green tech

Save Money and Energy -- Unplug Your Gaming Consoles!

jplatt — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Looking for energy vampires in your home? Look no further than your gaming system. Chances are, it's sucking power from your walls at right this very moment...

It's estimated that 35-40% of U.S. homes have some type of gaming console, and according to a new report from the NRDC, those game systems consume 16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. But, says NRDC, if we take a few easy steps, "we could save approximately 11 billion kWh of electricity per year, cut our nation's electricity bill by more than $1 billion per year, and avoid emissions of more than 7 million tons of CO2 each year."

The first thing to do is look at your habits. It seems that most gamers leave their systems on when they're not in use -- and the devices usually don't have an automatic "sleep mode," so they continue to use as much energy as when you're using them to play a game. So it's important to actually turn your systems off when you're not using them.

Second, see if you can install power-saving features on your device, which will help it to power down after a certain amount of idle time. (See the link above for tips for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3).

Finally, if you're not a gamer yet, think about what system you're going to buy. According to the NRDC, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 each use nine times more energy than the Nintendo Wii.

Indivudually, these tips won't necessarily save you a whole pile of cash, but when you consider that there are millions of gaming consoles in the U.S. alone, they add up to a huge environmental impact. Do your part, turn your games off, and help save the environment when you're not saving the princess.

Do You Know How to Recycle Your Old TV?

jplatt — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

A whole bunch of TVs are likely to be replaced over the next few months. Not only will retailers be dropping their prices in a desperate bid to reduce their inventory, many TVs will need to be replaced before February's transition to digital television.

But if you're going to buy a new TV set, do you know how to get rid of your old one? Do you know the rules for disposing of electronics in your community, and will your local recycler take care of your old devices in a responsible manner?

A group called the Electronic TakeBack Coalition has some advice.

First off, if you're worried about your TV working after the DTV transition, you should go to www.DTV.gov to find out if you can just buy a converter box.

If you are going to chuck the old set, find out the local rules for your community, and don't leave your old set outside "hoping someone will take it." According to the ETBC, that just sets up a situation where toxic lead and other substances can leach into the ground if it rains on your old set.

Next, try to make sure your recycler will handle your old set responsibly, and not send it to a third-world recycling center with few eco-friendly regulations. (You can often drop TVs off at retailers like Staples and Best Buy, who charge a small fee.)

Finally, before you buy your new set, check out the ETBC's new TV Recycling Report Card. The organization has ranked 14 major manufacturers and 3 retailers with house brands according to their TV takeback programs. Only Sony earned a grade above a C, and then only making a B- grade because they need more national recycling sites.

For more information, visit http://www.takebackmytv.com/

Dude, Now It's Even Easier to Recycle Your Dell

jplatt — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Got an older Dell computer or printer you want to recycle? Dell has a long-standing recycling program, where you can return any older Dell product by mail. But now it has gotten even easier to recycle your old Dell devices locally, thanks to a deal the computer company has made with Staples, the office-supply retailer.

Under the new program, users can bring any Dell-branded product -- that includes computers, monitors, printers and more -- to any Staples store for free recycling.

Staples already offered free recycling for many small electronics, like cell phones, but previously charged $10 for larger items like computers and printers. Those items will now be free to recycle -- as long as they were made by Dell.

Free -- that's always a good deal!

Recycle for Credit Worth Cash: RadioShack Offers a New High-Tech Trade-In Program

jplatt — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:08:52 -0500

RadioShack this week introduced a new trade-in program for high-tech devices. The program allows you to trade in your old computers, cell phones, gaming systems, digital cameras and other devices in exchange for store credit.

Brands accepted through the program include Apple, Sony, Dell, Garmin, Nikon and dozens of others.

It's nice to see another major retailer accepting old devices, and especially nice to see one offering some cash for your old tech.

Still, this program is far from perfect. You need to go online to do your trade, which means you need to ship your product to RadioShack for processing before they ship you a gift card in return. Why not just allow the trades to happen in your local store? That would save a lot of time, hassle and shipping-created greenhouse gases.

There's also no word on what RadioShack will do with your old devices once they get them. Will they be recycled properly, or will toxic components end up in landfills? Will they be refurbished and resold, extending their life cycle for another consumer? What happens to your old data if you send in a computer or cell phone?

RadioShack still has a lot of questions to answer before this program can really be considered useful, but hey, it's a start.

Amazon.com Introduces Greener Packaging for Electronics, Toys

jplatt — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:34:36 -0500

Tired of buying products that take a chainsaw to unwrap? Amazon.com feels your pain. They've introduced a new initiative to sell products with "Frustration-Free Packaging" -- all designed to be easily opened and create less waste.

Amazon says the products -- less than two dozen so far -- use "recyclable boxes that are easy to open and free of excess materials such as hard plastic clamshell cases, plastic bindings, and wire ties. The product itself is exactly the same—we’ve just streamlined the packaging."

Early products in this line include several toys -- both for kids and computer users.

One toy -- Fisher Price's Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship -- really shows off how this initiative greens the products by eliminating "36 inches of wire ties, 1,576.5 square inches of package inserts, and 36.1 square inches of printed carton materials. Also eliminated are 175.25 square inches of PVC blisters, 3.5 square inches of ABS molded styrene, and two plastic fasteners." Wow!

Other items don't save quite as much packaging, but they do make a difference. A Microsoft Wireless Notebook Mouse "ships in an easy-to-open recyclable box, eliminating the heavy plastic "clamshell" found in traditional packaging."

Amazon's really thinking like an Internet retailer here. Most of the packaging they're eliminating is designed to protect products in a physical retail setting, either to keep them from breaking on the shelf or to prevent them from being shoplifted. Amazon doesn't need to worry about either situtation. As a result, you -- and the planet -- get the benefit.

Green Tech on Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2008

jplatt — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:31:24 -0400

Okay, there are still two months left to go on 2008, but we've already seen some incredible innovations hit the the market this year. Time Magazine has gone ahead and picked its "50 Best Inventions of 2008," and several green technologies and devices are on the list.

The list includes three different electric and hybrid vehicles. The luxury Tesla Roadster clocks in at number 2, while the forthcoming Chevy Volt ranks at number 7. Much further down the list was another concept vehicle, the Aptera Electric Car, at number 46.

Speaking of green transportation, Montreal's public bike rental system ranked number 19. This solar-powered, high-tech innovation is a great way to inspire local bike-riding and cutting greenhouse gases.It's time for this to take hold in other cities around the world.

Biofuel ranks high at number 11, but it's not the corn-based ethanol you can buy now. Time looked at algae-based biofuel -- currently being tested in labs around the country -- and found it to be good.

Another power source, Nanosolar's thin-film solar panels, came in at number 25. A prototype biomechanical energy harvester (a device you wear that collects the energy from your movements) ranked 33, while a flying wind turbine from Sky Windpower followed at number 35.

Innovative smog-eating cememt, which just hit the market from Italcementi, came in at number 37. A great idea, and I hope we hear more about it in the coming year.

An eco-friendly fridge that Albert Einstein invented in 1930 -- and which Oxford University scientists recreated this year -- hit the list at a not-too-chilly 31. Sadly, this hasn't been commercialized yet.

While not exactly tech you can use, the Global Seed Vault came in at number 6 on Time's list. But it's still an important innovation.

And while not technology at all, the Vatican's new 7 deadly sins -- including polluting -- made the list at number 40. See, pollution is evil!

Support Green Charities by Recycling Your Empty Toner Cartridges

jplatt — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:47:53 -0400

ARGH! Another toner cartridge just went dry in my printer. Time to buy a new one -- and time to recycle the old one.

You definitely don't want to dump your old inkjet cartridges in the garbage. Even when they're out of ink, they're still full of toxic chemicals which can leach into the ground and pollute our land and water.

But how do you recycle an inkjet or laser-printer cartridge?

First step, check with your local retailer. Stores like Staples and Best Buy collect toner cartridges for free.

Next step, check with your local charities or community groups. Many collect cartridges, which they then turn in for cash, which helps fund their local efforts.

Next, go online, and see if you can donate your cartridges to support a cause. Recycle4Charity.com will take your used cartridges and cell phones and make a donation to groups like Habitat for Humanity or Helen Keller Worldwide. Empties4Cash.com lets you select from charities like Big Cat Rescue and The Wildcat Sanctuary.

Finally, go online and sell your used cartridges for cash. Recycle4Dollars.com is just one of the sites that will pay you a few dollars for every cartridge you send in.

So don't let those used-up inkjet and toner cartridges sit around in your house or in a landfill. Recycle them, and do some good in the process!

Meet Europe's Top Cleantech Companies

jplatt — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0400

You may not have heard of companies like Odersun, CamSemi, Atraverda and Pelikon, but chances are you will in the days to come. These four companies and 96 others were named to The Guardian and Library Houses's CleanTech 100, listing the best European companies involved in clean technology.

The firms run the gamut of green technologies. Some are involved in solar, wind or tidal power. Others are developing efficient power systems for a variety of devices. Some are trying to turn waste into energy. And that's just scratching the surface.

About half of these companies' products are either in development or beta testing. The rest are already on the market.

To get on this list, the companies faced a pretty tough selection process. Ranking factors included companies' capital history, positive media stories about them, the size of their management team, and independent analysis to make sure that the technologies the companies were developing was actually credible. (In other words, no vaporware allowed.)

The companies were also asked about their environmental vision, what they saw as the size of the market for their products, and the impact they expected their technology to have on the world.

Give the list and the accompanying articles a read. They give me hope about the technologies we'll be seeing in the next few years.

What Will McCain and Obama Do About Nuclear Power?

jplatt — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:34:26 -0400

When it comes to the environment, few topics cause as much debate and friction as nuclear energy.

On the one hand, nuclear energy is relatively clean, creating no emissions and running at relatively low cost.

On the other hand, the byproducts of nuclear energy production take hundreds of years to become safe. They pose security questions, and no one seems to want the waste stored in the backyards.

Energy policies are obviously critical to this election, so it might come as a surprise to you that both candidates are actually pro-nuke.

Both McCain and Obama told ScienceDebate2008.com that nuclear power is critical to this country's ability to generate electricity without producing carbon emissions. Says Obama, "It is unlikely that we can meet our aggressive climate goals if we eliminate nuclear power as an option."

But Obama takes a hard-line look at nuclear security: "However," he says, "before an expansion of nuclear power is considered, key issues must be addressed including: security of nuclear fuel and waste, waste storage, and proliferation."

As for McCain, he tells ScienceDebate2008.com it's time to "recommit" to nuclear energy. He says he will "put the country on track" to build 45 new reactors in the next 20 years. Obviously, that's well past any term he would serve, but if he puts the investment in during his time in office, it's unlikely that any future administration would pull the plug.

So how about the issue of nuclear waste storage? Writing on his web site, Obama says he does "not believe that the current Yucca Mountain site is suitable." He promises to develop requirements for waste storage "using the most advanced dry-cask storage technology available." McCain has historically been pro-Yucca Mountain, but he has also called for the creation of an "international" site, although he has also suggested opening an international center overseas to store nuclear waste. (In other words, "Not in my backyard.")

So how do you feel about nuclear power? Will either candidates' position sway your vote? Let us know!

Toshiba Offers Free Electronics Recycling

jplatt — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:08:01 -0400

Looking for a way to get rid of your old electronics in an environmentally responsible way? Toshiba has a solution for you.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division this week expanded its free recycling program, which previously only accepted Toshiba products, to include devices from any manufacturer. They'll accept PCs, laptops, MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile phones, and a whole lot more.

What makes this program a bit different is that you have the option of turning in your old devices for cash. For example, I have an old Palm Z22 PDA lying around. According to the site, the Palm has not trade-in value, so I wouldn't get any money, but they would send me a $25 Starbucks gift card for recycling it through them. (Too bad I don't drink coffee...)

Once you decide to send a device to Toshiba, you can print out a postage-paid label to send it to their warehouse. They'll check it out, then send you a check or whatever other bonus you earned.

Of course, it's always good to know what happens to a device once you send it in for recycling. Are they taking care of it responsibly? But Toshiba at least has a solid "green" initiative, so you can feel pretty good about giving this program a try.