Here's an innovative green idea (thanks for Grist! for sharing it): Texas Tech researchers are testing a new type of building block from Mason Greenstar. The new material called Blox are marketed as an energy efficient and environmentally friendly building material. The blox are made partially from recycled shredded Texas Lottery tickets and shredded phone books.
How cool is that? Students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas Tech are conducting the research and you can further learn about their work in this video: