A group of four teenagers at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado have invented a device that could save thousands of animals from being hit by cars every year, Good Good Good reported.
The teens are calling their invention “Project Deer.” It uses infrared cameras, an algorithm, and machine learning to alert drivers when an animal may be near.
“The current plan is to utilize an infrared camera to image the surroundings in front to detect animals and warn the driver when animals are in the environment so they can pay more attention, slow down, and be much more likely to avoid a collision,” Bri Scoville, one of the teenagers, told CBS Colorado.
Over the past 10 years, an average of 3,300 wildlife collisions — largely deer and elk — have been reported to the Colorado Department of Transportation each year, with another 2,000 to 4,000 unreported collisions every year.
The Colorado DOT utilizes stationary wildlife sensors, but the teen inventors hope that their creation will be even more effective at protecting wild animals.
Even better, the device is cheap, requiring only four $5 infrared sensors. That means it should be widely accessible and affordable if it ever makes it to market.
“We spoke with someone at Audi; they said that there are huge hopes for this device if we’re able to get this to work,” Siddhi Singh, another of the inventors, told CBS Colorado. “That’s our ultimate goal: to engineer something that anyone and everyone can put on their cars.”
All across the world, teens are coming up with wildly creative inventions that can help protect our environment. Some recent examples include a group of teenagers in Turkey inventing a new type of crop-boosting plasma, a New Jersey teen who gene-edited rice plants to make them grow more efficiently, and another New Jersey teen who invented a device that annihilates spotted lanternflies.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
With a few simple customizations, my mixed-diet family can eat the same meals. Stephanie Dreyer
I’m the only vegan in my family, but I make meals everyone can (and will) eat.
Vegan chili and customizable grilled kebabs keep everyone in my house happy.
On busy weeknights, I turn to lasagna, tacos, and sheet-pan fajitas.
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As the only vegan in my family of five, answering the daily question of “What’s for dinner?” has its challenges — especially when I refuse to cook separate meals for each of us.
After more than a decade of feeding my mixed-diet family, I’ve curated a roundup of dinner ideas, including sheet-pan recipes, food bars, and one-pot meals, that easily feed all of us.
Here are my favorites.
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If I’m short on time, sheet-pan fajitas are reliable.
Seitan fajitas are quick to throw together. Stephanie Dreyer
In my sheet-pan fajitas, colorful bell peppers, savory portobello mushrooms, and plant-based seitan are tossed in a zesty seasoning and drizzled with a creamy cilantro-pepita dressing.
For non-vegans, you can always swap the seitan for chicken or beef made in a separate pan.
This meal is a breeze to prepare, making it perfect for busy weeknights or relaxed weekends.
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Noodles for dinner is a hit in my house.
Instead of beef stroganoff, I make tempeh stroganoff. Stephanie Dreyer
My tempeh-mushroom stroganoff is a winner. I top the loaded noodles with a creamy, nondairy sauce for an easy weeknight dinner.
It has all the traditional flavors you’d expect in a classic stroganoff — mushrooms, garlic, fat — but without the meat or dairy.
For my meat-craving carnivores, I serve it alongside some cooked ground beef that they can stir into their own servings.
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There’s something decadent about a caramelized onion and arugula pizza.
Topping and crisp pizza crust with onions, vegan cheese, and arugula is a win. Stephanie Dreyer
I like to layer creamy vegan cheeses, sweet onions, and zesty arugula on a crisp pizza crust. Plus, non-vegans can easily top their pies with some prosciutto after they are sliced.
Each bite of the caramelized onion and arugula pizza delivers a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that keeps my family reaching for the next slice.
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My family loves my vegan sloppy Joes.
Vegan beef and lentils are both good substitutions for sloppy Joes. Stephanie Dreyer
My plant-powered take on the quintessential American sandwich is deliciously sweet and savory, and it leaves your fingers just as messy as the real thing.
The non-vegans in my family can’t even tell my sloppy Joes are made with vegan beef. But if that’s not the case for you, prepping a meaty filling is simple and still allows you to enjoy the same meal together.
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Mushroom marsala gnocchi is my fancy (but easy) weeknight go-to.
Instead of chicken Marsala, I make gnocchi with a mushroom-marsala sauce. Stephanie Dreyer
My marsala gnocchi screams fancy pants, but the one-pot wonder is ready in 30 minutes.
I surround some potato-cauliflower gnocchi in a bath of mushroom-marsala sauce for a delicious (plant-based) twist on chicken Marsala.
A side of chicken tenders or breasts can bulk up the meal for any meat eaters.
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Taco Tuesday means vegan chorizo and potato tacos.
Everyone in my family loves taco night. Stephanie Dreyer
I like to stuff warm tortillas with a crispy potato mix, walnut-bean chorizo, and a tangy avocado sauce.
If I have to indulge meat eaters, I’ll make some regular chorizo or ground beef on the side.
The tacos are deliciously easy, and it’s always a slam dunk for satisfying everyone in the house.
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Lentil Bolognese lasagna is a weekly staple in my house.
I like to make my lasagna in a skillet. Stephanie Dreyer
A skillet lasagna is easy enough to whip up during the week but sophisticated enough to serve for a special family dinner.
It’s as simple as layering aBolognese sauce made with lentils instead of ground beef, lasagna noodles, and vegan cheese in a skillet before popping everything in the oven.
I like to serve it alongside some vegan and regular Italian sausages for added protein.
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For a comforting meal with robust flavors, I turn to chili.
My family picks their own toppings for chili. Stephanie Dreyer
Chili made with beans and vegan beef is a great meal for mixed-diet families because you can set up a food bar with all sorts of toppings.
Some of my family’s favorites are chopped bacon, shredded cheese, and diced onions, but the possibilities are endless.
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We upgraded pizza night with my spinach-artichoke skillet pie.
We love making pizzas in a skillet. Stephanie Dreyer
Once you cook pizza in a skillet, you’ll probably never want to eat it any other way.
The meal is easily customizable for every taste preference — I’ve subbed chicken for tofu for my carnivores in the past.
After grilling, I serve the kebabs with vegan tzatziki and a fresh Greek salad.
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Buffalo sweet-potato bowls are easy to customize.
Sweet potato and coleslaw are the base for my Buffalo bowls. Stephanie Dreyer
For an easy meal, I coat crispy, oven-baked tofu in Buffalo sauce and nestle it on a bed of roasted sweet-potato cubes and coleslaw.
The vegan dinner is spicy, tangy, and deliciously savory.
Everyone can customize their own bowls with different toppings, so it’s always a winner. For those who are tofu-averse, simply substitute diced chicken and toss it in the same sauce.
SOUTH Africans might encounter sporadic shortages of eggs on shop shelves as the poultry industry recovers from last year’s outbreak of avian influenza.
The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) says it’s aware of stock problems in some areas because the industry is still in the rebuilding phase of getting back to normal production.Play Video
The association’s Dr Abongile Balarane said 30% of the industry was destroyed in the outbreak in several provinces in 2023, but there hasn’t been any avian flu this year.
“It will take us about 17 months to recover that lost production. Normally we have about 27 million chickens that give us eggs, so that has been down to about 19 million at this stage. We anticipate everything should be back to normal as early as next year, around May.”
Last year’s outbreak of bird flu resulted in egg shortages and price increases, while some shops resorted to rationing the amount of eggs customers could buy. At the time millions of chickens were culled and farmers in several provinces suffered huge losses.
However, Balarane is confident that by next May poultry farmers would have recovered and that production will then proceed as expected.
“We also lost some breeding stock. So we have to start by producing fertile eggs which will be placed in incubators. From those incubators you get your day-old chick. From that day-old chick, you have to raise it until it gets to 18 weeks. Once it’s at 18 weeks to 19 weeks then it starts to give you eggs,” he said.
The good news is that come Christmas there won’t be a scramble for eggs as supplies would have picked up by then. “Closer to December this year we’ll start to see from that 30% (loss), maybe 20% recovered or 15% recovered. Early January maybe another 5% will come to the system,” said Balarane.
The industry would try to plug the current shortages by continuing to import liquid and powdered eggs so that all the available eggs are channelled to retailers or consumers. Balarane said the egg powder and liquid was mainly used in bakeries or for industrial purposes.
“Farmers decided not to take the existing eggs in the market and crack them to make powder and liquid. We said we’ll rather import that product, the liquid and powder, and all the remaining eggs in South Africa we’ll channel to your retailers where people can buy those fresh eggs. We did have some imports from Swaziland, not a huge quantity, just to close the gaps in some of the areas,” Balarane said.
The Department of Agriculture said avian influenza was a highly contagious viral disease that affected several species of food-producing birds, pet birds and wild birds. Occasionally other mammals, including humans, contracted avian influenza and surveillance operations were continuing.
“All highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) suspect farms are immediately placed under quarantine and no movement of birds, eggs or products are allowed on, off or through these farms. Samples are collected for verification of the suspicion and back and forward tracing is implemented to detect any possible spread of disease. So far most of the affected properties have culled out the chickens and carcasses were disposed of by dumping at an approved hazardous dump site, incineration, rendering or composting on farm; or on-farm burials were allowed by the Environmental Affairs Department,” it said.
Exposing the Big Game 