100 IoT Projects to Tackle Global Challenges

Vint Cerf, a pioneering figure in internet technology, has endorsed a new book that aims to harness the Internet of Things (IoT) to address global environmental and societal challenges. "Saving the Earth with the Internet of Things: 100 Ways You Can Make the World a Better Place" was published by Hood Canal Press on August 1, 2026. The book provides actionable projects for NGOs, educators, students, and local governments, each with a detailed list of affordable, off-the-shelf sensors that address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Rob Tiffany, the author of the book, contends that the necessary technology for making significant progress on pressing environmental and societal issues is already available, but the people closest to these issues lack the guidance to implement it. "The barrier was never engineering talent," Tiffany asserts. "It was that nobody handed the NGO worker, the city engineer, sustainability leader, or the high school teacher a parts list and simple directions. That is what this book is."

The book covers a wide range of actionable projects, including rural flood warning systems, wildfire detection, precision agriculture, water quality monitoring, cold chain integrity, and building energy waste. These projects are designed to be easily implementable with minimal technical expertise, making them accessible to a broad audience.

For instance, Tiffany cites the significant water loss in American water systems, estimating that American water systems lose roughly six billion gallons of treated water every day to leaks, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Similarly, buildings account for about 37 percent of global energy and process-related carbon dioxide emissions, per the United Nations Environment Program. Wildfires burn more than seven million acres a year in the United States at a federal suppression cost near three billion dollars, according to National Interagency Fire Center data. In each case, Tiffany argues, the sensing technology required to detect the problem earlier costs a fraction of the damage it would prevent.

Ray Ozzie, founder and executive chairman of Blues Inc. and a former chief software architect at Microsoft, praised the book, stating, "The Sustainable Development Goals are one of humanity's clearest shared frameworks for addressing hunger, health, water, energy, climate, and protecting life on Earth. Rob Tiffany takes a refreshingly pragmatic approach, showing how commodity IoT technology can be applied immediately, today, to give communities the evidence they need to spot problems sooner and act faster. Global impact begins locally."

The book also functions as a textbook, with learning objectives and review questions at the end of each chapter, aimed at high school classroom projects, university curriculum, and capstone builds. Instructor review copies and syllabus mapping are available, making it a valuable resource for educational institutions.

Hood Canal Press, a publisher specializing in IoT and technology-related content, has produced a comprehensive guide that could significantly contribute to the implementation of sustainable solutions on a global scale. By providing detailed instructions and a parts list, the book aims to bridge the gap between available technology and its application in solving real-world problems.