Tag: GREENTECH

In an effort to find a convenient and profitable way to recycle discarded electronics, ecoATM has raised more than $14 million to place eCycling kiosks in stores across the U.S. Each kiosk pays people who recycle their e-waste by giving them either cash or coupons from the store where the machine is located. All you have to do is drop off that old BlackBerry, iPod or other device at the kiosk. The ...

Google has its hands on everything, it seems. The company just revealed that it had invested significant resources in developing self-driving cars, and now it has announced that it will be investing heavily in the construction of the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) backbone. The 350-mile transmission backbone will connect several offshore wind farms, and provide additional power transmission ...

To all of you traditionalist motorheads unimpressed by all the nerdy, newfangled hybrids on the market, be prepared to be mopped up with a sponge and bucket after the electric Jaguar C-X75 tears through you at 205 miles per hour. You have some time before you become luxury roadkill, though, since the vehicle was only just unveiled as a concept at the Paris Motor Show. And how the hell does it ...

SoBi, or Social Bikes, is a new bike-sharing system being developed by urban planner and bike advocate Ryan Rzepecki. SoBi uses some of the concepts and technologies behind mobile social networking to connect cyclists with bikes -- and each other -- in ways that actually save money over traditional bike-sharing systems. Where traditional bike share systems require special docks placed at ...

Portland General Electric (PGE) and NEC unveiled what they've billed as "North America's first public-use, quick-charge station for electric vehicles" yesterday. Governor Ted Kulongoski helped to juice up a yet-to-be-released Nissan LEAF at the station, which will charge lithium-ion-battery-based vehicles to 80-percent of their capacity in 20 to 30 minutes. "The station was awarded public-use ...

Green vehicles, for many people, have become status symbols rather than just modes of transportation. For example, take the BlackTrail BT-01 electric bike. Manufactured in a limited run of 667 models by Germany's PG-Bikes, this electric hog retails for around $80,000. It's built from lightweight carbon fiber and aerospace aluminum, and weighs just 44 pounds. A 2.5 hour charge on the 17Ah Li-ion ...

China thinks it may have a solution to its growing car and congestion problem: giant buses that straddle the road. Although calling these monstrosities "buses" seem misguided (as they run on tracks, and independently of other street traffic), it's obvious that they could greatly increase the speed and quality of your average Beijing commute. The shuttles arch over the road, allowing other ...

Microsoft and Blue Line Innovations have teamed up to bring another eco-conscious gadget to the marketplace, aiming to help consumers conserve energy and money. The Hohm PowerCost Monitor and WiFi Gateway is being sold for $249, and connects with Microsoft's Hohm service. Hohm tracks energy usage throughout your home, and converts that raw data into real-life dollars and cents. The combined Wi-Fi ...

A U.K. industrial design student has discovered a way to harness energy each time a toilet is flushed or a bathtub is drained. According to Creative Boom, Tom Broadbent's HighDro Power works much like a miniature hydroelectric dam, inside your building's sewage pipes. When water drains from a toilet, tub, sink or any other appliance, it travels down the pipes, through the device and spins four ...

Chris Hallberg, a Marquette University student, has created the world's first smart coffee mug, or 'Smug,' which could make ordering "the usual" at your local coffee shop a breeze. According to Read Write Web, the Smug is embedded with an RFID chip that stores a customer's order history and account information. Without ever opening your mouth or wallet, you can watch as the barista scans the ...

Our most common objection to green cars, whether electric, hybrid or alternative-fuel, is that they are -- always it seems -- plagued by goofy looks, poor performance and featherweight construction. Though not an exception to any of those rules, the T.25 is still impressive in that it gets a whopping 74 miles to the gallon, and that it costs -- right off the showroom floor -- no more than $9,000. ...

With so many geeks riding bicycles, it was only a matter of time until the two-wheeled mode of transportation would get wired. An Instructables.com user recently posted a set of DIY instructions that demonstrates how to rig a bike to power USB devices. The user took a regular USB car adapter, and connected it to a voltage regulator, which leads to a stepper motor mounted near the bike's rear ...

Gardening is usually backbreaking work. Planting, weeding and harvesting require physical exertion and near constant squatting or bending over. Thanks to the strangely named Wunda Products, there may be hope for the chronically lazy who also dream of having their own homegrown produce. The Wunda Weeder consists of a simple metal frame with a platform for a face-down, reclining person, a headrest ...

Surely to become the vehicle of choice for environmentally-minded celebrities and athletes, an electric Range Rover with a whopping 200-mile range will become available in the U.K. later this year. According to the Telegraph, the E-Range, which was developed by Liberty Electric Cars, is the world's first totally electric SUV. The vehicle tops out at 110 mph, thanks to six Lithium Polymer ...

Some of the Switched team take to two wheels for the daily commute, and, although the streets of New York are hardly the safest place to be biking, we're usually more concerned about bike theft than we are swerving taxi drivers. Most of us use the low-tech approach of riding a cheap-o road bike, and lugging around a heavy chain to lock it up, but we're now considering the Halo bike lock concept. ...