The photograph you see above isn’t the result of Photoshop or infrared photography. Captured by Spanish photographer Palíndromo Mészáros, it shows what the landscape of Ajka, Hungary looked like half a year after the Ajka alumina plant accident — an industrial disaster in which 35 million cubic feet of toxic waste flooded the land to a height of around 6.5 feet. Mészáros lined up the thick red line caused by the sludge with the horizon line to obtain this surreal image.

Matthias Broda, inventor and designer of the wooden e-bike, cycles a prototype along a street in Berlin, November 20, 2014. The wooden e-bike produced by German company Aceteam from ash wood, will be launched on the market by spring 2015 and will cost around 3,950 euro (4,950 dollars). The e-bike will be equipped with an 250W e-bike motor for a range of up to 100 kilometer (62 miles) with a rechargeable battery. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

A replica of the Wall-E character is remotely controlled with a mobile phone by Bolivian student Esteban Quispe, 17, in Patacamaya, south of La Paz, December 10, 2015. Quispe built the Wall-E robot using materials he obtained from a rubbish dump in the town located in the Andean highland region. He hopes to mechanize agriculture in Patacamaya by making use of robots that operate on solar energy, Quispe told Reuters. (Photo by David Mercado/Reuters)

Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? As of today, over 30m tonnes of electronic waste has been thrown out so far this year, according to the World Counts. Most e-waste is sent to landfills in Asia and Africa where it is recycled by hand, exposing the people who do it to environmental hazards. Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers. (Photo by Kai Loeffelbein/laif Agentur)

Latvia-based graphic artist and illustrator Alex Konahin recently completed work on a new series of ornate. The illustrations were made using pens and india ink in his distinctive style that makes used of ornate scrolls and intricate floral designs.

One of the highlights on the Audi stand is the bicycle technology concept known as the Audi e-bike Wörthersee – a sport bike that does not fit into any of the usual categories. It is neither a pedelec nor a conventional bike, but is best described as a high-end pedelec made by Audi for sport, fun and tricks. The Audi e-bike Wörthersee combines the Audi brand’s principal competences – design, ultra, connect and e-tron – and explores the limits of what is technically feasible in terms of design, lightweight construction, networking and electric mobility.

Few people haven’t heard about the ancient city of Persepolis, which lies at the foot of the Mountain of Mercy (Kuh-I-Rahmat). In ancient times, Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Regretfully, it was burned by the Greeks in 330 BC after they looted the immense treasure of this city. It is said that Greeks needed 5,000 camels and 20,000 mules to carry all the treasures from Persepolis. The only thing of Persepolis that has survived the wear of time is the ginormous stone terrace 530 by 330 meters adorned by elaborate stone sculptures. It is amazing how intricately detailed some of the sculptures are, despite the fact that they were created many centuries ago.

This cable ropeway suspended between cliffs is the only access to Yushan village in Hubei Province, Chin, which has a population of just over 200 people. The ropeway was built in 1997; before that villagers faced a walk of several days to get to the next nearest village. The ropeway, which is powered by a diesel engine, is 1,000 metres long and 400 metres above the valley floor.