Hybrid Living

While we debate the greening of Apple’s products, Bird Electron has created some speakers that bring some green to, at least, the Apple packaging.  Using the plastic box that iPod shuffles come with, you attach the speakers to the back, creating a speaker box.  Then simply plug in the supplied cord to your shuffle and the speakers and you have a set of new speakers.

The speakers retail for $40 and work for the 1st/2nd gen. iPod Nano and 2nd/3rd gen. iPod Shuffle plastic cases.  I just hope that iPod owners kept their boxes and didn’t recycle them quite yet.

Via Gizmodo

Algae is going primetime with Shell jumping on as the first major oil company to adopt it for diesel production.  Not only does algae solve the problem of using land to produce fuel rather than food, an argument against biofuels, but algae produces oil that "can be readily be converted to diesel, and can be fed CO2 directly from smokestacks."  Lastly, the green guys have such an efficient photosynthesis process that the first plant is slated to produce 15 times more oil per area than any other biofuel.

Hopefully we’ll see more oil companies diving into new eco-friendly technologies to get us away from traditional fossil fuels.

Via New Scientist Environment

Algae is going primetime with Shell jumping on as the first major oil company to adopt it for diesel production. Not only does algae solve the problem of using land to produce fuel rather than food, an argument against biofuels, but algae also produces oil that "can be readily be converted to diesel, and can be fed CO₂ directly from smokestacks." Lastly, the green guys have such an efficient photosynthesis process that the first plant is slated to produce 15 times more oil per area than any other biofuel.

Hopefully we’ll see more oil companies diving into new eco-friendly technologies to get us away from traditional fossil fuels.

Via New Scientist Environment

Outdoor furniture is always outside, so why not put some solar panels on them? Sun Table has created a table with a solar panel tabletop to be used outdoors. It charges in 3 hours and provides 13 amp hours at 12 volts, running "a laptop for over 3 hours or a TV for 4 hours."

Devang A. Shah, one of the table designers, stated, "A product that pushes people to spend more time outdoors will be beneficial for humanity. Let’s get rooted in nature again, even if it’s in a 21st century kind of way."

I’m not so sure about "getting rooted in nature" while on the Internet or watching TV, but I do like the free electricity.

The stainless steel table uses a NiMH battery and doesn’t have any other toxic materials in its construction. Priced at $3,600, it’s a bit out of reach, but if you want one, you can pre-order them at the Sun Table website.

Via Trendhunter

An LCD screen dissolves from green to blue… a timer begins counting down as the screen starts pulsing, finally shifting colors to a crimson red.   Something from the latest sci-fi epic?  No, just an easy way to conserve energy.  ConsumerPowerline is giving out digital units display visual cues of peak energy usage hours, allowing participants to conserve power during that time and to get a nice kickback for it.

This is possible simply because utility companies have to ramp up their electricity production during peak times, which is expensive and inefficient.  ConsumerPowerline seized this as an opportunity by notifying businesses, apartment complexes and any other participants to conserve their power, selling the reduced demand in electricity to other utilities.  They did this previously using common forms of communication like e-mail and voice mails, but with these new digital gauges they can give a visual cue to people in their program.  The gauges receive updates on energy usage times from a satellite pager network.

An LCD screen dissolves from green to blue… a timer begins counting down as the screen starts pulsing, finally shifting colors to a crimson red. Something from the latest sci-fi epic? No, just an easy way to conserve energy. ConsumerPowerline is giving out digital units that display visual cues of peak energy usage hours, allowing participants to conserve power during that time and to get a nice kickback for it.

This is possible simply because utility companies have to ramp up their electricity production during peak times, which is expensive and inefficient. ConsumerPowerline seized this as an opportunity by notifying businesses, apartment complexes and any other participants to conserve their power, selling the reduced demand in electricity to other utilities. They did this previously by using common forms of communication like e-mail and voice mails, but with these new digital gauges they can give a visual cue to people in their program. The gauges receive updates on energy usage times from a satellite pager network.

What on Earth could save $3 billion in electric bills every year? More efficient PC power supplies!

Okay, so it’s not the most fun solution, but it definitely is a no-brainer when current power supplies lose up to half their electricity as heat when converting AC to DC. This is why the newest Energy Star requirements say power supplies have to use at least 80 percent of the power going in. To capitalize on the new rules, a company named Marvell has released chips that can figure out precisely how much power your computer needs at any given time.

These chips can be put into new power supplies and help regulate their electricity use. Good news, especially when the EPA says there are more than 10 billion power supplies sucking down electricity. The chips are set to be produced in early 2008, so look out for them if you’re going to be upgrading in the new year.

Via News.com

Half the size, half the cost. That’s what Toyota is looking for in the next generation Hybrid Synergy Drive systems for Priuses. What they’re not looking for? Diesels and pure electric vehicles. While it’s great to have a cheaper Prius with more trunk room, that only covers the Prius!

Diesels definitely have a place with many manufacturers jumping into the field, especially for gas guzzling trucks. And electric vehicles? They are the future of medium range transport in the coming years. I hope Toyota has something else up their sleeves other or they might be left behind.

Via AutoBlogGreen

Just thought we’d share this….in case you haven’t seen it yet.