A Catalogue Of Sustainable Achievements
Green and blue glow bricks
What are your thoughts on a light you don’t have to turn on? The Glow Brick (pictured above) is made up of a phosphorescent light bulb encased in a see-through acrylic “brick”. Should you sit one on your window sill (or any other sun-drenched nook), it’ll soak up the solar energy and, by dusk, begin to glow.
The overall effect is of a disembodied shining light bulb suspended in mid air, which, you’d have to agree, is not something you see every day.”
Cool, no?
Returning to cool gadgets discovered at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Convention, if I may…
The Power Players: The Eco Button and the Trickle Saver.
As I mentioned in my prior CES posts… what green there was in consumer electronics this year seemed centered on the theme of power — efficiency, eco-alternatives, or energy saving solutions. These two gadgets fall into the latter category, both seeking to solve the big problem of Standy or Vampire Power.
It’s been estimated that standby power (the energy consumed by electronics not in use, but still plugged in), may account for 10-12% of energy consumption in homes and companies around the world, and that $3 billion alone are wasted in the US every year alone paying for unused power.
The simplest solution of course is to turn off your electronics, unplug your appliances not in use. But if like me you often forget to do this, then that’s where Trickle Star can help.
Their Trickle Saver products act like intelligent power strips, automatically cutting off the draw of standby power when you’ve turned off your electronics, be it computer, or TV, etc. It’s a simple solution that can save hundreds of dollars in needless electric bills and tons of wasted energy over the long haul. Their website has wonderful info on Vampire Energy and updates on product availability (should hit the US in March).
This little Eco-button is pretty dang sweet. Twenty buckaroos gets you this cute little energy reminder, and the software to make it work. Then simply plug into your PC and whenever you get up to walk away, take a lunch break, go to bed… hit the button. In seconds it powers down your PC, eliminating phantom power. Press the glowing button again and you’re back on in seconds, all your applications right where your left them.
It’s simple, it’s sexy, it saves energy, it saves you money. How much? Eco-button’s website has a savings calculator. Imagine every cubicle in every corporation in the world implementing these… let alone every personal computer in every home. The amount of wasted energy saved would be staggering (approx 5 million tons of CO2/year and $1.3 billion). It’s available now and can be purchased here.
Eliminating standby power is something we can all do right now to better our planet. I’m gonna go unplug my toaster and cellphone charger right now, while I wait for my trickle saver and eco-button to arrive in the mail.
Searching for green gadgets at a consumer electronics convention quickly narrows the field. With thousands of items on display at CES and over 140,000 attendees, sprawled over 2 separate full convention centers, and the meeting rooms of two separate hotels… narrowing the field is not necessarily a bad thing.
The simple challenge I faced in my search for truly sustainable gadgetry was the “electronics” aspect. By nature, electronics are man-made constructs composed of largely not naturally occurring products. They require industry and energy to produce and a power source to run.
Still I’m proud to report that “going green” was a big thing at this years’ CES with major companies like Sony, Samsung, LG, Lenova, etc… touting their greener TVs, computers, washing machines, and so forth. I found what this translates to in today’s market is “energy efficient” products. They use less energy and often less toxic or more nature friendly materials and packaging. These are great steps forward towards the hopeful future of fully sustainable, eco-friendly consumer electronics.
Still, there were a pioneer few with their eyes on that prize, looking to bring that future of sustainable innovation about today. And finding these planet consious products was like finding diamonds in the rough. So here are my green gadget highlights for which we can all get overly excited about! The issue they all address is eco-energy consumption.
1) The nPower Peg: 
On the last day, in the last 5 minutes of the convention I found what I think takes the prize for greenest gadget. The PEG, that little green pogo stick is really a Personal Energy Generator that harnesses the kinetic energy of human motion. Strap it to your hip, throw it in your backpack, go out for a walk or run, and the PEG converts your human power into electric energy that will charge your ipod, your cell phone, etc! What this means is never needing to plug your gear into an outlet again! It means endlessly sustainable power! Even motivation for a healthier lifestyle! We want it, we need it now.
For the sustainable minded start-up company nPower, the PEG just a beginning. Next they plan to use the same technology to harness wave power. For their commitment to sustainable energy SuperForest gives nPower our Greenest Gadget award.
The words Las Vegas hold a powerful association for most people. The mere mention of the eponymous Nevada town tends to ignite images of the illicit in most of us. If New York is the city that never sleeps then Vegas is the town time forgot. Hopes run high 24-7 under the neon lights and dreams slide from the fingers of millions of migrants every day and every night, across every table-top in town.
Love it, or hate it… Sin City can be a polarizing place. But if there’s one thing most people would be united on it’s this… when you think of Las Vegas, sustainability is probably last thing that comes to mind.
Which is exactly what SuperForest went in search of — throwing ourselves into our country’s capital of consumption culture, into the heart of one of the world’s largest conventions: The Consumer Electronics Show. CES for short.
Over the course of 72 intensive hours we scoured thousands upon thousands of exhibitor booths, miles upon miles of showroom floor, in search of the greenest gadgets, the coolest innovations for 2009.
We uncovered so much awesomeness, it’s impossible to post all at once. Instead we’ll be breaking it into categories stretched out over the course of this week. So if you’re interested in best and future tech, green gadgets, and amazing innovations… stay tuned for SuperForest’s top picks from CES.
SuperForest is a positivity blog.
SuperForesters are all over planet Earth, all united in exploring how to redefine "environmentalism" and "sustainability" to encompass every aspect of our lives. Everything you find on this website has been personally created to uplift and inspire you.
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