Eco-Friendly Wi-Fi Company: Motorolla

Motorolla, the rapidly-becoming-phoneless US phone company, earned top eco marks for its wi-fi access points and controllers, ahead of Cisco and Siemens.

Companies were judged on the power efficiency of their kit, carbon footprint studies, recycling efforts and corporate responsibility including efforts to reduce power and water use, and use of telepresence, video conferencing and telecommuting.

Motorola's environmentally-minded networking products apparently boast good battery life, support for power-saving 802.11n communications and 'very long life cycles'.

[TechRadar]

Eco-Friendly HD LCD TV: Sony Bravia KDL-32JE1

Sony launched a new energy-saving TV in Japan this week, claiming that the new Bravia is the truly "green" option for eco-friendly TV consumers.

Not only does the Bravia KDL-32JE1 HD LCD TV uses a mere 89W of power, in comparison to the 160W of an equivalently-sized Bravia model, it has been compiled from plastic parts recycled from other Sony products - as well as polystyrene packaging and optical film waste from LCD TVs.

Features-wise, the eco-TV has a 1366 x 768 resolution, a HDMI interface, 2500:1 contrast ratio and a 178-degree view angle, and will be available in 'champagne' gold and silver.

The Bravia KDL-32JE1 HD will be available from late July in Japan. No news yet on other planned availability.

[TechRadar]

Eco-Friendly PC: CherryPal Freescale Based PC

The CherryPal PC consumes just two watts of power that is aided by Freescale's new 400MHz MPC5121e mobileGT processor and a lack of moving parts (so no optical drive and 4GB of Flash memory rather than a regular hard drive). It also has 256MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, an Ethernet port, and a VGA port.

[Tech Digest]

Eco-Friendly Clubbing: British Club4Climate Nightclub

Clubbers in Britain's first-ever eco-nightclub will be doing their part to conserve energy because the energy that powers 60% of the club is going to be generated by the springy dance floor beneath them. The springs in the floor are connected to power generating blocks made of piezoelectric crystals. It's similar to what Enviu, a Netherlands-based research group, proposed for Holland-based clubs, but with a different accent. Like that system, the British club's crystals produce current when subjected to pressure created by the gyrating bodies above. But millionaire founder Andrew Charalambous didn't stop with spring-filled floors—he's taking the entire green thing very seriously.

Beyond the self-sufficient floor, the club will also sell organic spirits served in polycarbon cups; and the bathrooms will feature a recycled water system for flushing the toilets.

Entry to the club costs about $20, but clubbers who can prove they arrived on foot, bicycle or public transportation will get a free pass (so long as they sign a pledge promising to work towards curbing climate change too, that is). Charalambous hopes to open the club on July 10, with US-based clubs in New York to follow, as part of his Club4Climate campaign.

[gizmodo]

Eco-Friendly and Green: Electric Motorcycle Concept

Designed by pioneering students at Saint Thomas Academy with the help of a $10,000 InvenTeams grant from the Lemelson-MIT program (among other donations), this enclosed motorcycle features a battery-driven Briggs and Stratton ETEK electric motor. Currently, the bike can run for about for 40 miles and reach 60 miles-per-hour. There's even a GPS unit to keep the rider headed in the right direction.

[Engadget]

Eco-Friendly House: Zero Emission House

To coincide with the G8 summit, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan is constructing a futuristic residential house. The Zero Emission House is a single-storied steel structure prefabricated house with a total floor area of approximately 200 meters². The exterior has been designed to imbue traditional Japanese beauty. The house will showcase state-of-the-art Japanese energy and environmental technology to the world, with features including a 14.5kW capacity photovoltaic generation system, energy efficient lighting, a household fuel cell, and energy saving household appliances.

The Zero Emission House goes one step beyond Sekisui House’s Carbon Neutral House in its use of state-of-the-art global warming prevention technology, and the CO₂reduction achieved with its photovoltaic generation system substantially exceeds the volume of CO2emissions. Using the Sekisui House management system, zero emission of waste material has been achieved at the Zero Emission House.

[NewLaunches]

Eco-Friendly Mini Tank: Toyota Hi-Ct

The Toyota Hi-Ct concept car made its debut at the Bangkok International Motor Show sporting a a decidedly tank-like profile. Despite the car's boxy looks, it is in fact a green hybrid vehicle that can charge from an external power source via an AC100V accessory socket. The car also features a removable trunk and bicycle/surfboard deck. I think it's kinda cute.

[DVICE]

Eco-Friendly Shower: Eco_Drop Shower Concept

The Eco_Drop Shower concept makes long showers a thing of the past. After showering for a long time, the concentric circles on the floor begin to rise making it uncomfortable to stay in the shower. I guess it's named "Eco_Drop" because the concentric circles on the floor look like water drops.

[I New Idea via DVICE]

Eco-Friendly Building: Pasedena Eco House

The components and design elements of the Pasedena Eco House were selected based on performance, attractiveness, quality, service and commitment to eco-friendly building. The house is built of Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIP) panels, a green composite building technique that allows for partial prefabrication and custom design – thus reducing construction costs and time while allowing for unique specifications to be called out. The entire building system is made of recycled materials with a concrete layer added. The concrete technology is advancing towards new eco binders (geo polymers) that replace the Portland cement.

[The Pasedena Eco House via DVICE]

Introduction

Re-Usable, Renewable Resource, Degradable, Bio-Degradable, Recyclable -- that's what this blog is about.