Green Tech

Riverwired.com: Display Your Passions with Green Ringtones

jplatt — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0400

Tired of using that same old ringtone on your cell phone that everyone else uses? Well, here's an idea -- get a new ringtone that shows off your environmental passions and tells everyone around you what you care about.

Two free programs let you add great animal and bird sounds to your phone. The first, from the Center for Biological Diversity, offers dozens of ringtones featuring the calls of endangered species. You can add a wolf call, a beluga whale song, or an owl hoot, among a wide selection of other tones.

The second program, from eNature, features fewer endangered creatures, but lets you choose from 46 different state birds, so you can pick the bird you like best, or the one that matters most to your state. You can also choose the bald eagle if you'd rather show your national pride.

Both of these programs are free, so what are you waiting for?

Riverwired.com: Carry the Power of the Sun on Your Back

jplatt — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0400

Do you carry a lot of portable devices with you? Well now you can charge them on the go with the new solar backpack from gadget4all.com.

While solar backpacks aren't new, this latest model is priced at just $48 -- less than half the price of the Eclipse Solar Gear Laptop Backpack and one-fifth the price of the popular Voltaic Solar Backpack.

While the Eclipse and Voltaic models offer a few more bells and whistles, Gadget4all's device is no slouch, and comes at a better introductory price point. It comes with a 5.5V solar panel and has an output of 5.8V, allowing it to charge any small portable device such as a cell phone, MP3 player or GPS unit. On cloudy days, it can also be hooked up to a computer's USB port for additional charging capacity.

Worth a look for the road warrior or the student looking forward to the start of school in just six weeks.

Riverwired.com: New Lenovo Laptop Earns PC Magazine's GreenTech Seal of Approval

jplatt — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:04:36 -0400

I'm in the market for a new laptop, but as a responsible buyer, I want to make sure I pick a computer that uses as little energy as possible and which has been manufactured using environmentally responsible methods.

The new Lenovo ThinkPad X200 fits both of those criteria. The laptop meets Energy Star and RoHS qualifications, and gets a Silver EPEAT rating from the Green Electronics Council (which rankes energy efficiency, use of potentially toxic materials, recyclability and packaging, among other criteria).

PC Magazine tested the X200 and found more good news: its battery lasts around 6 hours, and the laptop uses just 14 watts of electricity when idle. This earned the X200 PC Magazine's "GreenTech Approved" seal.

The basic ThinkPad X200 starts shipping next month at a price of $1,199.

Riverwired.com: Save Energy by Installing Motion-Sensitive Lighting

jplatt — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0400

Okay, you've installed CFL light bulbs in your house to save energy, but what's the next step for saving energy and saving money? How about installing motion sensors to automatically turn some of your lights on and off?

Motion sensors are a great solution for garages, hallways and other parts of your house that see a lot of "through" traffic. You can set them to turn a light on when someone walks into a room, then turn off on their own a few minutes later. No more worries about accidentally not turning off a light when you no longer need it!

The wide range of devices on the market offer you a long list of possible features and settings. Some motion sensors plug into a wall outlet, while some others are battery powered. Some control lights or other devices wirelessly, while other models allow you to you plug the device you want to control directly into them. No matter what you pick, a motion sensor should help you to reduce your energy costs while adding a degree of security that normal light switches don't provide.

And yes, motion sensors aren't just for lights. You can also use them to control radios, fans, or just about any other household electronics that don't need to be on 24/7.

Of course, motion sensors consume their own power, so there is a bit of a trade-off. Meanwhile, they cost at least $15, with models raning up to $50 and more, so you might not make that money back immediately. But in this day of rising energy prices, every little bit helps, right?

Riverwired.com: Create a WWF Web Page to Help Spread Your Environmental Message

jplatt — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0400

Looking for a way to talk about your environmental passions online, and maybe raise some money in the process? The World Wildlife Fund has a new program called Panda Pages to help you do just that. With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can quickly and easily create a free, customized web page that spreads your green messages, be they about a specific event, a special location, an endangered animal, or just about anything else.

You can also use the page to raise funds for the WWF. A simple interface allows you to email your friends and family about your site, and you can set a fundraising goal for your efforts.

You can also create a guest book so people can comment on your site and you can make connections with other, like-minded green folks.

I've given this a try, and while the pages you can create aren't totally flexible, you do have a lot of room to play with to customize your content and your message. The "tell a friend" and fund-raising tools are easy to use, too. In less than ten minutes, you can have a web page up and running and a fund-raising campaign on its way.

You can check out my own Panda Page here. And if you create your own Panda Page, post the address here in the comments!

Riverwired.com: How to Recycle Your Old Cell Phone

jplatt — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:05:36 -0400

According to recent reports, there are more than 3 billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide. That's a lot of phones, and a lot of toxic waste when those little devices aren't disposed of properly. In the U.S. alone, less than 10% of old cell phone handsets are recycled, mostly because people don't know how to get rid of them.

So let's turn that trend around. Here are a number of quick and easy ways you can safely dispose of your old cell phones, which can help to keep tons of toxic chemicals out of our landfills:

1. Check with your retailer -- Many companies have buy-back or take-back programs when you buy a new cell phone to replace your old one. Check first, though, to make sure they will dispose of it in an environmentally responsible way.

2. Go to Best Buy or Staples -- These big-box retailers, like several other stores, have free or low-cost electronics recycling programs. Just bring your phone in and they'll do the rest.

3. Ask your local non-profits -- Many local organizations (like Lions and Rotary clubs) collect used cell phones and get a few dollars for every phone they collect. The phones get recycled or re-sold, and the funds the groups raise go back into their efforts in your local community. (Interested in starting a cell phone fund-raiser for your own non-profit? Here's one site than can help.)

4. Donate it to a national charity -- Quite a few national charities collect used cell phones, and also earn money just like the local groups above. Collective Good offers connections to dozens of national and international groups, including several environmental organizations.

5. Sell your old phone -- Just because it's old doesn't mean it won't still work for somoene else. Try cellforcash.com, which buys many makes and models.

6. Go online -- Here are a few more sites that will help you dispose of your phone with little or no cost to you:

http://www.recellular.com/recycling/

http://www.cellularchallenge.net/

http://recyclemycellphone.org/

http://www.eco-cell.org/

Riverwired.com: Five Green-Tech Ways to Use Less Paper

jplatt — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0400

Are you using too much paper in your job? According to reduce.org, the average office worker uses a shocking 10,000 pages of per ever year. Averaged out to 200 work days, that's 50 sheets of paper every single day!

But don't worry, there are several easy things you can do -- both as an individual and on a company level -- to reduce that pile of paper, which will improve your environmental footprint and save money.

1. Work digitally -- You don't always need to print things out. Share documents electronically and try using collaborative software like Google Docs.

2. Print to PDF -- Think before you print. Do you really need a paper copy of that web page? Or will a saved digital file work better? I use a free program called PDF Creator that uses the "print" feature in any of my programs to generate a PDF of any document.

3. Go Green -- Have your company install the enterprise version of GreenPrint World. This program (which costs $70 per user on your site, with volume discounts available) examines every print job and lets you decide what elements to print and which ones to skip (say, photographs, or the legal disclaimers at the bottom of a web page). It keeps track of how many pages you don't print, allowing you to "track your impact" (how much paper you have used, or how much ink you have saved) and monitor your overall printing habits.

(By the way, individuals can download a free version of GreenPrint World, so you don't necessarily have to wait for your company to do this for you.)

4. Print on both sides -- Many printers can automatically handle duplex printing, and you should be able to change your print defaults (either individually or system-wide) to always print documents on both sides of a piece of paper.

5. Kill the fax -- Why is this technology still in use? Electronic documents are more flexible, easier to send and easier to read than faxes. If you absolutely have to send or receive faxes, use an online service to get rid of your fax machine. You'll use less paper and less energy in the process.

Give these tips a try and see how quickly you cut your paper use. Even a 50% reduction saves 5,000 sheets a year, so what do you have to lose?

Riverwired.com: Save Water with a Smart Sprinkler

jplatt — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0400

Got lawn? If so, then you've probably started watering it already this season. But have you given much thought to your water bills, and how much water you are using?

One way to reduce your water consumption is with a new device called the Cyber-Rain XCI. This sprinker-control system hooks up to landscape watering systems, then wireless connects with the internet to check the day's weather. It adapts your lawn's daily watering schedule depending on the amount of heat, sun and rain you're expecting in your area.

Obviously, not having a lawn is more environmentally responsible than a big expanse of green that needs constant upkeep. But if you're going to have grass, you may as well do it wisely.

The Cyber-Rain XCI costs $349 for a unit that will control up to 8 watering zones. It comes with a USB wireless access point that you hook up to your computer. The device may not pay for itself in one season, but it will put you on the path toward a "greener" lawn.

Riverwired.com: Greener Business Cards a Click Away

jplatt — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0400

If you're an artist, photographer or crafter, Moo.com now offers a new way to order business cards -- using your own designs -- on recycled paper.

Like all of Moo's printing products, you can upload your own images or let Moo import them from sites like Flickr, Etsy or Facebook. Cards can be created with a few simple clicks, and an order of 50 cards can either all contain the same image or 50 different images, whichever you'd like.

Fifty cards for $21.99 isn't the cheapest business card alternative out there, but Moo products are unique and they look great. They're sure to grab attention for any business that needs a good, visual edge.

Plus, other business card sites (like VistaPrint) don't offer recycled paper, so if you're looking for a greener business card alternative better than pushing a few weak-looking cards out of your inkjet printer, this could be the way to go.

Riverwired.com: Greenpeace grades the greenest electronics

jplatt — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00 -0400

For the eighth time in the last two years, Greenpeace has ranked electronics manufactuers according to their policies and manufacturing procedures to come up with a list of the "greenest" electronics makers.

Companies were ranked on their efforts to reduce e-waste (including accepting products back from consumers after they've been used), improve the power efficience of their devices, disclose their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals in their products (or come up with a timeline to do so).

Once again, Sony Ericsson topped the list, thanks in no small part to their dropping PVC chemicals from their products and making devices that meet or exceed ENERGY STAR requirements for energy efficiency.

Nokia would have come in first place, but lost a full point in its rankings "for corporate misbehaviour on its take-back and recycling practice."

Out of the 18 manufacturers ranked, Microsoft ranked # 17, mainly for the use of toxic chemicals. Nintendo took the bottom slot, scoring poorly on e-waste and energy efficiency.