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Saving the Earth with the Internet of Things
100 buildable recipes for tackling the world’s biggest problems facing humanity, with step-by-step instructions, off-the-shelf parts, and an affordable shopping list for every single one.
You don’t have to be a techie. That was the rule I wrote this book under. Inside are 100 field-ready use cases coving things like rural flood warning, wildfire detection, crop irrigation, water quality, and energy waste to name a few. Each one is broken down into what to buy, how to build it, and what it will tell you. Everything runs on inexpensive sensors you can order today. If you’re an NGO working in the field, a teacher looking for a classroom project, or someone passionate about sustainability and wants to help and has no idea where to start, this book was written for you.
100
Buildable recipes
11
UN Sustainable Development Goals
512
Pages
0
Engineering degrees required
What This Book Actually Gives You
The Internet of Things has spent two decades being pitched as a future. This book treats it as available inventory.
Every recipe follows the same structure: the problem stated in plain terms, the parts you need, where to put them, how to wire them up, and what the readings will tell you. No vendor lock-in, no hand-waving, no assumption that you have an engineering team standing by.
- A shopping list for every recipe. Inexpensive, off-the-shelf sensors and devices you can order today.
- Step-by-step instructions written for non-techies. If you can follow a recipe in a cookbook, you can follow these.
- Simple analytics over exotic models. Most environmental wins come from thresholds, trends, and timely alerts — not from a research lab.
- Questions at the end of every chapter. Written so the book works as a classroom text, not just a reference.
The Goals this Book Covers
Eleven of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals, each with its own chapter:
| Goal | What you’ll build |
|---|---|
| 2: Zero Hunger | Precision agriculture, soil and crop sensing, yield protection |
| 3: Good Health and Well-Being | Remote monitoring, cold chain integrity, air quality |
| 4: Quality Education | Connected learning infrastructure and access |
| 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | Leak detection, water quality monitoring, irrigation efficiency |
| 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | Smart grids, distributed generation, demand response |
| 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | Industrial IoT, predictive maintenance, structural monitoring |
| 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | Building energy, occupancy, traffic, urban sensing |
| 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Waste, supply chain transparency, materials tracking |
| 13: Climate Action | Emissions measurement, fleet telematics, carbon accounting |
| 14: Life Below Water | Ocean and waterway monitoring, fisheries, pollution detection |
| 15: Life on Land | Deforestation detection, wildlife monitoring, wildfire early warning |
Who This is For
- NGOs and field organizations. You already know the problem better than anyone. This is the parts list.
- Corporate ESG and EHS leaders. Stop estimating and start measuring, at a hardware cost that doesn’t need board approval.
- High school teachers. Every recipe is a classroom project with a real-world outcome.
- College students. Capstone projects that solve something instead of simulating something.
- University professors. A full curriculum structured around the UN goals, with questions built into every chapter.
- Anyone who wants to help. You didn’t know where to start. Now you do.
For Teachers and Professors
I wrote this so it would work in a classroom, and I’d rather it end up there than anywhere else.
High school: every recipe is a self-contained project with a parts list. Most cost less than a graphing calculator, and students end up holding something that measures the actual world.
University: eleven UN goals, one per chapter, with end-of-chapter questions. It maps onto a semester without modification. Syllabus mapping, slides, and instructor review copies are available.
Bulk and Organizational Orders
Equipping a team, a cohort, or a conference audience? Bulk pricing is available for orders of 10 or more, with signed copies for larger runs.
About Rob Tiffany
Rob Tiffany has spent three decades building the Internet of Things, starting with connected vending machines in 1994, five years before the technology had a name. He has led IoT work at Real Time Data, Microsoft, Hitachi, and Ericsson, and is a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard Trident submarines and SEAL team delivery vehicles. He is the author of nine books and hosts the IoT Coffee Talk podcast.
Read the full bio · Press & media inquiries
Book details
| Title | Saving the Earth with the Internet of Things |
| Author | Rob Tiffany |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Pages | 512 |
| Publisher | Hood Canal Press |
| Publication date | August 1, 2026 |
| ISBN-13 | 979-8996914104 |
| ASIN | B0H7WFFFJB |
| Price | $49.95 |