By Andrew Liszewski

Imagine if someone took the principle behind a machine gun and applied it to an aluminum can crusher. Well don’t worry if your imagination has been destroyed by 20 years of TV because such a device actually exists. Just drop a can into the hopper of this crusher and pull the lever to perfectly crush it down for recycling purposes. When you lift the lever the can is then automatically ejected below and the next can in the hopper gets loaded. The best part is that in theory you never need to touch the sticky crushed cans as long as you keep a strategically based bin directly underneath it.

Now I’ve never considered myself a master counter by any means but I have to question Amazon.com’s claim that the hopper can hold up to 6 cans when I can clearly count 9 in the product shot. Maybe they’re just underselling its capabilities so that when it arrives you’re even more impressed at what it can do.

Make doing your part when it comes to recycling even easier with an Automatic Feed Can Crusher from Amazon.com for only $19.99.

[ Automatic Feed Can Crusher ] VIA [ Home Improvement Ideas ]

By Andrew Liszewski

From Japanese company Hino comes the DriveMaster Pro which looks a lot like a dashboard mounted performance monitor. However instead of keeping track of your vehicle’s revs or horsepower the DriveMaster Pro actually provides visual and verbal warnings when your driving habits contradict the recommendations of the Japanese government when it comes to pollution.

Unfortunately my complete lack of understanding of the Japanese language once again prevents me from providing some detail specifics on the DriveMaster Pro but according to Akihabara News the device uses an array of strategically installed sensors in your car to keep track of its ‘eco-friendliness’. Presumably they monitor things such as engine performance and your vehicle’s exhaust and as an added bonus it probably also helps improve your fuel-efficiency.

[ Hino DriveMaster Pro ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Evan Ackerman

My urban life these days consists almost entirely of plastic, metal, or plastic that’s been painted to look like metal. There’s a distinct lack of anything green and living, unless you want to count that stuff that’s taking over the tiles behind the sink. In recognition of this ecological deficiency, the DreamingreeN project (that’s “dream in green,” not “dreaming reen”) presents us with the Green Light, which is a plant growing around an energy efficient light bulb.

Several different plants are going to be available in addition to the current hedera (plant-speak for ivy), including grape and tomato vines. You can dim or brighten the light by, er, “adjusting” the thickness of the plant via a hedge trimmer or some Miracle-Gro. No, seriously, that’s what the designers suggest you do.

The Green Light is available preassembled for 50 euros, in a kit for 25 euros, and as downloadable instructions for only 2 euros.

[Green Light] VIA [Core77]

By Andrew Liszewski

When it comes to commuting buses are definitely more versatile than trains but at the same time they’re also a lot slower. To get the best of both worlds the Hokkaido Railway Company (a division of Japan Railways I assume) started to develop a prototype vehicle way back in the year 2000 called the DMV or Dual Mode Vehicle. About the size of a small bus the DMV can carry 25 passengers but what makes it special is its ability to travel on either roads or rails since it has a set of both steel and rubber wheels. The idea is that the DMV can use existing rail infrastructures available in more developed areas and then switch to road travel for areas that are less densely populated.

The first DMV service is scheduled to begin by April of 2007. Although the ultimate goal of the DMV is transport in rural areas, the first application will be on a tourist route traveling round trip from Hamako-Shimizu to Mokoto along the Senmo Main Line on the northeast coast near Abashiri. During this trial period the DMV will go one way on track (11 km) and then return by meandering roads as a bus (21 km). The success of the DMV will be of great benefit to both JR Hokkaido and the declining rural population of the island. At present one third of JR Hokkaido?s routes are unprofitable, carrying less than 500 passengers a day. DMV service may save many thousands of residents from losing their rail transit while providing them with even more convenient ?door to door? service.

Japan is defintiely a world leader when it comes to efficient public transportation so hopefully this experiment will work out and eventually spread to other growing metropolitan centers around the world.

[ Japan Railways Dual Mode Vehicle ] VIA [ TreeHugger ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Last week in downtown Vancouver the billboard you see above was exlusively powered by volunteers pedaling a single bicycle over a span of about 5 days. The advertisement was sponsored by DDB/Vancouver and BC Hydro (hydro is a Canadian term for power or electricity) to show off how energy-efficient LED Christmas lights are. While the reindeer used on the billboard was lit with about 1500 LED lights BC Hydro claims that with the traditional type of incandescent lighting there would only be enough electricity to power 120 bulbs.

While this is definitely a very energy-efficient way to power a set of LED Christmas lights the hard part is finding enough volunteers to keep the bike going. The 5 days this billboard was lit up required some 120 volunteers from the ad agency and local organizations so if you’ve got a large family you might want to consider this alternative next Christmas to help keep the electricity bills down.

[ Pedal Powered Billboard @ Advertising/Design Goodness ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]