EPA’s Annual Sustainable Design Expo Displays Innovative Green Solutions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The Environmental Protection Agency’s fourth annual National Sustainable Design Expo features more than 50 college teams from across the U.S. displaying innovative solutions for an environmentally sustainable future. The Expo is being held at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 3rd and 4th Streets, until April 22, which is Earth Day.The Expo will feature solar panels made out of natural chlorophyll from plants instead of silicon, low-cost technologies that can provide clean drinking water to developing nations and green buildings, as well as technologies that generate electricity from flying kites and produce plastics from bacteria in wastewater.“At the National Sustainable Design Expo, environmental challenges are being tackled, not just with technical and scientific know-how, but with the spirit of innovation and creativity,” says Dr. George Gray, assistant administrator for EPA’s office of research and development. “The Expo is a great opportunity to see how the energy of these college students, from across the country, is powering solutions for a greener future today.”The National Sustainable Design Expo is open to the general public without charge today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fourth annual People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award, a national competition involving 50 teams of college and university students, will also be presented at the Expo. The teams will exhibit their novel designs to respond to sustainability challenges in the developed and developing world. P3 projects from previous years proved that green designs save energy and are profitable, according to EPA. Several previous projects have had positive impacts around the world, from Appalachian State University’s bio fuels initiative to Rochester Institute of Technology’s low-cost sustainable solar ovens being locally made and marketed in Latin America. The Expo also features exhibits from more than 40 government agencies and nonprofit organizations.