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Dear EcoGeek, Is it possible to recycle old CD’s or DVD’s? Thanks, Rob The perpetual scourge of EcoGeekiness is obsolescence. We pay good money for what we see as a good product, and then five years down the line we’re surrounded by useless junk! But I can’t help but answer this seemingly straightforward question with [...]
Converting all of the world’s newspapers to paperless publishing is an excellent idea. We like it, for a lot of reasons. We’re not old-fashioned, we don’t like ink on our fingers, we want instantly searchable, zoomable, shareable newspapers that don’t kill trees. But what are we going to do with all those newspaper boxes! Well, [...]
When eighth graders start turning a profit in an industry, that’s when you know there’s opportunity for real growth. A Santa Clara solar firm, CalSunTech, has a middle-schooler for a CEO, but seems to be doing well for a local firm, and it’s in the running for a California Clean Tech Open award. The company [...]
My electricity meter is about fifty years old, and it’s likely that yours is too. Even if it’s new, it probably uses the same ancient technology as mine. Those meters were created for a world with cheap, abundant power. Well, the world has changed…so why hasn’t my electricity meter? It turns out, that if all [...]
A reader over at AutoblogGreen (one of my all-time favorite blogs) sent in a short essay comparing the efficiency of photovoltaics to the efficiency of biofuels. and ABG rightly saw fit to publish it. I’m not tremendously surprised that photovoltaics won…I’m just surprised by how big the difference is. Now biofuels are kinda like solar [...]
For those of us who are interested in distance travel without fossil fuels, but can’t do without our cellphones, iPods and laptops, designer Paul Smith has put together the Navitas. The Navitas can charge it’s on-board, 24-volt battery in three different ways: Strength, Sun and Wind. The device, which I imagine doubles as extra storage [...]
Wired Magazine has an excellent starter guide for folks looking to green up their lawn maintenance. They make some good points for why you should do it. Most lawn mowers are powered by two-stroke engines that produce more than ten times the pollution of a four-stroke car engine. Plus electric mowers are far more carbon-efficient, [...]
Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson have been filming the arctic for more than twenty years. Now, for the first time, they’re telling a story of their own. Arcitc Tale will be hitting theaters next month and is expected to draw huge crowds of all ages. Adam and Sarah were kind enough to talk with me [...]
Using muscles to power our lives is not a new idea. In fact, it’s a really really old idea. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. Especially since there’s probably a million people trying to burn off calories on treadmills all over the world at this very moment. And all those calories they’re [...]
A lot of us have been waiting to see LED lamps in homes and offices. Good news! EverLED now has LED replacements for fluorescent tubes. These connect directly into the lamp, and require no retrofitting of the ballast or the fixture. "The EverLED TR is a direct, drop-in replacement for standard fluorescent light tubes. It [...]
Aside from being fairly ugly and entirely imaginary, SunRed’s new snail-shell-based solar bike is completely awesome. All the other blog posts I’ve read about this are reporting that the snail-shell covering will stow away during transport…but that’s not entirely accurate. Obviously, the nose panel (which contains the light and rear-view mirror) will remain in place, [...]
Wall guards and corner guards don’t make for particularly compelling architecture by themselves. Most people don’t pay attention to them. They are an element in hospitals and offices, particularly where there is high traffic, to protect the walls from damage. And they are often made of PVC plastics. Rather than being manufactured with PVC plastic, [...]