Brammo electric motorcycle now available

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on July 8th, 2009

BrammoThe Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle is finally available and officially on sale. It should be interesting to see how this sells. The eco-friendly bike features a horsepower rating of 13.7, 31 ft/lbs of torque and weighs about 280 pounds. The bike has a top speed of about 50 miles an hour, with a 45 mile range before requiring a 3 hour recharge.

So if you’re looking for a more eco-friendly ride, this isn’t the most powerful of motorcycles, but you’ll be doing your part while getting your vroom vroom on. It will run you about $12,000.

iPhorest: Plant a tree from your iPhone

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on March 23rd, 2009

iPhorest: Plant a tree from your iPhoneThis is a pretty neat application. It allows iPhone users to plant a virtual tree from their phone while simultaneously activating the planting of a real tree. Originally showcased at TED, the app is now available to the masses on iTunes.

The real trees are planted by the Conservation Fund, and they will begin with the restoration of a vulnerable wildlife habitat along the Gulf Coast. It’s sponsored by Ecolife Apparel, makers of cotton “green” underwear, and was developed by iPhactory.

Samsung Blue Earth Phone is made from water bottles

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on February 12th, 2009

Samsung Blue Earth Phone is made from water bottlesSamsung’s upcoming Blue Earth smartphone is a little different. In front you’ll find a touch screen, while the entire back takes advantage of the space with a solar panel. If you can believe Samsung, they are claiming that the panel produces enough electricity to place a call any time you need to.

We’ll believe that one when we see it, but as far as eco-phones go, this one is interesting. Keeping energy in mind, the phone includes an Eco Mode, which adjusts screen brightness and deactivates Bluetooth. Not only that, but most of the phone is made from recycled water bottles. Both the handset, and it’s charger are free from harmful substances.

Wine bottle’s package turns into a beautiful lamp

Posted in Lamps by Conner Flynn on December 10th, 2008

Wine bottle’s package turns into a beautiful lampWhat if, every time we bought something, that item’s packaging could be re-used as another product? That way, we give the landfills a bit of a break. That’s the idea behind this Cava wine bottle packaging by Spanish design firm Ciclus.

Just drink up all of your wine from the bottle contained inside, and the outer layer of the packaging turns into this cool looking lamp. It’s a win win. In the package, you also get the fixture and bulb that you’ll need to complete your new cool lamp.

UPS goes label free with new printer

Posted in Printers by Conner Flynn on November 13th, 2008

UPS goes label free with new printerThis thing may look like an X-Man accessory or strange sci-fi gun that straps on your arm and sucks your precious lifeforce with every round it fires, but no, as cool as that would be, it’s just something UPS is using so they can get all label-free. It’s HP’s Handheld sp400 All-in-One, which scans barcodes and prints sorting info directly onto boxes with quick-drying ink. No paper labels are required at all. UPS has been testing it out at a shipping center in Orlando, where they reportedly used it on 40,000 boxes with not a single error. Of course there was that one guy they pants in order to tattoo his butt cheeks, but that doesn’t count.

This device alone will make the company much greener. It will replace several larger, less green pieces of equipment like a giant thermal printer, PC, monitor and scanner. According to UPS the company will save 92,456 hours, 1,338 tons of paper and 3,807 tons of carbon emissions a year. That’s pretty big.

Hands On: Baylis Revolution Eco Media Player

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on November 9th, 2008

Hands On: Baylis Revolution Eco Media PlayerBaylis is back with an update to their Eco Media Player, called the Revolution. You might remember that when we tested the original, we liked it for what it was, but our main gripe was navigation and ease of use. Does the Revolution fare better? Read on.

ECO Showerdrop keeps your shower short

Posted in Home by Conner Flynn on October 29th, 2008

ECO Showerdrop keeps your shower shortThere’s nothing like a nice long and hot shower, but that isn’t good for the environment. Plus, in the cold of winter, it’s pretty tough to actually get out of the shower. If you need some help shutting the water off and getting out, the Eco Showerdrop will help you. It acts as both a water measurer and a timer, and it’s programmable.

Once you hit the water limit you’ve set for yourself, it beeps at you until you quit. If you keep showering, the device will calculate how much water you’re using and tell you, hoping that you can be guilted out of the shower. Different showers use different amounts of water, so the Eco Showerdrop can read how much water your specific showerhead is releasing. So hopefully you can set it for longer showers.

E-note concept saves paper

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 27th, 2008

E-note concept saves paperThe Post-it note is pretty handy. It’s something that everyone has used at one point or another. Just imagine how many trees it takes to keep us in Post-it notes every year. Whatever the number is, the E-note concept from Sequoia Studio can keep those trees firmly in the ground. It uses tactile and flexible electronic paper technology, and can be stuck and unstuck easily thanks to a “Gecko” glue.

Whether it picks up hair and dirt and becomes useless, we aren’t sure. The E-note is solar powered, giving it enough juice to take care of your message and reminders across before it runs out. It even has a visual alarm, an organizer and the ability to change between 8 different colors. We want this on our desks ASAP.

The grass is greener on the Lawn PC

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 26th, 2008

The grass is greener on the Lawn PCDesigner David Veldkamp created this futuristic concept PC he calls the LawnPC. The device would create all the power it needs from solar cells embedded in the grass that sits on top of the PC. The grass isn’t real grass, it’s actually made from natural cotton fabric that carries inkjet printed solar cells. The use of cotton makes the blades biodegradable, just like real grass. The idea is that hundreds of these blades can generate all the power the system needs at about 60 Watts per hour. The blades transfer energy to the battery plug-in at the bottom of each blade. The Lawn PC is also completely wireless.

All the electricity is generated by the machine. Which doesn’t even require a cooling fan. The natural air flow in between the lawn is enough to cool the system. All you have to worry about is placing the system near a window or a vent, where it can get all the light and air it needs. The lawn is removable, so it will also power your other electronic devices. Those devices will look like they do now, just with a blade of grass sticking out of them like an organic antenna.

Dual Flush toilet does double doody

Posted in Home by Conner Flynn on October 15th, 2008

Dual Flush toilet does double doodyWhen you think about it having the toilet and the sink in separate components doesn’t make much sense. Combining the two would save space and hopefully encourage those non-hand washers to wash up after doing their business because it’s right there. You know who you are. It saves water too.

The Dual Flush toilet puts this into practice by letting you brush your teeth while you pee and wash your hands and whatever else you want to do before you THEN flush, using the same water for all of it. Is it weird? Hell yeah, but you are saving a ton of water.

Nokia builds a wood phone, squirrels protest

Posted in Nokia by Conner Flynn on October 13th, 2008

Nokia builds a wood phone, squirrels protestFound in textlad’s Flickr pool, with the copy reading: “The first Nokia eight mega pixel phone? I guess we’ll have to wait some time for that… Only a concept made of wood from sustainable forests at this stage but fun anyway.”

Apparently Nokia themselves designed and created this object of Ewok desire. It’s an 8-megapixel “handset” that appears to actually work. Are they up to something? Only the creatures of the forest know for sure. Obviously we won’t be seeing it available anytime soon. Though it would be cool to use, what with it’s old-timey look and all.

Ovetto Recycling Egg looks hungry

Posted in Home by Conner Flynn on October 7th, 2008

Ovetto Recycling Egg looks hungryThe Ovetto Recycling Egg may not have landed with Mork From Ork, but it’s ready to help you recycle. It’s creator, Gianluca Soldi, has high hopes for the Ovetto as “an object that meets the needs of domestic waste separation in order to educate the population to correctly dispose of waste in order to be able to consequently recycle it.”

It not only fits easily in modern homes and offices, but it looks pretty damn awesome in a 2001: A Space Odyssey sort of way. It may be the neatest egg I’ve ever seen. And it’s good for the environment. The Ovetto is even made of recycled polypropylene. At £139.99 you really can’t go wrong with a futuristic egg. I’m just saying.

Recycled newspaper USB flash drive

Posted in USB Flash Drives by Conner Flynn on September 18th, 2008

Recycled newspaper USB flash driveThe eco minded geek is always on the lookout for the next environmentally friendly gadget. The Recycle USB flash drive is all Mother Nature, fit for eco geeks and hippies who have given in to using tech and washing occasionally.

The entire exterior case is made up of recycled newspaper and has a storage capacity of 512MB - 16GB. I’m confused though. Does this mean it’s okay to just throw it in the forest when you’re done with it or will it choke small furry creatures? Either way, it’s not my concern after that. Still, I think they could have given it some style while making it Earth-friendly. I mean it looks like a paint chip off the wall.

HP reduces shipping materials by 97%, ships laptop in its bag

Posted in HP by Conner Flynn on September 4th, 2008

HP reduces shipping materials by 97%, ships laptop in its own bagIt seems like common sense right? Package gadgets in a way that protects them, yet minimizes shipping materials. Not only is it good for the environment, it will save your company a whole lot of dough. How many times have you opened a box full of Styrofoam and other unnecessary packing materials, only to throw most of it away? Apparently it took awhile for HP to figure this out, but they are feeling much better now.

They are selling the new Pavilion dv692 laptop in its own recycled material laptop bag. Other then that, the only packing material in the bag with the laptop are some air bubbles. They ditched the extra cardboard and styrofoam, reducing the packing materials by a stunning 97%. It’s being sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, but I think we’d all like to see this become a larger trend. Hopefully other companies are paying attention. It’s simple, economical and beyond time. I recently bought an Acer Aspire 6920 and at the time I was happy to find that the box was not nearly as full of garbage as I feared it would be. This is a brilliant move.

The Blade will save gas & money

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on September 3rd, 2008

The Blade will save gas & moneyThis device sounds too good to be true. It’s called the Blade and it screws onto the end of your tailpipe. Through extensive testing, it supposedly shows from 16-34% savings on gas! That’s an average of about 3.8 MPG’s. As an example, a US driver goes an average of about 30 miles per day or 10,800 miles per year. At the national average of 22 MPG that means about 490 gallons of gas. At $4, that’s roughly $2,000.

Apparently, when you add the BLADE to your tailpipe, you would only use about 418 gallons or about $1,675. Your savings would be roughly $325! Since I suck at math, I’m forced to take their word for it. The device costs $200, so you could make your money back in several months and still be saving after that. It saves gas, money and the environment. What more do you want?


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