Now, we thought we had seen it all, but apparently we were just getting started. We’ve seen floating cities, cloud making yachts, even artificial CO2 absorbing “trees”, but this one really takes the cake. The  newest energy solution: the “Luna Ring”, a solar belt around the moon. Yes, that’s right, Shimizu Construction has devised a plan to place a ring around the moon, literally beaming the energy right back to Earth.

The belt is planned to span across the entire lunar equator, being around 11,000 km long and around 400 km wide. The power would be transferred back to earth via microwave power transmission antennas and laser power transmission facilities. These power transmission facilities would be on the near side of the moon, (the side that always faces earth) while the side facing the sun would be absorbing solar power. Finally, a radio beacon would ensure the safe voyage of this power and guide it to the receptors on Earth.

If just the concept alone blows your mind, wait until you hear the building process. The building of this giant structure would be done by robots, being controlled 24 hours a day by operators on Earth. Along with the robots, there would also be a group of astronaut supervisors. The machines and equipment would be ever so conveniently, assembled in space and then land on the moon to begin the building process. Sound simple? We didn’t think so either.

The process, funds, and amount of work needed to build something like this, even we will admit, is a little too far fetched. While we can appreciate the innovative nature of Shimizu, and their ability to shock us all with their “out there” ideas for solutions to the current crisis our planet is in, we definitely don’t think the moon will be sporting a belt any time soon.

Dixon Golf recently released its new innovation, the “Earth Ball”. This golf ball is 100% recyclable as well as made from renewable materials. It is essentially the golfing environmentalist’s dream. Other previous brand name golf balls used toxic heavy metal pollutants and contained non-renewable synthetic materials.

Not only is the golf ball itself environmentally safe and recyclable, but the packaging is also made from entirely recyclable materials. However, the performance of the golf ball is not compromised despite the new materials used. Additionally, the “Official Golf Ball” of the eGolf Tarheel Tour for 2009 was no other than Dixon’s new Earth Ball. Surprisingly, the ball even out-performed several three piece urethane golf balls in testing, displaying that these organic golf balls can remain high performance, even with a green core.