David Butcher is one cool dude. Every day, he exercises for 45-minutes on a pedal-powered generator that powers his laptop computer, a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and compact fluorescents. However, he’s not the only one making use of this eco-friendly approach to powering electronic equipment.

A new gym in Portland, Oregon utilizes a similar approach to building up energy.  Personal trainer Adam Boesel opened the Green Microgym not solely to provide members with an excellent workout but also to save some energy.

“It is an example of what a community can do to conserve energy, even if it’s a drop in the bucket.”

If only more people shared a similar outlook on our energy crisis.

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After a long evening of YouTube videos of old Tex Avery cartoons, your laptop wouldn’t be nearly sucked dry if you had HP’s HP EliteBook 6930p with an ulta-high capacity battery. HP claims that it ran for 24 hours, beating out its competition, Dell, which made the Latitude line of laptops that feature only 19 hours of battery life.

Given that battery life varies depending on what applications are running, results may vary. Regardless, think of all the things you could accomplish in 24 hours of battery life. You could visit the ends of the Internet and back. Or just download every Rush album, ever. Either way, you’ve done something no one else has: you’ve beaten the Internet.

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Swedish company Home Energy has not forgotten about our energy independence even if our leaders of tomorrow have.  It’s made a wind turbine shaped as a sphere called the Energy Ball.  Home Energy claims that the shape allows for higher aerodynamic efficiency in comparison to traditional design as well as complete silence during operation.  The Energy Ball comes in two models: The 0.5 kW Energy Ball V100 has a price tag of $4,600 and the 2.5 kW Energy Ball V200 sells for $8,100. The prices might seem steep, but think of the energy you’ll be saving.

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My father had a water-powered calculator once. I remember specifically when I was little, he’d go over to his magic water bottle, uncork it, pour the magic water into his glass and would go out to the porch for hours. I’d pull on his shirt and ask for ice cream and he’d reply “Go away. I’m calculating.” Now it all makes sense. Take the calculator, remove the battery, add a little magic water and voila! Up to three months of power before you have to add more. It’s a steal at $25, especially when magic water goes for $20 per 750ml these days.

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Tuesday night at the National Clean Energy Summit, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City expressed his vision of a cleaner more green New York. He urged the need for energy-efficient design and proposed alternative methods of obtaining power, whether it be by wind or solar means. He goes as far as suggesting to add wind turbines to both the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building, a move that would dramatically change the NYC skyline.

But with good intentions, Bloomberg hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 30% before 2030 making New York the cleanest air of any large American city.  Our hats are off to you Mr. Bloomberg, we wish more leaders cared about our well-being as much as you do.

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Audi is known for making some quick fucking cars. Between the R8, RS4 and S4 Cabriolet, the German auto manufacturer is looking to up the ante with it’s 2009 RS6. Giving the RS4 treatment to the A6, the RS6 will feature a powerful 580 hp V10 engine that’s funneled air from twin flamethrowers turbochargers. Zero to sixty will only take 4.5 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited to 155 MPH. Add in 19-inch wheels and a ceramic brake system and you’ve got one of the most powerful cars on the road. Ferrari who?

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In the future everything is microscopic. We’ve got robots that can get inside your intestines to distribute medicine with their tiny robot hands, but what about solar race cars no bigger than a quarter? Now we’ve got those too. This 33 x 22mm car runs on light, artificial or otherwise. Just chase after it with a flashlight and watch it go. You can grab your own for about $23. Try not to lose sight of it.

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It may seem like we’re acid heads with our tribute to Albert Hofmann but the truth of the matter is: we don’t love LSD, we merely enjoy taking it. It’s not the woman of your dreams you yearn so longingly for, but rather a short fling after karaoke night at Chauncy’s Pub. Yea, that’s exactly how LSD is. That’s also how this bathroom design makes you feel while trying to wash off your hang over the following morning.

Why Only White TOTEM is the chameleon like shower decor that’ll transform your boring vanilla bathroom into a design of ever changing colors and patterns. Depending on your mood, the design could reflect your sullen demeanor with a dark blue tone that’ll have you slitting your wrists while listening to the latest Bullet For My Valentine album. The TOTEM comes in 6 different formats with a variety of features such as water nozzles or waterfall streams. Whether your all about the flower power or you’re just plain gay, the Why Only White TOTEM is a safe alternative to the Psycho shower curtain, that’ll have you looking trendy without making you a murder suspect.

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What better way to translate audio signals into light patterns than with this DIY project from Electronicpeasant.com. Throwing a few parties at your house while your rents are in Tahiti? Build a bunch of these, throw on some jam band music and take some hallucinogens to pay tribute to the late great Albert Hoffman. Perhaps some of your friends could bring over their DIY E-bolas to turn the party into a real rave that’ll have the police there (partying with you) in hours (they were busy).  With LEDs for lights, the color organ was designed for extended battery use and doesn’t burn too much power. After all, no one wants to change a battery whilst under the influence.

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In your neighborhood, you may have noticed that the street lights can be almost as horrendous looking as the telephone lines. Designer Jongoh Lee must’ve been disgusted by the intrusion on mother nature for having come up with these solar powered street lights that imitate leaves, called Invisible Streetlight. The lights are comprised of a double injection of silicon, aluminum materials and a photocapacitor, which keeps it glowing all night long.

While it’s by no means a bloomin’ dildo light source, it’ll at least fit in with the other leaves on the tree. Though we’re more impressed with leaves that want to be lights rather than lights that want to be leaves, the Invisible Streetlight is a fine alternative to power wasting street lights.

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