Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Alternative technology

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Alternative technology is a term used to refer to technologies that are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice.

The term was coined by Peter Harper, one of the founders of the Centre for Alternative Technology, North Wales (a.k.a. The Quarry), in Undercurrents (magazine) in the 1970s.

Some "alternative technologies" have in the past or may in the future become widely adopted, after which they might no longer be considered "alternative." For example, the use of wind turbines to produce electricity.

Alternative technologies

Alternative technologies include the following:

  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Composting
  • Fuel cells
  • Fuels for automobiles (besides gasoline and diesel)
  • Alcohol (either ethanol or methanol)
  • Biodiesel
  • Vegetable oil
  • Biomass to liquid
  • Greywater
  • Solar panels
  • Silicon-based
  • Photosynthetic "Gratzel cells" (Titanium dioxide)
  • Landfill gas extraction from landfills
  • Mechanical biological treatment
  • Recycling
  • Wind generators
  • References

    Alternative technology Wikipedia