Hasta La Gadget!

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

This week Inhabitat showcased several incredible examples of futuristic architecture, starting with an epic floating ark that houses a self-sustaining city at sea. We also saw a plan to harness carbon nanotubes to create the world’s first space elevator, and we brought you an ingenious solar-powered shelter that harvests and purifies rainwater for drinking.

In other news, Asia revved up the world of eco transportation as South Korea unveiled the world’s first commercial electric bus, and Beijing launched a plan to cut eliminate gridlock by cutting vehicle registration by 2/3. We also checked in on the electric Bluebird supercar, which is gearing up to break the UK land speed record next year, and we took an in-depth look at the year’s best electric vehicles.

Finally, welcome to 2011! As the final countdown rang out we took a look at Times Square’s dazzling 2011 eco ball, which is studded with 32,256 LEDs. We also looked back on Inhabitat’s top green energy, transportation, and tech stories of 2010, and we rounded up the year’s best green products and wearable technology concepts that stand to change the way we get dressed for the day. And if you’re running errands this week to return any unwanted holiday gifts, check out Amazon’s new preemptive return tool – it could save you a trip next year.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: of space elevators, floating cities and solar sheltered drinking machines originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

Eco transportation took off this week as researchers in Sweden discovered a new molecule that could make rocket fuel 30 percent more efficient. We also caught up with Russia’s plans to construct a new high-speed rail system for the 2018 World Cup, and we saw several major auto manufacturers give their vehicles green upgrades – Ford announced it will insulate its 2010 Focus with recycled jeans, and Chevrolet launched plans to transform 100,000 pounds of used oil booms into parts for the Volt.

The past week also saw bright horizons dawn for renewable energy as the world’s largest parabolic trough solar plant received a $1.5 billion DOE loan. The world of consumer tech was energized by the sun’s rays as Toshiba unveiled a new solar-powered e-book reader and one designer developed a solar-powered desalination system that could keep shipwrecked survivors alive at sea. We also brought you artist Michael McKean’s plan to shoot rainbows across the sky at will with his solar-powered rainbow generator.

Speaking of spreading renewable cheer, this month Japan’s Enoshima Aquarium unveiled the world’s first Christmas tree powered by an electric eel. The FAA also got into the holiday spirit as they approved a next-gen Santa sleigh that delivers gifts 53% faster, and if you unwrapped a new video game system this year, you may be interested to know that the Nintendo Wii was recently crowned the most energy-efficient next-gen gaming console. Finally, if the wintry weather has you feeling down, just take a peek inside this supermassive airship hangar, transformed into a year-round tropical island getaway.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: rocket fuel, recycled jeans, and the electric eel powered Christmas tree originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Solar Vox, from Detroit-based designers  Eric Strebel and Jim Nogarian, is a USB charger powered by the sun. The project has been launched on Kickstarter, the place where potential customers can pledge their cash for startups, in exchange for getting one of the first products off the line.

The Solar Vox consists of a solar panel and a pair of rechargeable AA batteries, housed in a box shaped like a tiny air-hockey table. This odd design, a rather 1980s-style vision of the future, has a purpose: the case can be tilted to fully soak up the sunbeams. The odd angles let you prop the box at 0, 30, 70 and 90-degrees.

Once charged, you hook up your cellphone or other portable device and pop it into the inner chamber. This keeps things tidy, and protects the phone from the sun.

Eric and Jim plan to have the first units ready in the first quarter of 2011. To sign up and get one when they’re done, you’ll need to pledge $100.

Solar Vox product page [Kickstarter via Core77]

See Also:

• Solar MacBook Charger Costs More than MacBook Itself
• Personal Solar Panel Twenty Time More Powerful Than Rivals …
• DIY Friday: Charge Your iPhone With AAs or Solar Power
• Solar-Power Box Plugs Straight into Your Home

E-readers are flooding the market these days, and KDDI has delivered its most recent offering just in time for the holiday season. Since the biblio Leaf SP02‘s specs were first released, battery life seems to have grown to 13,000 pages, with presumably a few extra thrown in courtesy of its solar array. The device utilizes KDDI’s LISMO Book Store and its 20,000 titles to obtain content, and if that isn’t enough reading material for you, the company claims that five times as many titles will be available by 2012. All this can be had on Christmas day — if you’re lucky enough to hail from the land of the rising sun, that is.

Update: Details on the e-reader, much like the device itself, seem to have gotten lost in translation. As a few readers have pointed out — and our own Engadget Japanese editor Ittousai confirms — the SP02 has an “open” price of around ¥15,000 (about $180 in US currency), with 3G prices ranging from ¥525 per month for data on a two-year contract, or ¥1,575 without ($6.28 vs. $19, respectively).

KDDI’s biblio Leaf SP02 priced, due out Christmas Day in Japan (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

Electric vehicles took the country by storm this week as both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt were officially released to eager customers – if you’re still trying to decide between the two, check out our electric vehicle smackdown, which compares the two EVs based on their most important features. We also took a spin inside Honda’s electric Fit, and we showcased a futuristic home decked out with enough solar panels to completely charge an EV. The Sonex airplane also signaled bright horizons for electric aviation as it completed its maiden flight.

Meanwhile California lit up the newswires by giving the green light for the state’s first molten salt solar energy project, and San Francisco announced a plan to generate 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. We also saw ten European countries forge a plan to build a massive renewable energy supergrid in the North Sea, and we showcased two hot examples of wearable teach that harness body heat – Fujitsu’s solar-thermal power band and a band-aid styled mp3 player.

Finally, this week Inhabitat geared up for the holidays by showcasing 6 brands of dazzling LED christmas lights that save you energy and money, we showcased some innovative Christmas trees made with unusual materials, and we highlighted out favorite green gadget gifts for the holidays this year. And when all those presents are unwrapped we know exactly what to do with the aftermath – researchers have developed a way to recycle 100% of the material in plastic wrapping paper and artist Jason Rogenes wowed us with his incredible futuristic spaceships made from the styrofoam used to package electronics.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: electric cars compared, molten salt solar, and a renewable Merry Christmas! originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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