Green Daily

Jill Fehrenbacher founded the Green Gadgets Conference which will be taking place in Manhatten this year on February 27th. Last year Green Daily covered the convention complete with interviews and product information. The conference is an opportunity for tech companies and greenies to assemble and discuss energy consumption and recycling issues that are associated with the gadgets that we have come to rely on from day to day.

The New York Times recently met with Fehrenbacher to find out what her favorite Green Gadgets are. It turns out that she not only has her sites set on sustainability but also an eye for design as well. Check out our gallery for a few of her favorites.

EnerJar.

Doesn't sound like much, does it? Well, it could soon be a household name . It was the grand prize winner at the Core 77/Greener Gadgets green design contest, and its a DIY gadget that measures the electrical draw from appliances.

Simply plug the jar into a wall outlet, and plug your electric device - toaster, hairdryer, vibrator, whatever - into the other jar's outlet, and the electronic screen will register how much energy you're using in either instantaneous power, average power, or cumulative energy consumption in kilowatt-hours.

Even cooler? The eco component doesn't stop at the design. You can't buy this in a store; instead, the instructions on how to make an EnerJar will be available for free online, and you can buy the parts yourself and use an old jar as the main component. It's a perfect example of how a design doesn't have to be flashy or all that aesthetically appealing to be green and innovative. (If you're really concerned, you could decorate the jar with stickers and puffy paint, or something).

Second place in the competition was snagged by Clay Moulton's "Gravia," a LED floor lamp lit by the energy of a passerby dropping a heavy object next to (not onto) the device. Nice if you're an able-bodied person who only wants to, say, read a book for half an hour (the device is supposed to light to the intensity of a 40-watt bulb for several hours, as long as it is continuously provoked), but not so great for the elderly or those with disabilities.

Curious about the other winners and the runners-up? Check 'em out here.

Want to make your own EnerJar? Go forth, intrepid DIYers. And when you do, tell us your story - were you successful? If we compile enough responses, we'll write an update post in another few weeks.

Man, I love dancing. Dancing in the street, dancing in the dark, dancing all night and still begging for more. During the holidays I put on a red suit and stand on the lawn shaking it to "Jingle Bell Rock" like one of those electric dancing monster Santas.

Anyway, that's why I'm excited as all get-out about this concept gadget that was a notable entry in the Greener Gadgets design competition. Zhilian Cheng, a designer out of Hong Kong .has come up with a music player that uses human kinetic energy for power. What that means is that as long as you're in motion, this proposed MP3 player would be continually recharging.

If you're not as enthusiastic as I am about making a public spectacle of yourself, you don't have to dance - jogging or even walking should do the trick too.

Not recommended for couch potatoes.

via [core77]

One of the award-winners from the recent Greener Gadgets Conference in NYC is an innovative LED lamp powered by gravity.

Solar and wind power have one serious disadvantage: neither can be relied upon 24/7, so you need either battery storage or backup power. Gravity, however, is always with us (at least until the Rapture.)

The lamp, dubbed the Gravis, was designed by Virginia Tech student Clay Moulton, and is surprisingly simple in concept. It contains a weight which is raised to the top of the lamp every day. The weight then slowly lowers itself throughout the day, generating enough power to illuminate the LEDs. Grid-free and entirely portable, with no cords to trip over, the Gravia is ideal for camping trips or post-apocalytic lifestyles .

Now if someone can just figure out how to make it work in space...

via [sawf]