Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I had a chance to check out the Chevy Volt earlier this year at the Auto Show in Detroit and I’m glad to see that GM seems really gung-ho about their E-Flex platform. But in addition to the North American Volt the company plans to roll-out the new technology worldwide and the Opel Flextreme concept is what Europeans might someday be driving.

In addition to the 120 kW peak electric motor and 16 kWH lithium-ion battery pack the Flextreme also uses a 53kW diesel/biodiesel generator to recharge the battery on the road and extend the vehicle’s driving range. (The diesel generator is not connected to the drivetrain at all.) What’s particularly interesting about the Flextreme though is that it actually has an integrated compartment for carrying a couple of Segways for travelling in areas where cars aren’t allowed.

Relying only on its batteries the Opel Flextreme will have a range of about 34 miles on a single charge which is more than enough for the average European commuter but for longer trips using the biodiesel generator extends that range to about 444 miles.

[ EcoGeek - GM Integrates Segways into Concept Hybrid Opel Flextreme ]

By Andrew Liszewski

In this age of ‘environmental awareness’ inventors and designers are always trying to come up with new ways to better use our natural resources. So here’s an interesting take on the bathroom sink that reuses the water from the basin to feed a plant.

But it’s pretty obvious the sink is more of a design concept than a usable idea because we all know how many chemicals end up being poured into a bathroom sink like toothpaste, mouthwash, shaving cream and soap just to name a few. And while I only took Biology classes up until high-school from what I remember none of those chemicals were used by plants for the purpose of living. Still, I wonder if that long channel could be outfitted with a filter of some sort ensuring that only H20 eventually made it to the plant.

[ Zen Garden Sink ] VIA [ TreeHugger ]

By Ryan Nill

The Whole House-Off Switch is a switch that is exceedingly aptly named. A wonderful eco-idea, using the switch turns off all the power to your house, saving on both your bill and the environment. Made by designer Jack Godfrey Wood (eco-pun!) the concept was created to turn off all of the superfluous power going to your home during absences. For certain persons, like anyone living below 30° or above -30° latitude, this might prove to be bothersome. The the House-off Switch “was part of a larger project to encourage ‘green’ action among the environmentally disenfranchised.” It also mentions that it “Allows a user to turn off all non-essential electronic items in their home from a central switch,” so I don’t see you losing your refrigerator or clocks to this item…

But, as mentioned, this is only a concept at the moment with no firm plans for production.

[ Jack Godfrey Wood ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Personally I find battery powered electric razors to be useless when it comes shaving, they just don’t have enough kick to get the job done. So I have even less confidence that a solar powered version would stand a chance against my barbed-wire-esque stubble.

But I guess if I had just spent a week camping in the woods but had to immediately return to the city for an important business meeting AND it was a sunny day this Solar Energy Shaver could serve as a handy way to make myself look somewhat presentable. Well maybe a stick of solar powered deodorant would help too, and some solar powered breath mints.

The Solar Energy Shaver is available from Vogue-Gifts though I have no idea for how much.

[ Sabeco Solar Energy Shaver ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Besides their monthly power bill most people don’t realize how much energy they actually use on a day to day basis. So the Wattson was created by DIY Kyoto Ltd with the hopes of providing people with an easy to way to visualize this.

Now I’m not 100% sure how it ties in to your home’s electrical wiring but when you turn any appliance on or off or set it to standby the Wattson will provide an “immediate and understandable effect, showing how much power that appliance uses, and how much it costs to run.” It looks like the Wattson can also interface with your PC via USB providing power usage statistics over specific time periods in a handy (but boring) bar graph.

Pictured here is the Wattson Limited Edition with a wood accent finish that sells for about $710 but there’s also a simpler version that sells for about $250.

[ Wattson ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Evan Ackerman

If you’ve ever taken a shower, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of having to wait for the water to warm itself up to a tolerable temperature. Perhaps you get so frustrated that you go and brush your teeth in the interim, smugly returning a few minutes later to a toasty warm shower. But what about all that wasted water, huh? And the wasted energy heating that water? And the wasted money? Not feeling so smug now, are we? The ShowerStart hot water saver claims to save (over the course of one year) 2,500 gallons of water and $75 in heating costs for an average family of 3, by automatically turning your shower off as soon as the water warms up. Flick the switch on the ShowerStart when you’re ready to go, and you’ll get hot water instantly. It mounts just behind your shower head, so you won’t even notice it’s there.

Essentially, the ShowerStart works like a flourescent lightbulb as opposed to an incandescent light bulb. For a small up front cost and a little bit of inconvenience, you save money and energy in the long run. Does it make sense? Absolutely. Am I going to buy one? Probably not, because I’m just that lazy.

[ ShowerStart ] VIA [ Red Ferret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Like Ben Storan with his Personal Wind Turbines, Andreas Zachariah was also one of the winners of the 2007 BSI (British Standards Institute) Sustainability Design Awards. But instead of harnessing wind power Andreas’ invention is designed as a wake up call to get people to understand what their impact on the environment really is. It’s called the ‘Carbon Hero’ and it’s basically a keychain sized device that’s used to keep track of a person’s ‘carbon footprint’ when it comes to the modes of transportation they use.

Carbon Hero™ calculates the exact carbon footprint of the user’s transport habits by identifying different forms of transport taken as a user travels through ‘space’, by virtue of their relative location, velocity and the pattern of their activity. All of this comes in a unit the size of a key ring.

Once gathered, the data is downloaded to software on a PC or mobile phone which displays the amount of carbon used and the amount of credits needed to be purchased in order to offset the amount used.

Andreas felt that while people have become more conscious and educated about the products they buy being environmentally friendly they’re less concerned when it comes to public or private transportation. By giving them tangible data on how their own transportation habits affect the environment they’ll be more likely to change those habits in an attempt to improve their ‘footprint.’

[ He's a Carbon Zero Hero Press Release ]

By Andrew Liszewski

In the summertime everyone hits the beach and the local parks and the influx of people usually means all the garbage cans are left overflowing with trash. Combined with the heat and the local animal life that trash can become a spawning point for dangerous bacteria. The BigBelly combats this problem by operating as a standalone garbage compactor. As people dispose of their garbage it’s crushed down internally so the units can handle a lot more refuse than a standard garbage container. Not only does this keep trash off the ground but it means there’s less garbage pickup required as the BigBelly units don’t fill up as quickly.

They can also be used pretty much anywhere since the BigBelly has a solar cell on top that’s used to charge a 12-volt battery. A fully charged battery will last for a couple of weeks without any sunlight but even a little bit every day should keep the unit running non-stop. It’s also great for campgrounds and state parks since the latches used for the garbage slot and the all-steel construction are both raccoon and bear resistant.

Each BigBelly runs around $3,600 but that cost can be offset through the use of advertising and the money saved with a reduced schedule of garbage collection.

[ BigBelly Cordless Compactor ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Evan Ackerman

A while back, ecoIron calculated that if Google were to use a black background instead of a white background on its search page, over the course of one year 3000 megawatt-hours of electricity would be saved (assuming that 25% of people are still stuck with CRTs). And that’s the idea behind Blackle. Blackle is a fully functional Google clone, except it’s gray text on a black background. When your monitor displays a predominantly white webpage, it uses about 15 more watts than it does while displaying a predominantly black webpage. Google’s 200 million (ish) queries a day over one year adds up to something like $75,000 worth of energy spent on that white background. Not only does it save energy every time you use Blackle as opposed to Google, but it’s a good reminder that lots of people taking easy little steps to save energy can make a big difference. And, you know, it goes with my nail polish and eye liner.

[ Blackle ] VIA [ geeksugar ]