That paperless office we’ve been promised is still no where in sight. And if you feel a little guilty about the sheer quantity of printed material you or your office produces, a charitable organization called Plant a Tree promises to plant 1 tree in an endangered forest for every 100 pages you print. With the funding for this project coming from selling ad space, which appear in the footer of every single page you print.
To make the system work the user downloads and installs a special Print a Forest program on their PC, which creates a virtual ‘Print a Forest’ printer that they send every document too. The program keeps track of how many pages are printed from a given printer, and inserts ads on the bottom of every page. So a constant internet connection is required. After printing to the ‘Print a Forest’ app you’ll then need to choose the actual printer you want to print to, so the system does add an extra step. But when you crunch the numbers, on average for every single tree that’s cut down to make paper, 75 new trees will get planted. (Assuming everyone using the paper also uses Print a Forest.)
Adding an electric or even gas powered motor to your bicycle can help extend its range and make it a truly viable alternative to a car for commuting. But it’s not always an easy, or cheap, conversion. Mechanical Engineering student (and coolest name of the day winner) Maxwell von Stein might have come up with a reasonably simple alternative. His Flywheel Bicycle features a – you guessed it – built-in flywheel that harnesses the bike’s energy that’s usually lost when braking. When coming to a stop the kinetic energy is instead transferred to the 15 pound flywheel as it spins up. Then, at some point while riding, the energy in the flywheel can be transferred back to the bike’s rear wheel giving the rider an extra kick or boost.
Maxwell’s goal is to see flywheel technology adopted into cars, but hopefully something will come of his bicycle design as it’s a relatively uncomplicated way to add the benefits of regenerative braking to a pedal-powered bike.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand how important energy efficient lighting can be. But at the same time I find it difficult to get that excited over new innovations or related products. So kudos to Sharp for not only creating what they claim to be the world’s most energy efficient ceiling light, but also kind of making me want one. Their ELM or ‘Eco Lighting Management’ lights use the same type of highly efficient LEDs used in LCD TVs, along with direct illumination techniques which allows for a “luminous efficiency of 81.3 lumens per watt” making it the world’s most energy efficient… for the time being.
But that’s not what really interests me about these lights. What I like is that you can adjust the brightness and color tone using an included wireless remote, with a total of 103 variations between the two for creating the perfect ambiance. They can also be dimmed to serve as a subtle nightlight in a room, and even have sleep timer options via the remote which will gradually fade the light off as you fall asleep. The lights will be available as soon as August 27 in 3 different sizes. Ranging in price from ~$460 (¥35,000) for the smallest model, to ~$720 (¥55,000) for the largest.
Sure they might be convenient, but did you know that white plastic disposable fork you got with your takeout that claims to be ‘biodegradable’ can still take 6+ months to decompose in a landfill? Granted it doesn’t make them any less convenient, but it does make these EcoTensils seem like a better alternative. At least for softer fast foods that are eaten with a spoon. The EcoSpoon, a larger version of the EcoTaster Mini demo’d in the photos above, is made from renewable paperboard with a waterproof finish like you’d find on a milk carton.
They start off life as a pre-cut, flat piece of paper (which are easier to ship and store than plastic spoons) but with a little folding and a couple of sticky spots, they easily become a usable spoon. And when they’re done being used they can be recycled or disposed of, since they’ll decompose in as little as 3 weeks. Interestingly enough, because they’re so flexible, they’re also a useful alternative for prisons since they make for poor shivs.
The EcoSpoons are available in cartons of 5,000 units for $199.95, while the smaller EcoTaster Minis, which are ideal for free samples, run $94.95 for the same quantity.
Looking for an eco-friendly alternative to a styrofoam ‘Esky’ when you’re heading out for a camping adventure? These coolers are made from 70% recycled cardboard while still working just as effectively as their styrofoam counterparts. With just two bags of ice they’ll keep food and beverages cold at around 41°F degrees for 36 hours when ambient temperatures are around 77°F outside. (That 36 hours obviously gets a lot shorter when the thermometer rises.)
The inside and outside of the box are covered with a ‘NorSheild’ waterproof coating which means it’s ok to get it wet, and allows it to be used again and again without the cardboard turning to mush. And when it reaches the end of its lifespan, you can just toss it in your recycling bin. $14.99 each as part of an introductory offer. After that you’re looking at $19.99 per box.
If your fashion sense changes on a week-to-week basis, and you feel a little guilty about your ever-growing pile of passé clothing and accessories you no longer wear, these Sprout watches will make you feel a little better about your style habits. They come in a huge variety of styles and color combinations, and when you tire of your current design you can simply throw it away since the watches are 80-93% biodegradable. (Though perhaps giving it away to a friend is probably a better alternative.)
The watches are made from materials like bamboo, organic cotton, mineral crystal lenses, corn resin instead of plastic and even feature mercury-free batteries. And they’re not terribly expensive either. On the low-end you can expect to pay about $30, even for the styles pictured above. While their most expensive design tops out around $75.
A lot of engineers will tell you that the technology to build a car that runs solely on energy from the sun just doesn’t exist. But that’s simply not true. You most certainly can build one, as long as you don’t need it to be longer than 1.3 inches. It won’t carry you, or any passengers, or any groceries, or probably even a paperclip for that matter. But when you stick Georg Huber’s quarter-sized electric racer somewhere with ample sunlight (and a smooth surface given its minuscule size) it will zip along in circles until the clouds roll in. Available from the Museum of Contemporary Art Store for $25, batteries not included, nor required.
Having trouble deciding on what kind of furniture to get for your new home or office? It’s certainly a decision not to be taken lightly, but while you’re deciding it doesn’t mean you have to work or eat on the floor. Karton, an Australia-based company, has an entire line of furniture made entirely from cardboard that will probably pack flatter than even IKEA’s most ingenious design. Everything from dining room tables to bedroom sets to even filing boxes complete with their own shelving are available. And if you don’t like their drab brown finish, you’re just a pack of crayons away from having something that matches the room’s existing color palette.
Some level of origami skills are probably required to assemble the furniture, though even the most elaborate pieces look easy enough for a 10-year-old to handle. I just wish they were a little cheaper. For $188, which is what they want for their ‘Paperpedic Bed’, I could probably buy enough raw materials and tools to build a wooden bed myself. And at $148 for their ‘Chairman’s Table’ I’d happily work on a piece of plywood spanning a couple of sawhorses, which would be far cheaper. So I guess there must be some level of ‘art’ involved here to warrant their expensive price tags. Just remember that if you spill a glass of water on one of those tables, they’ll be as useless as the paper towels you use to clean up the mess.
I bet those over-privileged kids who went on all those Magic School Bus adventures wouldn’t be so keen on flying around the universe if Ms. Frizzle had opted for this eco-friendly pedal powered model instead. (That’s right, I read books written for children!) Designed and built in the Netherlands by De Café Racer, the bus-bike can accomodate 10 kids and an adult driver. And I imagine there isn’t a school bus driver on the planet who wouldn’t love a solution like this that puts the kids to work, tiring them out after the first mile. But since kids are notoriously lazy, the bus-bike also has an auxiliary electric motor if the driver’s not so keen on pedaling 10 kids home who refuse to help.
Related Tags: Eco-friendly, Printing
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