6 best green gadgets for Christmas
Looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your house? With all the recent interest in living green, the technologically inclined have been hard at work making your eco-friendly lifestyle easier to achieve -- with gadgets! There is literally an endless supply of tech out there that will help you reduce your impact on the environment, so weeding through it all can be a challenge (especially if you're not all that tech savvy yourself). Here's a quick list of six of the most useful, eco-friendly or downright awesome little innovations that have recently grabbed our attention.
1. Hymini: a device that collects solar and wind power, so you can charge your portable electronics any time, anywhere.
2. SolarRoll: a green gadget that allows you to finally have a truly "mobile" laptop.
3. Water powered alarm clock: Need more juice? Simply add more water right from the tap. Features include a gravity sensor that lets you switch from function to function just by changing the clock's position.
4. Wattson: If you're not using much electricity, the Wattson will glow a calming blue color. If you're using the microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, blasting the stereo, and typing away on the computer at the same time, it will glow an angry red color.
5. Wind-up phone charger: This incredibly clever gadget does just what you'd think -- charges your phone with nothing more than elbow grease.
6. Solar Bluetooth headset: The Iqua BHS-603 SUN offers complete freedom from chargers, wires and delays allowing for 9 straight hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-21-2007 @ 2:56PM
Karsten said...
Five products that require more energy to be made than they most likely ever will save. What is the point exactly? Other than "feeling" your are doing the right thing while you are not?
Number 4 is actually not a bad idea. Every product should have it installed. How about one we can install in our breaker boxes? Anything visual that shows how much energy you are consuming at the moment would be nice.
Could we please go deeper than the "skin deep" or "I-want-to-be-green-but-not-change-my-habits" environmentalism?
If you really want to do the environment and your fellow and future humans a favor you say good-bye to "gadgets". Even hanging your laundry dry ONCE per year or turning down your thermostat one degree will save more energy than all of those gadgets.
Karsten
http://www.pollutless.com
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11-21-2007 @ 4:09PM
Steve said...
Karsten:
Its only because I agree so strongly with your message that I'm taking this risk of getting flamed. If you chose a less abrasive way of promoting your message you would probably have a better chance of getting more people to follow your cause.
That and if you spelled your website correctly:
http://www.polluteless.com/
They make smart meters now that would do much better than having a light installed directly in your breaker box. I don't see the issue that you have with 3 & 6 if they are not replacing already working items.
Steve.
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11-22-2007 @ 3:26AM
Dustin D. Bowles said...
Be careful with cheap wind up chargers, I had one and it'd killed the capacity of my battery.
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11-22-2007 @ 11:52AM
Karsten said...
Whoops, spelled my website name wrong. That happens when you are in a hurry and write it new every time. This usually does not happen. Thanks for pointing that out and correcting it in your post.
Yes, yes, I should be nicer and more people would follow my cause. My cause? Since when is it just mine? And for how many decades has all this been said nicely and little has changed. I decided to be angry with those who do not care (since not showing anger or frustration has only let to anger and frustration in me) and at least feel invigorated by this. Call it pathetic, but I care much less for being flamed since I speak the way I feel. I have said this before, in my opinion, consciously wasting energy and polluting is about as nice as beating children. Few people will choose to be nice about this sort of behavior. My willingness for candy coating, tiptoeing around issues, and begging people to show insight has run out. The message needs to be hear loud and clear and those who feel offended are not those who will change enough of their behavior anyways. There are others out there who still say it nicely. I am representing those angry, bitter folks who no one listens to.
My issue with item 3 and 6 is that both need to be manufactured, transported, distributed, disposed off, etc. All that requires energy. We use more energy than ever. Sure we have managed to reduce the energy consumption of INDIVIDUAL activities or products, but the overall consumption is up. Place of manufacturing is probably a country with few environmental regulations. Pollution will be a result. The materials (based on petrochemicals) are on a one way street into a landfill or incinerator with a possible short stop for downcycling. #6 uses a solar cell that requires more energy to be made than it will ever produce (in this case) and the production of solar cells releases toxic materials into the environment. Neither product is designed to last or to be repaired. Gadgets like this are PLANNED to be break, become obsolete, and be replaced. Get a mechanical alarm clock. I have one from the 70s and it still works. Or buy a used clock radio. Once it has survived a decade it seems to last forever.
Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com
Reply
11-28-2007 @ 5:47PM
AlienFarmer said...
I found some really great deals on solar gadgets at http://www.SolarCoupons.com. I think I bought more stocking stuffers than I have stockings to stuff lol!
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12-22-2007 @ 3:22AM
Jeremy said...
Interesting content. If you want to look more, just check it out- http://gadgets-watch.blogspot.com
Thanks.
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