurostar

The Eurostar high-speed railway connects London with Paris, running undersea through a tunnel beneath the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel itself possesses the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world, and has been identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Eurostar’s Channel Tunnel line has revolutionized passenger travel between England and mainland Europe, which was previously only possible via plane or ship. In fact, today Eurostar carries more cross-channel passengers than all airlines combined. It’s a must-ride for world-traveling train aficionados everywhere.

Photo credit: Hiroshi Ichikawa/Shutterstock

Shinkansen

Japan’s high-speed rail network, Shinkansen, became the world’s first operator of passenger bullet trains when it opened in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics, and it’s still a world leader. In fact, it has transported more passengers than any other high-speed line in the world, totaling about 151 million a year.

The network is also expansive, consisting of nearly 1,500 miles of rail lines, many of which regularly reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. It’s almost always on time, too, coming in at only 12 seconds late on average.

Really, it’s the best way to travel in Japan, with a sterling environmental record. In fact, traveling the Tokyo to Osaka line, the busiest line in the network, produces only 16 percent of the CO2 emissions of an equivalent journey by car.

Photo credit: Sebastian Terfloth/Wikimedia Commons

TGV

TGV is France’s high-speed rail line, renowned for both its speed and comfortable first class accommodations. It was Europe’s first high-speed rail line when it opened in 1981, and has become a model for much of Europe’s renowned high-speed network since.

Today TGV trains operate at the highest speeds in the world for wheeled lines, regularly reaching 320 km/h. By 2010, the TGV service had already transported two billion passengers.

Photo credit: mamahoohooba/Shutterstock

Shanghai Maglev

China is rapidly becoming the world leader in high-speed trains. In fact, they have the largest high-speed rail network in the world, topping 2,000 total miles and continuing to grow. Perhaps China’s most revolutionary train, however, is the Shanghai Maglev.

The Maglev does not run on conventional rails, opting instead for magnetic levitation. Because this technology cuts down on friction, it allows the train to redefine the meaning of “high speed.” In fact, the Maglev is the world’s fastest train in regular commercial service, with a top speed of 431 km/h. Train aficionados with a speed kick will have this train on their must-ride list.

Photo credit: Sebastian Terfloth/Wikimedia Commons

ICE

Aside from having the “coolest” name among high-speed trains, Germany’s ICE line is also chillingly fast, licensed for speeds up to about 320 km/hr. It is one of the most widely used forms of public transportation in Germany, and has nearly a 100 percent brand awareness in the country.

While dangerous activities are not recommended, it’s also noteworthy that the ICE-3 line might be the first high-speed train to ever be successfully train-surfed (Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible” not withstanding). That’s certainly a train ride for the ages!

Photo credit: Encino/Wikimedia Commons

THSR

The THSR stands for “Taiwan High Speed Rail,” and represents the line that runs almost the entire west coast of Taiwan, between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The trains have whittled the travel time along the 214-mile stretch down to just about an hour and a half. The thrilling ride runs on viaducts or through tunnels for most of its length.

Since it first opened service, THSR has carried more than 160 million passengers and has greatly reduced road traffic.

Photo credit: Pedro Salaverría/Shutterstock

AVE

AVE is Spain’s renowned high-speed rail network, with more than 1,600 miles of rail that makes it the second longest rail line in the world (behind China’s), and the largest in Europe. The name, AVE, is a play on the Spanish word for “bird,” apt, because these trains can certainly fly.

The ride between Madrid and Barcelona is the most popular, which is completed in just about two and a half hours. Passengers reduce their carbon emissions by 83 percent on the trip, and the train is also remarkably punctual — a 99 percent on-time rating.

Photo credit: Jpatokal/Wikimedia Commons

KTX

Based on France’s TGV line, the KTX (Korea Train Express) is South Korea’s high-speed railway. The trains are capable of reaching speeds up to 217 mph, which make them the forth line of bullet trains to hit that mark.

After being launched in 2004, KTX has been a remarkable success and plans to greatly expand the network are already well underway. In fact, the line is planned to connect Mokpo with Jeju Island, which will involve the construction of the world’s longest undersea tunnel.

Photo credit: Manuel Paa/Wikimedia Commons

Italo

The Italo is Italy’s newest high-speed rail network, a private enterprise geared at offering an alternative to the country’s state-owned Trenitalia. Apparently, everyone in Italy is calling it the “Ferrari train.”

Not only is it fast, but it’s luxurious. First class includes free wi-fi, leather seats, in-seat smart TVs and hot meals. It’s difficult to imagine a better way to spend time whirling between Rome and Florence. The line just opened in April 2012. It might be the perfect time to travel Italy!

Main photo: Shinkansen train in Tokyo. Credit: Parag.naik/Wikimedia Commons

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So why not kill both birds with one stone?

That’s the idea behind poop power. Yes, get your giggles out now: I said ‘poop power’. The idea is to transform our dirty, smelly excrement, into clean, occasionally-also-smelly (but sustainable) energy.

Though it may elicit laughs, the potential of poop-to-power technology is actually serious business. Not only does the technology have the ability to supplement our energy needs, but by using human waste as an input, it also does away with a major pollutant. Really, it’s the quintessential model of sustainability.

A number of companies, cities and countries are already seeing sewage as a power source rather than as a waste problem. Here are 8 major ways that power is being generated from poop:

Photo Credit: Jonutis/Shutterstock

City Sewage

Perhaps the most clearcut way to transform your poop into power is to convert it into biogas via anaerobic digestion. Basically, when sewage is fed to anaerobic bacteria, they eat it up and belch out a waste product of their own: biogas. This can then be funneled directly into the already-existing natural gas distribution system, transformed into electricity, or burned off immediately for energy.

A number of North American cities have already installed biogas digesters into their waste treatment facilities. For example, the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment plant in Vancouver, British Columbia, has launched a biogas project designed to supplement the city’s natural gas supply.

Another city employing such an approach is Brooklyn, NY, at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility recently got an overhaul so fewer smells escape into nearby neighborhoods. Which is a real win for locals, but a major loss for pets who will now bear all the blame for unclaimed flatulence.

Photo Credit: fotoJoost/Shutterstock

Manure Mania

If you think human waste is a problem, just imagine the amount of waste that comes from our farm animals. Poop from the big three– cows, pigs and poultry– represents a monumental waste problem of its own. Manure has long been used as fertilizer, but there is vast untapped energy potential here too. In fact, it has been estimated that transforming cow poop to biogas could meet 3 percent of North America’s energy needs. Projects launched in California and Ontario, Canada are already ahead of the curve, to name just a few.

Pigs are another major source of poo… er, power. China is investing heavily in transforming poop from their estimated 700 million pigs into energy. Even Google is making an investment in pig plops as part of their effort to make the company carbon neutral.

And don’t forget poultry. China is on top of this one too, already with a chicken-manure biogas plant up and running near Beijing.

Photo Credit: TOTO

Toot Engines

Poop isn’t only useful for generating electricity; it can also fuel your vehicle. Who knew that it would one day be your exhaust that was coming out of your car?

In fact, Volkswagen has debuted a version of its iconic Bug that runs on processed sewage. Its converted 2.0-liter, four-cylinder motor can generate speeds up to 114 miles per hour.

The city of Oslo, Norway, is also fueling its buses with flatulence, so to speak. Sewage from about 250,000 Oslo residents is enough to operate 80 buses for around 62,000 miles each.

Perhaps the most bizarre poop-powered vehicle, though, is this motorcycle with a built in toilet (pictured above). Or is it a toilet with a built-in motorcycle? Designed by Japanese toilet manufacturer Toto, the bike ensures that you’ll never have to stop to use the rest room, or a gas station, ever again.

Photo Credit: Kuzmin Andrey/Shutterstock

Diaper Power

Toilets are handy receptacles for capturing and pumping our poop to centralized treatment plants. But what about the waste that doesn’t make it to the toilet? No, I’m not talking about peeing in the shower. I’m talking about when your baby poops (before it was potty trained, that is).

Of course, that’s what diapers are for. But why let all of that waste to go to, ahem, waste? That’s what Canadian company AMEC-PLC was asking. So they built a facility capable of turning billions of poopy diapers into energy.

While collecting all of those diapers is still an arduous and, let’s face it– dirty, task, it certainly beats having the diapers end up in landfills.

Photo Credit: Matt Ragen/Shutterstock

Prisoner Poop

Generating power to cook for around 10,000 inmates isn’t cheap for Cyangugu prison in Rwanda: they used to spend about $44,000 dollars annually just for firewood (that’s a lot of money in Rwanda). It also means a lot of trees being cut down.

That was before a 150 cubic meter biogas digester was donated by the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology’s Center for Innovations and Technology Transfer. Now poop collected from 1,500 of the prison’s inmates is being used to power the kitchens, cutting the energy bill in half.

It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the idea of a ‘gas-powered stove.’

Photo Credit: Mat Hayward/Shutterstock

Pooper-Scoopers

Aside from those of you who have trained your pets to use the toilet, dogs and cats represent another fountainhead of poop that has been under-utilized as a power source. But a methane digester might be coming soon to a dog park near you.

A plan, originally imagined by artist Matthew Mazzotta, to turn dog waste into power for lamps at a dog park in Cambridge, MA, has caught the world by storm. The idea is pretty simple: instead of tossing your pets’ poops in a trashcan, you toss it into an on-site 500-gallon biogas digester. The digester then generates enough power for the park’s lamps.

Dog parks as far away as Gilbert, Arizona and Melbourne, Australia, have already begun employing their own pet-poop power stations too.

Photo Credit: David Gallaher/Shutterstock

Zoo Poo

We’ve covered human sewage, farm animal waste, dog droppings, and even baby poop. What’s left?

Zoos are another place with major poop problems, and I don’t just mean from the patrons. All of those animals generate a lot of waste, and keeping zoo facilities powered up can be expensive. Zoos therefore make perfect places for utilizing poop power.

The Munich Zoo in Germany is the first zoo in the world to take full advantage. They’ve installed three large digesters for generating biogas, which are filled up weekly with the poop from all of the park’s vegetarian animals. (The elephants make the most significant contributions). The energy generated then goes toward heating the enclosures of various warm-weather critters.

Photo Credit: Nanyang Technological University

Toilet Tech

If we’re going to take poop power seriously, then we’ll need to begin thinking differently about toilet technology too. Luckily, researchers are already on it.

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University have invented a new toilet system that not only makes the distribution of our poop more efficient, but it saves a ton on water too.

The system saves on water by working a lot like the vacuum toilets that exist in airplane lavatories. Perhaps most impressive, though, is the way it separates liquid from solid waste. Liquid waste can then be streamlined straight to a facility that specializes in creating fertilizer. Meanwhile, solid waste gets flushed to a biogas plant to be transformed into electricity or fuel.

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In that spirit, it can be a fascinating exercise to look ahead. What cutting edge technologies being developed today will be commonplace tomorrow? In what ways will these technologies radically alter our world?

Here’s our look at 9 future technologies that may soon make our present reality unrecognizable:

Photo Credit: gornjak/Shutterstock

Atmospheric Energy

Most of the energy we produce today comes from finite resources – namely, fossil fuels. But as those resources become exhausted – and as the environmental consequences of exhausting them become an increasing concern – developing new, renewable sources of energy will be paramount. Of course, industries such as wind, solar, and biofuel are already booming; but those are just the tip of the iceberg.

One burgeoning renewable source that has the power to revolutionize the production of electricity is atmospheric energy. There is always free electricity in the air and clouds all around us. This is most evident in a thunderstorm or during the polar auroras, such as the Northern Lights. Capturing and controlling this electricity can be a challenge, but if we could tap directly into the Earth’s own electrical field – to quite literally pluck electricity from the air – the potential for the technology to contribute to our energy mix is great.

One company working to make the development of atmospheric energy viable is SEFE, Inc.. They already have 4 patents approved, 3 pending, and 19 more on the way. You can view a corporate video showcasing SEFE’s mission here.

(Editor’s Note: SEFE, Inc. is a major sponsor of Revmodo.com) 

Photo Credit: Paul Fleet/Shutterstock

Nanotechnology

Sometimes its the smallest things that make the biggest impacts. That’s certainly the case with nanotechnology, which is essentially the manipulation of materials on the atomic and molecular levels.

The many applications of nanotech are almost too many to count. Nanoelectronics have the potential to revolutionize computing, not only by making computing speeds faster, but by making electronic devices smaller. Machines the size of cells may one day navigate through our bodies like artificial immune systems. Nano devices may one day be able to manipulate our genetic code– or perhaps even merge with it. Nanotechnology will allow us to invent new materials with a vast range of applications– everything from better-flying golf balls to more effective sunscreens.

As of 2008, over 800 nanotech products had already been made publicly available, and new products were hitting the market at a pace of 3-4 a week.

Photo Credit: Max Braun/Flickr

Augmented Reality

A lot of hubbub was made over the recent release of Google Glasses, but even if the invention might seem silly now, the technology behind it– augmented reality–has the potential to radically alter our world and how we interact with it.

You’ve heard of virtual reality, which is a computer simulated environment. Augmented reality, on the other hand, is a fusion of computer-generated sensory input with the real world. Rather than create a simulated world, augmented reality has the power to actually enhance our perception of the real world.

The technology also has the potential to make it possible to control information in the world, and in real time, much like you can currently control information using a touchscreen device. Basically, augmented reality brings us one step closer to fusing our technology with reality, such that technology and reality may one day be pragmatically indistinguishable.

Check out this eerie sci-fi short film showcasing what this technology may soon become.

Photo Credit: Chris Harvey/Shutterstock

Solar Fuel

As said already, the development of renewable energy will be paramount as we move into the future. Technologies like wind, solar and hydro already present excellent ways of producing renewable electricity, but what about producing fuel? Biofuels have been useful for this purpose, but many biofuels also have the negative impact of competing for agricultural space with our food supply.

But what if we could somehow convert solar energy directly into a liquid fuel? That’s the idea behind the development of solar fuel– a fuel that can be produced with technology that mimics how plants produce energy through photosynthesis. A solar fuel would also revolutionize how renewable energy is stored. Essentially, it would allow us to keep the sun’s energy in liquid form.

One company working to make this vision possible is Joule. Their technology is capable of creating a fuel using only sunlight, carbon dioxide and non-potable water as inputs. They also believe they will soon be able to produce this fuel at a price competitive with gasoline.

Photo Credit: Andrea Danti/Shutterstock

Engineered Stem Cells

Few technologies have the power to transform medicine more than the engineering of stem cells. Not only have stem cells been genetically programmed to attack diseases like HIV or cancer, but stem cells are now being used to generate living tissue.

The ultimate goal of such a technology would be for regrowing replacement organs. Once perfected, it may be possible to extend human life indefinitely. Imagine if each of your organs could simply be replaced, like a car part, any time it began to malfunction.

Photo Credit: Fotovika/Shutterstock

Wireless Energy Transfer

Wireless devices are pretty ubiquitous today; Is anything connected by a wire anymore? Well, technically: while we can beam information around wirelessly, our electrical devices must still, by and large, receive their power from hardwired connections. But imagine being able to beam energy from a power source directly into a device without the need for a wire, much like how your laptop can pick up a wireless internet connection.

The technology for wireless energy transfer already exists, but it has yet to be perfected. There still exists a problem of efficiency; too much energy is lost when it is beamed.

As the technology develops, however, we might imagine a world where nothing needs to be plugged in anymore. Perhaps even more incredible, the technology could revolutionize space exploration. Not only could power be beamed to satellites, space stations, and space ships from Earth, but power collected in space could be sent back to Earth too.

Photo Credit: NASA

Space-Based Solar Energy

The vast majority of the energy contained on Earth originates from the Sun. Our ability to harness that power depends on how efficiently we can harvest it. Solar technology is becoming ever-better at capturing the Sun’s energy, but all Earth-based solar collectors are limited because the atmosphere deflects a great deal of the Sun’s energy.

But what if we could assemble vast arrays of solar panels in space? Not only could we arrange them to always be pointing at the Sun, but there would be no atmosphere to get in the way of all that energy. Also, it wouldn’t require covering any of the Earth’s surface with solar panels. That’s the idea behind space-based solar.

Of course, the technology is limited by our ability to assemble and maintain such vast arrays in space. There is also the problem of energy transfer, which is pending the development of wireless energy transfer (mentioned on this list already). Nevertheless, it’s possible that such technology could one day meet all of our energy needs.

Photo Credit: lightpoet/Shutterstock

Quantum Teleportation

Teleportation isn’t just the stuff of science fiction. It’s real, and it’s already here. Or at least, quantum teleportation is here: which is the instantaneous transfer of a quantum state from one location to another.

The bizarre phenomenon that makes this possible is called entanglement, a mysterious link known to exist between certain particles even though they are separated by space.

The key to the technology is controlling this phenomenon. It’s no easy task, but Chinese researchers recently teleported a photon’s state nearly 100 kilometers. Once perfected, the technology will revolutionize computing and communication speeds. Obviously, there’s nothing faster than instant communication. It’s almost anti-intuitive to imagine.

Photo Credit: Ociacia/Shutterstock

Artificial Intelligence

The first image you probably conjure up when you think of artificial intelligence is the Terminator, or maybe HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s true that the development of artificial intelligence raises some big philosophical and ethical questions, but there’s little doubt that the technology is inevitable.

The processing power of computers continues to grow at an astounding rate. As a result, we’re able to analyze data using increasingly complex computer models, and solve problems in ever-more ingenious ways.

So far, we’ve yet to create a machine with artificial consciousness, or self-awareness. But this, too, is likely inevitable. At least one engineer believes that artificial consciousness will emerge by 2045.

It’s unlikely that artificial consciousness will emerge from a computer console, or a disembodied app. Rather, true machine consciousness will likely come out of the field of robotics. Of course, this could mean there will finally be a robot maid for every household in America. Or it’ll mean the invention of the Terminator. I guess we’ll just have to find out.

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Like with most great myths, though, the “protein myth” isn’t completely steeped in falsehood. Its origin can be traced back to an inkling of truth — a remote fact, however inconsequential, that allows it to endure. In this case, the myth likely hails from the oft misunderstood distinction between complete and incomplete proteins.

While nearly all foods contain the nine essential amino acids we need, proportions do vary. Foods with amino acids in the correct proportion for human dietary needs are said to contain complete proteins, whereas foods with proportional deficiencies are said to be incomplete. (Here’s a table that lists the optimal dietary proportions of the essential amino acids).

It just so happens that almost all animal-based foods contain complete proteins, while most plant-based foods are incomplete.

This doesn’t mean that vegans and vegetarians are in any danger of protein deficiency, vis-a-vis the protein myth (even a moderately varied plant diet easily balances out any amino acid deficits). But it’s a fact that may nevertheless be relevant to protein-conscious veggie-dieters interested in maximizing the efficiency of their protein intake.

Luckily, there are a number of plant-based foods that do provide complete proteins. Here are a number of them:

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Quinoa

A grain-like crop originating in the Andean region of South America, quinoa was considered sacred food by the Incas. Due in large part to its nutritional value, its importance was secondary only to the potato in pre-Columbian times. It was even considered more valuable than maize.

Aside from being a complete protein, quinoa is also gluten-free and a good source of calcium, iron and phosphorous. It has even been considered a potential crop for NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System, to offer nutrition for astronauts on sustained spaceflight missions.

It is typically prepared much like rice, boiled and simmered in water, and its consistency and texture is much like a combination of rice and couscous.

Photo Credit: Kurt Stüber/Wikimedia Commons

Amaranth

Amarath is another crop important to pre-Columbian people of Central and South America. The plant is valuable both for its seeds, which can be ground into a nutritional flour, and for its leafy greens, which rival spinach and kale in nutrients.

Its flour makes excellent tasting flatbreads, pastas and cereal. Its leaves make for a protein-rich addition to salad.

Photo Credit: Don O’Brien/Flickr

Soybeans

Perhaps the most common and widespread plant-based complete protein, soybeans were first cultivated in East Asia but have since spread around the world. Tofu, soy milk and a wide variety of meat and dairy substitutes are derived from the soybean.

Besides being a source of complete protein, soybeans have also been shown to reduce cholesterol, help prevent prostate cancer, and even fight osteoporosis.

Soybeans also account for 80 percent of domestic biofuel production in the United States, and are an important resource for cattle feed.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Buckwheat

Despite the name, buckwheat is not actually related to wheat, as it is not a cereal or grass.  First cultivated in Southeast Asia, buckwheat is perhaps most widely eaten in the form of soba noodles, popular in Japanese and Korean cuisine.  In many regions of Europe, such as Russia and France, buckwheat is also transformed into pancakes.

Buckwheat should also not be confused with wheat in that it is gluten-free. In fact, it is a common substitute for other grains when brewing gluten-free beer.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Hempseed

Although probably best known for belonging to the Cannabis genus, hemp is far more valuable as a food source and building/textile material than as a psychoactive crop. Hempseeds are rich in protein and can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, or even made into hemp milk.

Hempseeds are also rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, essential fatty acids vital to our metabolism.

The plant is also valuable as a building material and textile, used to make everything from clothing fibers to concrete-like blocks called hempcrete.

Photo Credit: graibeard/Flickr

Chia

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! Yes, that’s right, the infamous Chia Pet is grown using sprouts from the chia plant (Salvia hispanica). It just so happens that chia seeds also provide a rare plant source for complete protein.

First cultivated by the Aztec of Central America, chia is a flowering plant in the mint family. The seeds may be eaten raw or ground into a flour. They are also often added to water or fruit juices to create a nutritional drink. Chia sprouts can also be consumed much like alfalfa sprouts, to be used in salads or sandwiches.

Photo Credit: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region/Flickr

Aphanizomenon flos-aquae

Technically, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae is not really a plant; it is a blue-green algae, belonging to a different taxonomic kingdom from plants. Even so, it provides an animal-free source of protein for vegans and vegetarians all the same.

The algae is most commonly used as a food supplement, sold as tablets. Aside from being a source of complete protein, it has also been shown to have benefits for the immune system.

Although it is known to grow in many regions of the world, by far the most abundant source of the cyanobacteria comes from a single lake in southern Oregon: Klamath Lake. Every year, the algae experiences a massive bloom, choking out all other microphytes in the lake.

Since the algae comes in both toxic and non-toxic forms, caution should be advised before harvesting it as a food supplement.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Spirulina

Another microalga that offers an animal-free source of complete protein is spirulina. First used as a food source by pre-Columbian Mesoamericans, today it is cultivated worldwide and primarily used as a dietary supplement.

Spirulina’s value as a nutritious food supplement has been recognized by several member states of the United Nations, who have assembled an organization called the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition. The organization aims to utilize spirulina to combat malnutrition in famine-struck regions.

Top Photo Credit: cyclonebill/Flickr

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Here’s our list of 11 of the most unusual and anti-intuitive wind turbine designs that could soon revolutionize the field.

Photo credit: Grimshaw Architects

Grimshaw Aerogenerator

This antennae-looking turbine, designed by Wind Power Limited and visualized by Grimshaw Architects, looks more like a radio beacon for contacting space aliens than it does a way of generating power from wind. Nevertheless, this unexpected design has the potential to generate roughly three times more power than a conventional offshore turbine of equivalent size.

The Aerogenerator makes use of a rotating vertical shaft, as opposed to the horizontal shafts of more familiar windmill designs. This simple conceptual adjustment has a number of advantages. First, it removes the need for the turbine to always be facing into the wind; gusts coming from any direction can cause it to spin. Secondly, it makes the turbine more cost effective to maintain and repair, since the gear boxes are located at ground level rather than at the top of a tower.

Check out a video animation of an offshore Aerogenerator in action.

Photo credit: Atelier DNA

Windstalk Bladeless Turbine

Can there be such a thing as a turbine without blades? That’s the idea behind Atelier DNA’s Windstalk design, a bladeless turbine that looks more like a giant cattail swaying in the wind than it does a windmill. Electricity is generated each time the wind sets the Windstalks a-waving. Their principle advantages over traditional designs are that they produce little noise and are bird-and-bat safe, since there are no spinning parts. They also have a strong aesthetic appeal. You might imagine yourself mesmerized by a field of these turbines dancing in the breeze.

Each stalk is 180-feet high, so they are also impressive in size. You can investigate more about these turbines at Atelier DNA, and look into more of this laboratory’s other innovative designs.

Photo credit: Powerhouse Wind

Powerhouse Wind’s Single Blade Turbine

The Windstalk proved that there can be such a thing as a bladeless turbine, but what about a turbine with only one blade? New Zealand’s Powerhouse Wind has not only proven that such a turbine can work, but also that a one-blade design can be cheaper and quieter than conventional multi-blade turbines.

Since much of the noise from spinning turbine blades comes from their tips and trailing edge, having only one blade automatically reduces noise. Fewer blades also means more durability. The turbine is currently geared more toward domestic scale production, and because of its one-blade design it is also more affordable to the average consumer.

Photo credit: NanoVentSkin

NanoVentSkin

When it comes to meeting large-scale wind energy demands, most people think big. Designer Agustin Otegui thinks small. Nano small. He has come up with the ingenious idea of creating a fabric-like “skin” which is made up of thousands of tiny interwoven micro-turbines. As wind blows across the surface of this “skin,” the mini-turbines spin. Collectively, they have the power to collect a lot of energy.

The biggest advantage to this design is that these turbines can be placed almost anywhere: on the surface of buildings, as lining for gusty highway tunnels, even on the shafts of larger traditional wind turbines.

You can read more, and see more images, at Otegui’s NanoVentSkin blog.

Photo credit: Chetwoods Architects

The Wind Dam

You’ve heard of hydroelectric dams, but have you heard of a wind dam? That’s the imaginative idea behind this “sail turbine” design by Chetwoods Architects. This giant sail, designed to be positioned in a windy mountain gorge near Northern Russia’s Lake Ladoga, acts as a dam, funneling the wind through a central turbine. With traditional turbines, more wind passes around the rotors than through them. But this inefficiency is solved if the wind is collected and dammed within a giant sail.

This design also passes the aesthetic test; a difficult task given that its proposed placement is in such a spectacular and unblemished landscape.

Photo credit: asadel/YouTube

Laddermill Project

This innovative design by researchers at Delft University in The Netherlands makes use of a string of tethered “kiteplanes,” which soar in the high altitude winds of the jet stream. Essentially, the aerodynamics of the planes makes them fly in a continuous loop, which turns an electrical generator on the ground. The principle advantage of this Laddermill design is that it can capture the consistent and high speed winds that exist at over 30,000 feet.

Watch this video to see the kiteplanes in action.

Photo credit: David Fisher/Dynamic Architecture

Dubai’s Dynamic Tower

There may not be a greater molding of wind power and architecture than that of Dubai’s Dynamic Tower. This planned structure, designed by architect David Fisher, features rotating floors which can each move independently via voice command. In the space between each floor is a wind turbine, eloquently hidden and virtually silent. It is estimated that 1,200,000 kilowatt-hours of energy will be generated every year from the turbines alone. The building should be able to generate enough power to meet all of its own energy needs, with additional help from solar panels fitted on the roof.

Check out video animations of this remarkable building at the Dynamic Architecture website.

Photo credit: Makani Power

Flying Wind Turbine

Why put a turbine on the ground when you can make it airborne? This inventive design looks more like a top secret air force plane than a wind turbine. Designed by Makani Power, the Airborne Wind Turbine has the obvious advantage of being able to collect wind from higher altitudes. Each propeller makes about 7.5 kilowatts of power, which is sent back down to Earth via a cable.

The turbine can be easily launched from land or from a platform out at sea.  A medley of videos featuring the flying turbine in flight, and highlighting its specs, can be found at the Makani Power website here.

Photo credit: Magenn

Magenn Blimp Turbine

This might look like the typical blimp occasionally seen floating over your local sports arena, but it’s actually a “lighter-than-air,” high altitude wind turbine. Designed by Magenn Power, Inc., the blimp turbine generates power by spinning around a horizontal axis. Electricity is then transferred down the 1000-foot tether which also keeps it anchored.

The blimp’s most obvious advantage over traditional turbines is that it can reach the high speed winds found at higher altitudes. It also costs considerably less than traditional designs and can be easily deployed from just about anywhere.

You can find more about the design at Magenn.

Photo credit: Popular Mechanics Video

Windbelt

Who needs a turbine at all when you can generate power merely from an elastic belt vibrating in the wind? This innovative design comes from Shawn Frayne, who was first inspired to create the Windbelt design after watching video of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse. Thinking on a smaller scale, Frayne realized that as a belt bowed in the wind, it could generate electricity. The design is ideal for powering small appliances and devices like LED lamps and radios.

Frayne also likens his Windbelt design to that of a violin bow, which speaks to the design’s simple yet deeply aesthetic appeal. Since it involves so few components and is so cheap to assemble, it’s ideal for small rural communities in developing countries.

You can view a video of Frayne discussing the Windbelt at Popular Mechanics here.

Photo credit: Wind Power Innovations

Wind Harvester

Looking at this device resembling a giant teeter-totter, you may wonder how exactly it is meant to generate power. Called the “Wind Harvester” and invented by Heath Evdemon — also the founder of Wind Power Innovations — this bizarre looking turbine is specially designed to generate power from subtle winds that aren’t strong enough to turn traditional turbines.

The system is based on reciprocating motion. When wind catches the device’s airfoil, it raises until it reaches its peak, then the blade alters its angle and it teeters the other way. Not only does it work in low wind speeds, but it is virtually silent as it rocks up and down. The low-impact motion of the Wind Harvester also makes it ideal for environmentally sensitive areas.

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More and more, architects are stretching the limits of solar technology, and it’s becoming increasingly important for the homes, buildings, stadiums, skyscrapers and cities of the future to be energy-independent and sustainable. In fact, you might say that solar architecture is on the verge of a golden age; Many of the world’s most spectacular structures in development today utilize solar energy in some way.

Here’s just a small sampling: 8 shining wonders of modern solar architecture.

Photo credit: Rolf Disch

Sonnenschiff and the Freiburg Solar City

It’s one thing to build an energy independent home or building, it’s another thing to build an entire settlement that produces more energy than it consumes. That’s exactly what the designers at Rolf Disch have done with the Solar City in Freiburg, Germany.

The rooftops of the settlement’s buildings consist of large photovoltaic panels all pointed in the perfect direction, but they also act as sun shades. So while the sun beats down on their roofs, residents underneath alternatively enjoy cool temperatures.

The solar community is anchored to Sonnenschiff, or the Sun Ship, a commercial building which is another marvel of solar architecture. In fact, Sonnenschiff was the first positive energy commercial building ever built.

Read more and check out the other incredible projects that Rolf Disch has designed at their website here.

Photo credit: James Law Cybertecture International

Cybertecture Egg

Commissioned for Mumbai, India, the Cybertecture Egg is an impressive feat of sustainable architecture. The concept for the structure was originally inspired “by considering the world as an ecosystem allowing life to evolve,” according to its designers at James Law Cybertecture International.

The eggy shape of the office building isn’t just for show; the design also utilizes passive solar design, which serves to regulate temperatures within the building by decreasing heat gain and lowering energy loads. Gardens are also incorporated throughout the building to provide both shade and a natural aesthetic. This includes an elevated garden at the egg’s upper ‘tip,’ which also assists in cooling the building.

The building is powered using solar panels and rooftop wind turbines, and it can even harvest its own water for garden irrigation.

Photo credit: Graft Lab

Vertical Village

Dubai is known for its outlandish, futuristic architecture, but the emirate’s latest architectural trend is sustainable design. Few structures exemplify this more than the Vertical Village, designed by the architects at Graft Lab.

The structure’s solar panel arrays sparkle in the scorching Dubai sun, but the real genius of the Vertical Village’s design lies in how everything is positioned to keep the building cool while maximizing solar capture at the same time. Each of the jettisoning ‘walls’ that hang over the structure’s base point their panels at the sun while also being perfectly placed to provide shade.

Check out more about this and Graft Lab’s other projects at their website here.

Photo credit: Zoka Zola Architects

Chicago Solar Tower

Solar architecture doesn’t just have to fill the skylines of foreign cities; it could also soon be coming to North America. Check out this design for a Solar Tower in Chicago by Zoka Zola Architects. This skyscraper is almost completely shielded by sun-tracking solar panels which rotate like sunflowers to follow the sun throughout the day.

The panels are carefully positioned to provide shade for the building’s floors but not to obstruct the view. According to its designers, this tower’s “cosmo-bio-logical skin” could have the power to produce “new and intensified experiences and awareness” for the citizens of Chicago.

Photo credit: RAFAA Architecture and Design

Solar City Tower

Designed specially for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, this stunning energy-generating waterfall display will be located on Cotunduba Island and will serve as a beacon to all those arriving to Rio by sea or air. The Solar City Tower will be the iconic symbol of Rio’s efforts to make the 2016 Summer Games the first zero-carbon footprint games in history.

Designed by RAFAA Architecture and Design, the tower’s interplay of renewable energies is impressive. It all begins with the power generated by solar panels, which will produce energy for the Olympic village by day, then pump seawater by night. That seawater will then be released to drive turbines. It can also be pumped over the top of the building to create a breathtaking wall of water.

There will also supposedly be a retractable platform equipped for bungee jumping from the top, which isn’t so much sustainable as it is cool.

Photo credit: Fu Tsu Construction Co. via Toyo Ito

Kaohsiung National Stadium

Stadiums are almost always massive energy hogs, and usually make for poor examples of sustainable architecture. One exception to the rule, however, is this spectacular, dragon-shaped arena in Taiwan, which generates 100 percent of its electricity from the solar panels lining its exterior.

Designed by Toyo Ito, the energy production of Kaohsiung National Stadium is enough to power 3,300 lights and two jumbo vision screens. Perhaps most impressive, the stadium takes just 6 minutes to power up completely.

Since games aren’t played inside the stadium everyday, the building is transformed into a power plant during its ‘off’ days, capable of meeting almost 80 percent of the neighboring area’s energy requirements.

Photo credit: Himin

Dezhou Solar City

Christened as the largest solar-powered building in the world, this building erected in Dezhou, China was designed to look like a sun dial. The structure also served as the apropos venue for the 4th World Solar City Congress.

The building is also designed to provide 30 percent more energy savings than the national standard by utilizing advanced roof and wall insulation.

Photo credit: Studied Impact/Robert Ferry

Almeisan Tower

Created for Za’abeel Park in Dubai, this stunning tower designed by architect Robert Ferry would not only provide its own energy, but more than enough energy to run the rest of Za’abeel Park too. The design includes 224 large heliostatic polished mirrors, positioned on the tower’s top platform, that rotate to track the sun. The mirrors then reflect brilliant beams of light into a central collector at the tower’s tip. This magnified sunlight would then be used to generate steam to power a turbine.

The tower would also provide the venue for a cultural center. An observation platform near the top would offer fantastic views.

‘Almesian’ is actually the Arabic name for one of the brightest stars in the sky from the Gemini constellation. It’s a fitting name for a tower that would surely be recognizable from great distances thanks to the sunlight beaming at its tip.

Learn more about some of Robert Ferry’s other sustainable designs at Studied Impact.

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The vast capacity of solar energy should not be understated: Solar has the potential to be much more than just a supplement to fossil fuels and nuclear power; the technology has the capability of eventually replacing them outright. For example, all of Europe’s energy needs could be met by capturing just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle Eastern deserts alone.

Given that solar power now also costs less to produce than nuclear energy, the nations of the world have few excuses left for not developing their solar resources. Here are the 10 countries alternatively leading the charge, according to the latest European Photovoltaic Industry Association estimates on each nation’s total photovoltaic peak power capacity.

 Photo credit: Pink Dispatcher/Flickr

1. Germany

Germany is by far the world’s leader in solar PV capacity, producing 24,700 MW annually. That’s nearly twice as much as the world’s second leading nation, Italy– and there’s no indication that they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. In the last 5 years, the price of installing PV systems in Germany has decreased by 50 percent, due in large part to the country’s feed-in tariffs introduced by the German Renewable Energy Act.

How they plan to get more:

The government in Germany has already set the ambitious target of 66 GW of solar PV capacity by 2030, the required pace for which they are currently exceeding. Germany’s plan is also to get 25 percent of its total electricity from solar by 2050.

Photo credit: mararie/Flickr

2. Italy

Italy led the world last year, adding a whopping 9,000 MW in newly connected capacity in 2011. Their cumulative total now sits at about 12,500 MW of solar PV production annually, second in the world.

How they plan to get more:

Having quadrupled their PV capacity in 2011, Italy has set the bar high for the future. Though 2011′s pace will be difficult to maintain, Italy is poised to continue as a world leader in solar production thanks in large part to high incentives from Conto Energia.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

3. Japan

The Japanese are known for their embrace of technology, and they’re no different when it comes to clean tech. Japan installed 1,100 MW of newly connected PV capacity in 2011 and now sit at a cumulative total of 4,700 MW annually.

How they plan to get more:

The Japanese government has set some ambitious targets: 28 GW of PV capacity by 2020 and 53 GW by 2030. A feed-in tariff was enacted in 2009 to help those goals along, and most new homes in Japan are now built with solar power installed.

Photo credit: Wiki Commons/Brian Ybarbo

4. United States

The United States is home to the largest solar power installation in the world, the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California. Currently the U.S. is forth in the world in solar PV production at about 4,200 MW annually, however the country produces more than double that capacity when all types of solar technology are accounted for.

How they plan to get more:

Solar power could produce 10 percent of the Unites States’ total electricity needs by 2025 according to some estimates, and many individual states have enacted ambitious renewable energy goals that could surpass those estimates regionally if accomplished. For instance, California has passed legislation requiring utilities to obtain 33 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2021.

Photo credit: Wiki Commons

5. Spain

Spain was second in the world in total PV solar production just over a year ago, but have fallen into a tie for forth with the United States after a very slow 2011 which saw them add “only” 400 MW to their total capacity. Still, the sun-rich nation sits at a respectable 4,200 MW in annual production, and adds even more solar power thanks to their state of the art solar thermal power plant, PS10.

How they plan to get more:

Spain was hit hard by the 2008 economic downturn, and subsidies for solar power were drastically cut in that year and have been cut further since. Nevertheless, the fact that they continue to increase their solar capacity annually is encouraging.

Photo credit: Desmond Kavanagh/Flickr

6. China

China saw its cumulative PV capacity grow by 2,000 MW in 2011, to a total of 2,900 MW. Their contribution to solar production worldwide is much more substantial though. For instance, in 2007 the Chinese were already producing approximately 23% of the world’s photovoltaic products. Solar technology production is growing at a rapid pace in China.

How they plan to get more:

Though China is, in a sense, exporting more solar technology than they are utilizing themselves, they have set an ambitious personal goal of 20-30 GW of domestic production by 2020.

Photo credit: Jan Ramroth/Flickr

7. France

France saw 1,500 MW of newly connected capacity in 2011, but the country has a cumulative installed capacity of just 2,500 MW. So 2011 was a big year, though much of the infrastructure for that was already completed in 2010.

How they plan to get more:

Unfortunately, a new legal framework in France aims to limit the annual market size to 500 MW, which could put a damper on some of the growth they experienced in 2010-11. Nevertheless, France is still plays a major role in the European Union’s total renewable energy goals.

Photo credit: Zruda/Flickr

8. Czech Republic

After two hectic years in which the Czech Republic’s solar production from PVs jumped to nearly 2,000 MW annually, 2011 saw a major downturn. Even so, the nation still ranks comfortably among the world’s leaders in cumulative production.

How they plan to get more:

The Czech Republic literally fell off the map in 2011, producing only around 10 MW of newly connected capacity. Opposition from major stakeholders was to blame for the downturn, and it may be a while before the country regains the blazing pace it set in 2009-10. Still, those years showed the world just what the Czech Republic could accomplish with the right backing.

Photo credit: Borya/Flickr

9. Belgium

The Flemish market in solar PV production boomed again in 2011 by 550 MW, improving their total annual production to 1,500 MW.

How they plan to get more:

Flemish company Katoen Natie has announced plans to build the largest solar institution in Europe, which should increase solar power in Antwerp and the surrounding region by 25%.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

10. Australia

The hot, arid, and little-populated central landmass which makes up much of Australia is ideal for solar energy production, and the industry is growing rapidly there. Last year saw 700 MW of annual production from PVs added to the grid, over half of the country’s cumulative total of 1,200 MW.

How they plan to get more:

Feed-in tariffs, mandatory renewable energy targets and other incentives have been enacted to assist the country in reaching its solar energy goals. A program called “Solar Cities” has also been launched, which promotes solar power and other renewable sources of energy in urban areas throughout the country.

Main image: Pure3d/Flickr

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