green technology

HP's New LCD Monitor Earns PC Mag's 'GreenTech Seal of Approval'

jplatt — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

PC Magazine has given its coveted "GreenTech Approved" seal to its first LCD monitor: the HP LP2275w.

The LP2275w is, of course, ENERGY STAR rated, which you should consider first when buying any new electronics. It also has an EPEAT Silver ranking, which means that it has a low environmental impact.

The monitor uses 52 watts of power when it's operating, and just 3 watts of power during sleep mode -- a very important energy-saving feature.

PC Mag's GreenTech seal ranks devices on energy usage, recyclability, and green certifications.

You can read a full review of this new monitor (which lists at $349) here.

PepsiCo Introduces Greener Vending Machines

jplatt — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Soda giant PepsiCo announced recently that it will soon deploy a small number of “green” vending machines that will "significantly cut pollution compared to standard vending machines."

The new machines -- which employ Greenpeace's Greenfreeze technology -- not only require 15% less energy than traditional vending machines, they do not use fluorocarbons or "F-gases," "greenhouse gases hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide that are one of the major causes of global warming and are currently used in almost all U.S. refrigerators and air conditioners."

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, F-gases are currently responsible for 17 percent of global warming.

Now, Pepsi is only introducing 30 of these machines to start, since the Greenfreeze technology doesn't yet have EPA approval. But they do hope to roll them out around the world, where the company has a between 4 and 5 million vending machines and coolers.

You can read more about PepsiCo's environmental sustainability initiatives here.

California Launches Green-Tech Job Training Program

jplatt — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Are you young, living in California and ready to take the plunge to work in a green-tech career? Then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has a program for you.

This summer, the Governor will launch the California Green Corps, a 20-month pilot program to teach youths between 16 and 24 to work in the state's growing green-tech industries.

Participants will receive training to become "construction workers, cost estimators, energy analysts, computer technicians, salespersons, scientists, engineers" and many other careers.

The program will be funded with $10 million of the state's federal stimulus money. Another $10 million will come from private sector donations.

Why the focus on training? One estimate says that California will create an astounding 83,000 new green jobs in the next two years, and the state needs training workers to fill those jobs.

The Green Corps will start placing youths in job-training programs this summer. There's no word yet on how to sign up for it, but you can read all about it here and register to receive more information when it becomes available.

Reduce Your Environmental Impact with Long-Living Laptop Battery

jplatt — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Typical laptop batteries aren't the greenest gizmos in the game. They don't last all that long, they burn through their charges pretty quickly, and they aren't all that easy to recycle. But HP and Boston Power are helping to change that.

HP is now selling a new line of environmentally friendly batteries for its notebook computers. The HP Enviro series is manufactured by Boston Power, and fits 18 of HP's different laptops.

The batteries are certified by Ecolabel, and can be recharged up to 1,000 times, or about as many times necessary for the battery to last three years. (Most laptop batteries are only good for around one year or a few hundred charges.)

The Enviro series is a bit pricey -- $149 -- but if you look at it, that's just $20 or $30 more than a battery that will last a third as long. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

Coolerado Air Conditioner Wins Renewable Energy Award

jplatt — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Ready for a new idea in air conditioning? A company called Coolerado says it sells the world's most efficient air conditioners. The governor of Colorado recently presented the company with the state's Governor’s Excellence in Renewable Energy Award for 2008.

I'll let Coolerado CEO Mike Luby tell the story:

Our units work on an amazingly small amount of power…about 600 watts, which is about a third of the power of a hair dryer. That’s as green as it gets these days in the A/C world and better than anything else on the market. And one of the reasons we got the award is we showed our systems can take air conditioning completely off the grid using a small amount of solar energy, about 4 standard solar panels worth.
It was a great project. We put a Coolerado C60 A/C unit on a trailer (a C60 will cool a 3000 sq. ft. building), connected 4 solar panels over the top, and showed this system at trade shows, street fairs, and music concerts…we even went to the Democratic National Convention. What surprised people the most was not only the solar powered cool air they enjoyed right on the street, but that the hotter it got, the better it worked!

You can't purchase a Coolerado air conditioner directly from the company or any retailer, only approved installers, which are currently working in 10 US states, England and Singapore. Let's hope to see them expand quickly, though, so we can put their new technology to the test around the country!

Dell to Cut 20 Million Pounds of Packaging

jplatt — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0500

I just ordered a new Dell laptop, and I was pleased to find that it came in a box barely bigger than the computer itself. This seems to tie in nicely with Dell Computers' recent announcement that it will cut its desktop and laptop packaging by 10% over the next four years, a move it says will save both 20 million pounds of packaging materials and more than $8 million.

In addition, Dell says it will increase the amount of "sustainable content" in its cushioning and corrugate packaging by 40%, and "ensure that 75% of packaging components are curbside recyclable by 2012."

Dell says its plan will help to save 150,000 trees over the next four years -- trees that that would otherwise have become cardboard packages -- and in 2009 recycle 33 million milk jugs to to become High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) thermal-formed cushions.

“We’re challenging every technology company to join us in implementing a global green packaging strategy,” said Tod Arbogast, director of Sustainable Business at Dell. “In doing so, we will drive extraordinary environmental and cost savings for our businesses and customers while setting a new efficiency model for other industries to follow.”

Let's hope they do!

Six Simple New Years Resolutions for Greener Electronics

jplatt — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:00:36 -0500

Hey, it's a New Year! And with it comes all of those little vows we always make -- lose 5 pounds, call your mom more often, get a promotion ... and live a greener life.

Well, here are five easy (and important) promises you can make to yourself to improve your footprint by greening your electronics and other devices.

1. Ditch the disposable batteries. There's simply no reason to use disposables any more. They only reason they're still for sale everywhere is because so many stores make so much money on them. But every battery that gets thrown out leaches toxic chemicals into the environment. Break the chain. Go completely rechargeable. It's an easy step, and you won't regret it.

2. Go off the grid -- at least a little bit. Rechargeable batteries are great, but they still suck power off the electric grid. Break that chain, too. Buy devices with solar chargers (like flashlights), or pick up a solar charger (such as the fantastic Solio). Leave the solar charger in your window, then use it to power your iPod, cell phone or other portable devices. Instant green karma.

3. Pull the plug. When you're not using your electronic devices, turn them off. Better yet, unplug them or turn off their surge protectors. TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, game consoles and dozens of other devices keep using power even when they're "off." This stand-by mode can account for 10% of your power use. Slash and burn, baby.

4. Be a Star. When buying new electronics or appliances, look for the Energy Star logo. This signifies that you're buying an energy-efficient device, which can save you anywhere from 10-30% on energy usage. A no-brainer.

5. Recycle your old electronics properly. If you're replacing something, or getting rid of something that no longer works, don't just toss it in the trash. Take it to a recycling center where it will be disposed of properly. Electronics contain too many toxic materials for them to be disposed of improperly, so make sure you do the right thing.

6. Finally, fully, break the incandescent chain. I still have two lamps and two outdoor light fixtures that oddly enough won't work with CFL bulbs. It's time to get rid of them. Even though changing the lamps will create some waste, the energy savings from being able to use CFL bulbs will be worth it.

Looking for more specifics on any of the ideas above? Scroll through the Green Tech archives. You'll find plenty of examples and ideas to help you live a greener life.

Happy 2009, my eco-friendly friends!

Put Your Computer to Use for Good When You're Not Using It

jplatt — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0500

You're probably using only a fraction of your computer's computing power when it's on. When it's idle, you're using even less. But now you can put that unused processing power to good use coming and help come up with the next generation of solar-power materials.

The Clean Energy Project @ Harvard University aims to create "organic photovoltaics to provide inexpensive solar cells, polymers for the membranes used in fuel cells for electricity generation, and how best to assemble the molecules to make those devices."

The problem is, there are tens of thousands of possible combinations of the organic materials that would be used to create those substances. Which combination is the best?

That's where you -- and your computer -- come in. By downloading the project's software at the link above, your computer will become part of a worldwide grid of similar computers, and will help to calculate the optimal materials during the time your computer would otherwise be idle.

Obviously, an "off" computer is better for the environment than an idle one, but if you're going to be idle anyway, you may as well be doing some good in the process.

First EU Flower Eco Award Goes to ASUS Computers

jplatt — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Looking for a greener laptop? You might want to start looking at ASUS Computers. Their N-series of laptops just earned the first EU Flower Eco Award for sustainable devices.

The certification is part of the European Union's Flower eco-labeling program, and represents very strict requirements for eco-friendly computers. It's the first time that a Flower certification has been granted to a notebook computer.

The laptops honored were ASUS's N50, N80, N20, and N10 notebooks, which were previously recognized with the EPEAT Gold award in October.

Design Competition Offering $5k for Greener Gadgets

jplatt — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:55:09 -0500

Designers, students and electronics enthusiasts worldwide are eligible to enter the 2nd annual Greener Gadgets Design Competition, sponsored by Core77 and Inhabitat.

Organized in conjunction with the Greener Gadgets Conference (itself organized by the Consumer Electronics Association), the competition seeks "extraordinary designs for green gadgets that offer innovative solutions to the issues of energy, materials, product lifecycle, recycling, and social development."

The top 50 entries will be published online for voting and commenting by the public. The finalists will be showcased live at the Conference for judging by an expert panel.

The awards -- $3,000 for the top prize, and $1,000 each for 2nd and third place -- will be given out at the end of the conference program, and winners will be showcased on Core77.com, GreenerGadgets.com, CE.org, and Inhabitat.com.

The conference itself will be held in New York City on February 27, 2009, and will focus on:

Emerging energy technology
Real solutions for e-waste recycling
New inventions in energy generation and efficiency
Future forward recyclable gadgetry
The business case for going green

Here's a look at last year's winners to help inspire you.

Ready to enter? Get moving. The deadline is January 15, 2009.