Last Friday, Britain's Prince William announced the winners of this year's Earthshot Prize. The prize is meant to encourage new ideas and rapid action to help protect the planet. Below are parts of this year's prize-winning projects in each category.
Protect and Restore Nature
Kheyti won the prize for protecting and restoring nature with its "Greenhouse-in-a-box" idea. Kheyti is already working with 1,000 farmers across India, which is one of the most climate-affected countries in the world. The company says the greenhouses allow farmers to use 90% less water and produce seven times as much food. Kheyti hopes to get its greenhouses to 50,000 farmers by 2027.
Clean Our Air
Charlot Magayi won the prize for cleaning the air. Ms. Magayi developed a stove(炉子) that uses a fuel that's cheaper and pollutes far less than charcoal stoves. Currently, over 200, 000 of her Clean Stoves are being used in Kenya.
Build a Waste-Free World
A London-based company called Notpla(for "Not Plastic") won the prize for building a waste-free world. They've created a plastic substitute(替代品) from plants found in the ocean. Unlike most plastic, their products break down naturally with no microplastics. Notpla believes their products can help end the plastic pollution that's filling landfills and polluting oceans.
Fix Our Climate
The Earthshot Prize for working toward fixing our climate went to a company called 44.01. 44. 01 has come up with a way to turn polluting carbon dioxide(CO2) into a rock called peridotite. Once the CO2 has been turned into rock, it can no longer be released into the atmosphere again. The method that 44. 01 uses is fast, cheap and permanent(永久的).
