Tag: CLIMATE

Windows Vista Yes, Vista fixed many of the energy-gulping problems that plagued previous versions of Windows. But, it's been argued by a lot of folks that since many of Vista's features require newer, more-capable hardware, older computers will soon be populating landfills en masse. Sian Berry, the UK Green Party's Female Principal Speaker has said, "Future archaeologists will be able to ...

Cell Phones A critical ingredient in the manufacture of nearly every cell phone on Earth is tantalum, a heat-resistant metal powder derived from an ore called Columbite-tantalite, or coltan. So what? Unfortunately nearly two-thirds of the world's supply of coltan comes from mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR). With demand for cell phones skyrocketing over the last decade, the ...

Blank CDs Considering all of the packaging, plastic, paper booklets, fuel costs and everything else that goes into delivering your favorite artist's CD to the music store, it would seem that downloading is definitely the Earth-conscious way to go. And true enough, downloaded music's ecological impact is half that of the store-bought variety. But when you start burning your downloaded music onto ...

Eclipse Solar Gear Hybrid Notebook Case Instead of looking to the heavens for hope and guidance when your laptop battery sputters out, you'll soon be able to look skyward for some actual laptop-resuscitating power. While Eclipse's messenger bags already use a built-in solar panel to power small gadgets such as cell phones and iPods, the company's upcoming, yet to be priced Hybrid Notebook Case ...

Forever Flashlight Good news for environmentally conscious scaredy cats: Now there's a flashlight that's actually powered by your fear of the dark -- or, more accurately, the nervous shaking caused by your phobia of the dark. Requiring no batteries or bulbs, the Forever Flashlight ($24.95) is powered by 15 to 30 seconds of continuous up-and-down shaking, which produces up to five minutes of ...

CTL Meridian SL700 Computer Those rolling hills on the default Windows XP wallpaper are as green as most PCs get. But, not so for CTL's Meridian SL700, which starts at $918 and features an energy efficient power supply that uses as little as 75 percent of the power an average desktop consumes. What's more, CTL will recycle the computer for free when it eventually croaks -- a service that can ...

USB Cell Batteries Fifteen billion batteries are sold each year, most of which end up at the landfill when they die. Rechargeables are, of course, a better option -- especially these nifty AAs that juice up from your computer's USB port rather than a bulky, socket-sapping charging station. Two AAs will cost you $19.50, while nine-volts and a model for cameras and smart phones are also ...

Master Cool Evaporative Window Cooler Traditional air conditioners brutalize Ma Nature by hogging power and using toxic refrigerant chemicals, which can damage the ozone layer. Evaporative coolers, like this $600 model made by Master Cool, are kind not only to the environment, but also to your bottom line, slashing cooling costs by as much as 75 percent over standard air conditioners. The ...

Windstream Power Human Generator Combo Need some extra incentive to melt off those love handles? Plug your TV into WindStream's Human Generator Combo ($995), which takes energy you create from pedaling and stores it up in the Portable Power Pack, which all of your standard 120-volt devices can plug into. Now, the savings you see on your electric bill are tied directly to how much you exercise. ...

Tesla Roadster While hybrids are all the rage, the electric car gets a bad rap for being kind of nerdy -- thanks in large part to actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Well, forget all of that. The fully electric, sexy as hell, $92,000 Tesla, from Tesla Motors in California, can reach 130 mph and zoom 0 to 60 in about four seconds. That's while averaging 200 miles off of a single charge and ...

Kermit the Frog said it best: It's not that easy being green. Gadget manufacturers can hum that tune better than anyone. These companies, many of them household names, require vast amounts of unnatural resources to create, manufacture and ship energy-draining do-dads in the face of federal regulations and watchdogs of all sizes. Our list of not-so-Earth-friendly gadgets, software, and ...

Earth Day is three days away (April 22). Sure, we could bring you to tears with frightening figures about our rock's climate crisis, but we think it's more helpful to show you the coolest innovations happening in the realm of eco-friendly gadgetry, and hopefully inspire you to stop and think about the products you purchase in the future. Most of the electronics in your house probably already ...