Everyone complains about the electronic waste resulting from America’s prosperity, particularly from individual ownership of personal computers.  It does seem that a computer will last you around five years at the most and then will be underpowered to even boot the latest operating system, let alone the programs we use.

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There are a number of devices or solar chargers that offer to charge gadgets with solar energy. But most of them are impractical, to say the least. It is simply not possible or viable for most people to allow their gadgets to be placed in direct sunlight for the entire day. That is where the ReNu Modular iPhone charger scores, it does not require the user to keep the iPhone in the sunlight all day long to charge it.

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Do you own a home entertainment center that is the envy of the neighborhood?  Do you have friends or neighbors chide you that the only GREEN in your living room is the color of the larger than life Eagles football players seemingly doing their end zone dance at your feet? (more…)

Can a fan still cool you if it doesn’t have blades?

Apparently so, if it’s the new Dyson Air Multiplier ™ fan pictured above.

Dyson, a company well-known for advancing vacuum cleaner technology, has now developed a new generation of innovative bladeless fans. These fans use the simple principles of fluid dynamics –without the traditional fan blades –to multiply air flow 15 times, ultimately expelling some 119 gallons of air every second.
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New PC concept from designer Luis Luna make the desktop appear more appealing visually,and give it the ability to offset at least a small amount of the CO2 it produces during its lifetime. The design gives a smoother look to the desktop as a sleek circular package. The center of this circle has a cavity to hold some soil, and provide enough ground to grow small plants.

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Technology is an irony in itself as it seems. It delivers the solutions for our problems and then creates more problems for these solutions. It is a constant search for finding the right balance.

But here’s Gota, the water conserving dishwasher – a device that offers another cool technological answer to the question of how one can save precious fresh water resources. This ultra-cool and futuristic looking hub is akin to a space trooper that explores the universe, but in reality is a dishwasher designed by Ibsen Caldas and his team.

The unique design of Gota allows it to save on the amount of water used for doing the dishes. By simply steaming everything in the pre-wash stage and by collecting these same cooled vapors for washing the dishes in the final stage, Gota ends up cutting water consumption in half. The technology seems pretty simple in concept and does away with an excessive use of water. While it is not yet clear on how many plates or cutlery it can take, it seems large enough to serve the conventional family.

Simple, ergonomic and perfect for any modern home,we hope to see a production version of Gota very soon. Mixes “business” with pleasure.

[YankoDesign via EcoFriend]

This is cool. I can recharge my iPod or my Walkman by just walking.

NTT of Japan unveiled a shoe that can generate electricity while it’s wearer walks, thanks to a small generator attached to the water-filled soles.

When the wearer walks it puts pressure on the sole causing the water to spin a small turbine and generate power.

The shoe can generated 1.2 watts of electricity, “a level sufficient to run an iPod mobile music player forever, as long as the wearer keeps walking.”

“The shoes do not have a power-storage function, but you would be able to charge a mobile phone automatically or talk on it forever as long as you connect the phone to your shoes and just keep walking.”

NTT is now trying to improve the power generating capacity to 3 watts but they need to shrink all the components. Anyone hears it in the back? Sony? Anyone? – via Sina

If somebody is going to commute by taxi, a solar-powered taxi, you might want that somebody to be someone with influence, someone who can reach the world. Louis Palmer of Switzerland created a solar-powered taxi for use in New Delhi. Good for him, the UN Chief, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea commuted to work aboard the solar-powered vehicle to promote alternative energy sources.

GP wants to know why only one day? Why not every day? Why does promoting alternative energy sources have to be a once in a while thing and not an all the time thing?

Okay. I admit, it’s better to do it sometimes than never. And, if the UN Chief can do his part to get the word out, the world will be better for it, no?

Source

You probably noticed that we really love animals here at GreenPacks, but what you probably don’t know is that we also love gadgets. Make them green and we’re pals for life. But why are we telling you all these? Because the fourth generation of iPod Nanos (the newest) have been released yesterday, and Steve Jobs thought about us. For the last seven years, the new iPod becomes both the thinnest and also the greenest ever.

The environmental checklist include a PVC, mercury and BFR-free body (made of aluminum), and arsenic-free glass which makes the new iPods highly recyclable for those who are eco-conscious. “We think these new Nanos are the cleanest toxic-free iPods we’ve ever built,” Steve Jobs said during the ‘Let’s Rock’ event in San Francisco.

The 8GB version will cost $229, the 16GB model goes for $299, while the 32GB is $399.

All images courtesy of Engadget

There are times, when we think we’ve done enough bad and it’s time for some good. A couple of years ago when I didn’t care much about the planet, pollution and stuff like that, I realized that I’ve never planted a tree in my life. So what happened? I bought one and planted it in my parent’s garden, at their house outside the city.

Since then, technology advanced, and for those that won’t plant a real tree we have the solution. The solar tree. Designed by Vivien Muller and using 54 photovoltaic cells (when blooming) it has a bonsai tree aspect (with some sort of solar “leaves”?) and is both a great piece of decoration and a pretty useful eco-gadget; doesn’t require watering and will power at least some of your electronics by using solar power.

So what are you going to do, buy a solar tree for your gadgets or seed a real tree? I’ll go for the latter.

via Gizmodo