Green Options

You’ve done it.  I’ve done it. We’ve all squawked at the lack of green-ness current gadgets have to offer. In fact, Greenpeace has built an entire campaign around it.

Every time I buy a new gadget it’s like welcoming a new pet into the family. You go to the store, select the perfect little tyke, and rush home to introduce it to your existing collection. The best part? No jealousy among your older electronics: they’re made to play together.

But electronics rarely last as long as a real pet. As faithfully as it might serve you, within a few years it’s time to put that gadget out to pasture. This is your guide to the greenest pastures around.

Back in late May, I shared some information about the Medis 24 x 7 PowerPack, a fuel cell that charge a variety of electronic devices through the use of interchangeable tips. Last night I noticed an story on CNET’s Crave (”the gadget blog”) about a new application for the cell. It described an LED flashlight with an adapter to plug into a PowerPack that can operate for as long as six weeks on a single fuel cell.

As far as green gadgets go, this little desktop computer will give Dell and (to a lesser extent) Apple a run for their money.

The CherryPal promises to be affordable, efficient, and powerful enough for the average PC user. At first glance, that stats on the system look modest, and for good reason. This design actually cuts out 20% of PC components to reduce energy usage. But fear not, despite being small (the size of a paperback), the CherryPal claims it can start up in 20 seconds, and cloud computing provides more power/storage when you need it. A Linux operating system (now more user friendly than ever), and cloud computing means you won’t need to worry about viruses or install protective programs that can slow down your PC.

I cover a lot of upcoming or future technology, but it’s time to step into the present and aim for the past. Today we’re going to look at a technology available right now that can make some wanton energy waste history. It’s a surge protector that stakes the hearts of vampire electronics without hassling you, the sleeping victim.

Vampire appliances are pretty much anything you can plug in that still sucks energy when it’s supposedly turned off. Some are pretty obvious - the clocks on your microwave or VCR/DVD player burn all day, everyday. We know they’re not “off” because we cans see their LEDs glow. But other electronics, from your television to your cell phone charger also draw power when they’re plugged in but not in use. Check out a handy graph from Good Magazine. Some gadgets are notorious, like your plasma TV. Estimates claim that 5% or more of U.S. energy usage is insidiously wasted by “stand-by mode” or certain misleading “off” buttons. A whopping 5% may not sound like much, but it adds up to about $1 Billion dollars per year - and energy prices will probably continue to rise.

Be honest - how many times would you go around the house unplugging everything before it got old? Smart greenies have been switching off their surge protectors, but it’s easy to forget while watching your favorite late-night TV show or blogging at 4am. So what can we do about these metal-toothed Nosferatu in our midst? How about a surge protector that turns off all your appliances for you?

It looks like a child’s toy from the 70s, but this new high-tech camera can record more than a simple Polaroid. It can create a 3D image of almost anything, and you can take it almost anywhere.

Developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena, Germany, the Kolibri CORDLESS is the size of a shoe box and it weighs a little over 2 lbs. No cables required, you just point and click. Several seconds later a detailed 3D image will appear on a laptop. From there you can analyze and use the digital model.

I've covered several solar gadgets here on GO, but it's important to promote the value of some kinetic energy-based products as well. One such cool device that I found while stumbling the green web is the Eco LED Flashlight.

Instead of having the shakes to produce energy (like most other eco-friendly lights out there) this product uses a zip cord. Simply pull the cord for about a minute — and voila!

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