By Evan Ackerman

This is what’s called a sundial cannon, or a noon cannon. Assuming the weather cooperates, at noon exactly the lens on the sundial focuses sunlight onto a pan filled with gunpowder, setting off the cannon to mark the time. Generally, the cannons weren’t loaded with shot, but with all of the novelty alarm clocks out there, it seems like one that automatically shoots you could be really, really effective, in a potentially dangerous sort of way. And hey, it’s even solar powered.

VIA [ Neatorama ]

By Evan Ackerman

Powerzoa is a little cube that sits in between a wall socket and your electronics. It has the magical ability to turn power on and off all by itself while monitoring energy usage, and each Powerzoa cube includes some kind of wireless internet connection that interfaces with a website that lets you track how much power you waste and gives you the option of turning each individual cube’s power off. Powerzoa touts these features as a great way to “save electricity, lower energy costs, and help the environment.” And that’s, you know, great. But for me, the big appeal is the ability to turn individual appliances and lights and stuff on and off over the internet.

Powerzoa is almost identical in principle to the Visible Energy UFO, except at the level of an individual socket as opposed to a power strip. While the Visible Energy UFO is supposed to be ready to go by the end of this year, Powerzoa is still in the prototype phase, but if it’s cheap enough and easy enough to set up, it could be quite a bit handier thanks to a small form factor.

[ Powerzoa ] VIA [ DVICE ]

While I certainly applaud the concept behind festooning random gadgets with solar cells, I have to question how useful it actually is. I mean, even with dedicated solar chargers with lots of panel area you have to make a special effort to leave them out in the sun for them to be useful. Still, I guess hypothetically a little tiny solar cell that spends most of its time in your pocket is better than no solar cell at all. This particular befestooned gadget is a USB key called the Sun Drive, available in capacities of 2^1 gigs, 2^2 gigs, 2^3 gigs, and 2^4 gigs. The solar cell and associated battery make it way fatter and less convenient than it needs to be, but fully charged, it can give your cell phone an extra 100 minutes of talk time or power one of those budget MP3 players for an additional 35 hours through some kind of interface that looks suspiciously non-friendly.

The biggest redeeming factor of the Sun Drive is the fact that it starts off at only $23, so worst case, you just end up with an overpriced flash drive, and best case, you get useful little portable and eco-friendly gadget charger.

[ AVing (Translated) ] VIA [ DVICE ]

I’m all for the pros when it comes to compact fluorescent lighting, but most people don’t realize just how dangerous mercury vapor can be when a bulb breaks. Not the people at ClearLite though. They’ve created a new CFL bulb called the ArmorLite (SRP $7.99) that features a silicone safety shell preventing broken glass and mercury from escaping if the bulb breaks. Unfortunately while it’s a clever solution to the problem, it’s not a perfect one. The silicone shell will require extra steps when it comes to disposal, and it will no doubt have an adverse affect on the lumen rating and color temperature of each bulb. But it’s a step in the right direction.

[ ClearLite ArmorLite CFL Bulbs ] VIA [ Crave ]

With a price tag of just $10, the Kiran, created by D.light, is being billed as the world’s most affordable quality solar lamp. It uses highly efficient LEDs to produce about 5 times more light than a kerosene lantern and will run for about 8 hours on its battery when kept on its low setting, or about 4 hours when on its high setting.

A built-in solar panel will fully recharge the battery in about 8 hours (in full sunlight at 25 degrees celsius) or it can be plugged into AC and recharged in just 4 hours. The whole idea of the lamp is to provide a highly affordable and easy to use light source for developing countries and low-income families, and I guess as long as people can remember to recharge it in the daytime it could be a viable alternative.

[ Kiran Solar Lamp ] VIA [ designboom ]

Yep, all it took is a couple of product shots and the name ‘Race In A Case’ for me to know that my life will simply not be complete until I own this 1:59 scale slot car track that folds up into its own carrying case. Not only do you not have to worry about missing pieces of track and complicated setups, but it’s eco-friendly too since it doesn’t require batteries or a plug. The two included controllers are actually hand-cranked generators that power two miniature F1 cars, so the faster you turn the crank, the faster your car will go! ~$81 from Gizoo.

[ Race In A Case ] VIA [ Toyology ]

Belkin’s new Conserve Surge powerbar features a built-in timer that will automatically cut power to six of the 8 outlets after 11 hours. The idea is that an employee will turn the powerbar on in the morning when they get to work, starting the 11 hour countdown, and by the time the clock runs out, they should in theory have already gone home. It’s designed to reduce the amount of electronics that are still wasting energy when they’ve gone into a standby mode, and to ensure that power isn’t accidentally cut off when it’s still needed, a flashing light will warn when the timer is about to run out, allowing you to override the auto-off. $34.99 available now.

[ PR - Belkin's Conserve Surge with Timer Reduces Energy-Related IT Costs at the Workstation ] VIA [ SlashGear ]

Oregon Scientific’s new +ECO Clima Control weather station will report the effects of global warming, without contributing to them. It’s the company’s first model to feature a solar panel that’s used to charge the device’s 600mAH rechargeable battery. So leaving it out in the sun for just 8 hours will soak up enough juice to keep it running for up to 3 months.

As for its weather reports, it uses a set of easy-to-understand icons like sunny, partly cloudy, rainy, snowy etc. to indicate the current conditions, and it can display the temperature and humidity for up to three different remote locations. (Possibly by wirelessly communicating with other units, or with remote sensors, I’m not entirely sure.) $119.99 from Oregon Scientific.

[ +ECO Clima Control ] VIA [ Popgadget ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When I was a teenager, I used to ride my bike everywhere. Sure, that changed once I got a car, but for a couple of years that bike got me everywhere. Since I rode it at night, I had a little light on the front which was powered by a small generator. I’ve often wondered why we don’t use our bikes to power other things. After all, you don’t need to power a light during the day. I’m apparently not the only one who wonders about these things, as evidenced by the latest gadget from Dahon.

The BioLogic FreeCharge is a nifty little device that hooks up to a bike equipped with a dyno hub, and allows you to charge USB devices. The FreeCharge is built around a small battery, which is used to regulate the power output of the dyno hub (which would otherwise damage sensitive electronics). A single USB port allows you to hook up any number of devices, and charge it while you’re peddling down the street. This $99 gadget probably wouldn’t be good for the occasional rider, but if you spend a couple of hours a day on your bike, it would be a worthwhile investment. Look for it on sale sometime next March

[ Dahon ] VIA [ BikeHugger ]

While I suspect the Naturmobil was actually designed for the sole purpose of making ‘one horsepower’ jokes, I guess Iranian engineer Hadi Mirhejazi’s invention is also an eco-friendly way to get around. It’s powered by a single horse tethered to a treadmill inside, which charges the battery on an electric motor and allows it to reach speeds of up to 28mph. To keep the horse comfortable it wears a jacket of cold water, and to keep the passengers comfortable it also wears a colostomy bag to deal with the vehicle’s ‘emissions.’

[ The Guardian - The Naturmobil is the ultimate green car ] VIA [ Inhabitat ]