The Great Recession has been a bad trip for everyone. But look on the
green side: Our collective need to shrink bills is giving birth to some
of the grooviest eco-friendly gadgets yet.
Tech manufacturers big
and small have gone into overdrive with their environmental campaigns,
rolling out products as part of a massive "greenwashing" movement.
These gadgets cover a wide array of environmental issues — from energy
usage to gas efficiency to waste management. And dig this: Some of these gadgets actually do help you be kinder to Mother Earth.
In celebration of
Earth Day, here’s a list of far-out products you might get to green your lifestyle. It’s like, green power, man!
Kiwi Fuel-Saving Device
What
better way to reduce your carbon footprint than turn it into a game?
That’s what the Kiwi does to your car. The device plugs into
your car’s on-board diagnostic II (OBDII) port to collect driving data.
Then, the Kiwi screen, which you’d mount in a convenient place,
displays a "Kiwi Score." By adjusting your driving style to obtain the
highest possible score, you achieve the best gas mileage. At $290, it’s
pretty pricey, but hey — gas ain’t cheap either; over the course of a
few months this should help regular commuters save a good amount. (ThinkGeek, $290)
Mode All-in-One Recycling Center
If
you’re a responsible recycler, you might as well reward yourself by
making life easier. Mode’s all-in-one recycling center contains
multiple compartments to sort and store your recyclables for you.
There’s even a built-in junk mail slot to collect your roommate’s
annoying J. Crew catalogs that are normally left strewn around the common space. Another cool feature is a digital reminder that illuminates to
alert you of recycling pick-up days. Did we mention it holds up to 13
gallons of recyclable materials? That’s some heavy responsibility. (Mode, $250)
Noon Solar Bags
Here’s
a way to reduce electricity bills and maybe even look cool: Greenloop’s
Noon Solar bags (right). Composed of biodegradable materials, each bag contains
a flexible solar panel on the outside, which connects to a lithium-ion
rechargeable battery pack hidden in a pocket. The bags also include
adapters for you to plug your iPod, USB-powered device or cellphone
into the battery pack to keep your gadgets juiced while you bask in the
sun. (GreenLoop, from $330 to $500)
What’s Fresh iPhone App
While
you’re busy saving the planet, let’s not forget to keep your body
healthy, too. If you have an iPhone handy, an app called What’s Fresh
will tell you which fruits and vegetables are in season in your area.
And if your produce of desire isn’t in season in your city, the app
will point you to the nearest location where it is. (Mobile Simplicity, $1)
BlueLine Innovation’s PowerCost Monitor
We’ve
seen plenty of energy monitors, but what’s cool about BlueLine’s
PowerCost Monitor (right) is it tracks your electricity consumption and
converts it into something everybody can understand: Dollars and cents.
Here’s how it works: You wrap a transmitter on the glass meter outside
the house, and the collected data is wirelessly sent to a receiver on
the monitor. The gadget gets a real-time feed of how much your
electricity is using — and how much it costs. (Blue Line Innovations, $120)
Digitize Your Documents With Evernote
I can’t wait until the day we cease killing trees by printing out documents. Evernote brings us a large step closer to that paperless dream. The
app can capture and store and information such as itineraries, business
documents, shopping lists and so on. Here’s the best part: You can
share the information with any other Evernote user. The beauty of
Evernote is it’s cross-platform, so you won’t be left out so long as
you own a Mac, PC, iPhone or a Windows Media smartphone, among other
devices. (Evernote, free)
Purely Anion’s Energy-Saving, Air-Cleaning Light Bulb
The Purely Anion light bulb (right) cares about the environment as much as your mental health. The fluorescent bulb reportedly lasts two
years and contains a built-in negative-ion generator, which removes air
pollutants, such as cigarette smoke, dust, or your roommate’s patchouli. The
negative-ion generator also removes positive ions, which the manufacturer says can cause
depression, fatigue and irritability. (PurelyProducts, $19)
Monster Cable’s Vampire-Power Killer
Environmentalists
coined the phrase "vampire power" for electricity wasted by plugged-in
gadgets on standby mode. Monster Cable’s MDP900 power-outlet management
system addresses that issue. Plugging a device, such as a computer,
into the main control outlet turns it into a master gadget of sorts.
When that gadget is turned off, all the other electronics plugged in —
such as peripherals — shut down, too. Not a bad idea, huh? Just don’t
plug your alarm clock into this. (Monster, $130)
Photos: FredArmitage/Flickr, ThinkGeek, GreenLoop, Blue Line Innovations, PurelyProducts
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