You've ditched your Hummer, recycle with a vengeance, and read your Hemingway by candlelight. But what kind of shoes are you wearing? Brooks Running launched a shoe this week containing its new midsole, called BioMoGo, which degrades 50 times faster than a normal one. According to Brooks, a standard shoe can last 1000 years in landfill, while BioMoGo will be gone in just 20. Brooks estimates it will save 30 million pounds of landfill waste over a 20-year period.
I am a two time Olympic runner, that also have a small non-commercial running shoes information site called http://www.runningshoeswizard.com What will be interesting with this new material is not only the durability of these new shoes (that is tested with the test-runners) but also the influence of a midsole material change on running related injuries. Fact is that the midsole is the most important component in controlling pronation, the inward movement runners experience in the landing. Changing this midsole to a different material can influence this pronation control and therefore an increase risk of injuries. If they succeed, though, it will be a great step in the right direction environmentally. regards, Marius Bakken
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.