Solutionaries: Balancing the needs of humans, the environment in a warming world

At the same time, our Earth’s climate is changing, warming up faster than any other century.

The Solutionaries team compiled several ways to conserve precious resources and build a more sustainable future for us and generations to come.

Water Less, Save Money

Fresh water.

It is Earth’s most valuable resource, yet, a lot of it goes to waste.

In Florida, we use a lot of water to keep the grass green.

Nationwide, homes use nearly 9 billion gallons of water for landscape irrigation — per day, according to the EPA.

But imagine a home with landscaping that doesn’t need sprinklers.

Turns out, one of Central Florida’s biggest developers is bringing that idea to life while helping people save water and money.

Researchers said anyone can transform their landscape with these native Central Florida plants.

In fact, more big box garden centers are carrying these plants but you need to know what to look for.

Correspondent Erik Sandoval made a list of recommendations for this story here.

Capping Carbon

Let’s be real: planting an oak tree in your backyard will only do so much for the environment.

That’s why the federal government recently proposed new rules for power plant operators across the country to dramatically slash their planet-warming emissions.

One way of doing that is being tested at the National Carbon Capture Center.

Let’s look at how this technology works and why some critics say this is not a climate change solution, but a waste of money.