Gearfuse

I understand why people are up in arms about Earth’s trees being demolished. I’m pretty sure we need them for some reason, other than the fact that they look pretty. The thing that drives me nuts is that people bitch and moan, but don’t do a damn thing about it.

These “Remember… These Come From Trees” Stickers allow you to remind people exactly what their main resource (other than caffeine) happens to be. Each sticker supposedly has the potential to save 100 lbs. of paper a year. Take heed, or we’re going to have to start making paper out of a more common resource, like gold or diamonds or something.

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Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to save the Earth. These 60 Bags are an awesome line of biodegradable carriers which degrade in about two months, or 60 days. Aptly titled, huh?

Made and developed in Poland, the bags are manufactured out of a flax-viscose non-woven fabric (which actually sounds pretty edible if you happened to be on a desert island with only a crate of these things, but just in case, I’d test it on a child or small animal first.) Not only does the fast degrading process help save the Earth in a very real way, but it’s also cheaper than sending long-life materials to the landfill.

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About six months ago, I was reading up on music creation and the program Max/MSP, a graphical workflow environment for creating and manipulating audio and video. Very complex, but powerful stuff. The author of Max/MSP, Miller S. Puckette, later created a piece of similar, open-source software called Pure Data (pd). Pure Data is similar to Max/MSP except that it’s free for anyone to use and make stuff with.

In this post, we’ll go over what exactly I managed to do with PD. It involved using an M-Audio MIDI controller to manipulate videos in a real-time graphical environment. Sound too complicated or scary for you? It’s really not. C’mon, I’ll show you how it works.
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The Department of Transportation for NYC is working closely with the Office for Visual Interaction to try and replace all of the cruddy old street lamps desecrating the city’s power supply and visual appeal.

These ultra-efficient LED lamps possess multiple light lenses which provides the surroundings with two light sources for each lamp. With less power usage and a longer lifespan, New York will be getting more bang for their buck. Conserving energy is nice, too.

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Ever wonder what a drunk Eskimo’s pad looks like? It’s an igloo made out of bottles. When you’re in Alaska, the middle of nowhere, it’s difficult to find recycling depots. I guess that’s why artist Jasmine Zimmerman created this open-roofed greenhouse from hundreds of plastic drink bottles we litter our streets with everyday. That or she hates really hates Palin.

Because Americans drink 70 million disposable bottles of water each day, with just 10 million making their way to a recycling bin, Jasmine wants to help spread the word about recycling and repurposing everyday objects in our environment. The “Bottle Greenhouse” will be exhibited in empty lots, rooftops, parks, and vacant buildings to raise awareness as well as give bums a place to crash for the night.

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First, D-Link put routers in your pocket. Now, they’re thinking about the environment. D-Link is proud to claim it’s the first manufacturer to produce green home network WiFi routers capable of saving up to 40% in power usage. These routers are like a thoughtful roommate who never leaves the TV on or forgets to put the toilet seat down. With the ability to detect cable length and link status, they’ll adjust power accordingly, so you’re not racking up that electric bill for nothing. Each router can also be programmed to turn the WiFi radio off in an effort to save power.

D-Link has equipped three of their routers with this new technology: D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router DIR-665, Xtreme N Duo Media Router DIR-855 and the Xtreme N Gaming Router DGL-4500. While the new green ethernet technology affects each router differently, you can be sure that surfing the web without ruining the planet has never been easier, so long as you’re not using that Buffalo Nfinity.

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So, it’s “Bike To Work” day in Japan on June 11th. I was under the impression that most workers in Japan already biked to work due to an insane population on such a tiny island. I guess not, because surely enough, it’s going on while I type this.

The crew over at Treehugger.com have brought to my attention Bridgestone’s new bike gadget: The “emeter,” is a meter which can be used to record the number of kilometers cycled in one day. It doesn’t end there however; it also records the total CO2 savings made versus car travel for the same distance.  Not only do you get great exercise from cycling, but your emeter tells you how many pounds you’re shedding as well as how much CO2 you’re conserving by staying away from your automobile.
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So you want to turn a corner and finally upgrade to an eco-friendly vehicle? If you were to take the words “green” and “environmental” to a literal conclusion, you might end up with something that looks pretty similar to this AstroTurf covered Niva.

Clearly, the artificial grass does nothing to improve the state of the environment. For all we know, the production of AstroTurf is completely detrimental to the green cause (though any car that closer resembles a baseball park to a automobile is cool in our book.) Best of all, there’s no mowing necessary. (more…)

So, the HyMini might be much ado about nothing, but it’s still pretty impressive and potentially a great idea for green integration in the future. Dubbed as a “mini green hybrid power station”, you charge the HyMini up from a main. When you go out for a bike or car-ride, attach the little guy to your vehicle, and the wind turbines will trickle charge your device.

You can even add a solar panel on for more of a power managing effect. To move the turbines enough, you have to be traveling at least 9 mph, and 40 mph at the fastest, lest you break the chintzy gadget in half with pure velocity. Ports for most cameras, phones, and other mobile devices are available. Get yours for $49.99. (more…)

Sanyo Japan was showcasing their new line of washing machines, AQUA this morning. The one that catches the most attention would be the ability of dry cleaning clothes at home. You heard that right, the wet-washing machine is able to dry-clean your clothes too, and they’re using Ozone. Sanyo was able to lower the temperature down to 50C, making leather jackets (and shoes) or silk ties fit to be tumbled in those washing drums.

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