12 Eco-Friendly Innovations in Refrigeration and Cooling

For most of us, refrigeration involves the giant electricity-sucking appliance in our kitchens or the insulated containers we fill with ice. The designs below, however, are far more eco-friendly. From solar-powered fridges to refrigerator-free kitchens, there are a number of ways any household can preserve their edibles in an environmentally-sensitive manner.

Not all refrigeration involves food, however. In Dubai, they're in the process of building an underground cooling system for the Palazzo Versace that would absorb heat from the sand, thereby keeping tourists' tootsies from burning in the hot sand. Although the coolant will absorb heat rather than produce cold air (and thereby suck up energy), the Palazzo Versace's idea to also add giant blowers to circulate cool air over beachgoers has incited a firestorm of controversy.