In today’s society we’re so dependent on cell phones that most of us can’t image life without them. Have you ever been in a situation where you forgot to charge your cell phone the night before and it dies when you most need it? Strapya World is selling, for about $20, a solar panel charger strap. It looks like a key chain and is considerably small. Right now this product is only shipped from Japan. We hope that someday it is made locally to make a more eco-friendly shipment.

The device can be charged up to 500 times, it only weighs 40 grams and will give you a maximum talk time of 40 minutes. Their product page shows a list of the compatible cell phones.

Let’s hope other companies will follow the lead and improve this device as well as make it available worldwide. Maybe someday this could be our everyday charger, instead of a back-up.

For information on cell phones that have solar panels built into them, check out our post about Solar Powered Cell Phones.

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What makes a certain computer “hybrid” is well over my head, but I know that if it is using less material, and uses less power, that it surely is green!

Dell has come out with a Studio Hybrid Computer that is 80% smaller than most desktop towers (much less material), and uses 70% less power than most (meets Energy Star 4.0 Standards). The packaging for this computer is made of 95% recycled materials, and comes with a recycling kit.

Besides just being greener than most computers, it has some other great features. The tower is designed so that it can stand vertically or horizontally, depending on your work space, and it has all of the ports you would need in one panel. You can pick from a variety of six different colors, or even choose a bamboo sleeve. The desktop comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse, to help keep your workspace the way you want it. All sold right now for prices ranging from $449 at it’s simplest to $799 with a monitor.

Purchasing other Dell products? When you are customizing your product, Dell will offer several options such as recycling your old computer for free, the option to have Dell plant a tree for a couple of dollars, or the option to have Dell plant a tree and send you a recycling kit for $6.

Know of other companies that are creating greener/hybrid products? Let us know!

Check out Amazon.com and compare prices!

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When we think about eco-friendly cars, whether electric or hybrid, we know they’re good for the environment, but we assume that the vehicle won’t get the same power as a fully gas fueled 4, 6, or 8 cylinder engine. This should not be your worry anymore. Tesla has developed a 100% electric car that goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds! That’s fast. The Roadster can be fully charged over night in only 3.5 hours, which will allow you to drive for 220 miles. However, the price is not that affordable yet: $109,000 base price. If you’re already willing to buy a sports car for half the price though, you might make your money back quickly since electricity is very cheap compared to gas or diesel: $0.01 per mile.

Anyone willing to spend $100,000 in a car that will cost you less than 50 cents a day for fuel (and that is if you drive about 50 miles/day)?

If you have a hybrid or electric car, let us know how your mileage is, and how much money you save on gas vs. how much more you paid for your car!

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Books have always been an essential resource through the ages, from papyrus to recycled paper. Today’s modern technologies offer electronic books called eBooks. The good thing about these books is that there’s no paper involved. However, the question raises on whether or not reading these books, or newspapers, or magazines  from electronic devices would, in fact, consume more energy than manufacturing an actual book. Fat Knowledge’s comparison shows that “reading the physical version of the NY Times for a year uses 7,300 MJ of energy and emits 700 kg of CO2.” Reading the electronic version of the NY Times for a year using electronic devices such as Amazon’s Kindle “uses 100 MJ of energy and emits 10 kg of CO2.” That creates a saving of 7,200 MJ of energy and 690 kg of CO2. eBooks are also cheaper than their physical counterpart.

You could also read eBooks on your computer. However, depending on the amount of time you spend reading, you might be better off buying the book. For example, if more than 30 minutes is spent reading the news every day, a computer will use more energy and emit more CO2 than a physical newspaper. This all depends on what kind of computer you have. Desktops tend to use more energy than laptops, as do larger screens to smaller.

Anyone willing to invest $359 on a reading device? Maybe it is time to start saving up.

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With all the different technologies on the market, it’s hard to make a meaningful decision on what kind of television to buy. CNET has reviewed the power consumption of 139 TVs of various technologies. The results show that LCD has an average power consumption of 213 watts, Rear-Projection 211 watts and Plasma a power hogging 339 watts. Anyone regret buying a Plasma TV? It’s also shown that combined electronic devices connected to the TV may consume more energy than the TV itself. Playstation 3, for example, consumes 197 watts.

If you want to take green television a step further, LG’s XCanvas (LCD) and Panasonic’s Neo Eco (Plasma) are eco-friendly flat screen televisions with power saving functions!

Check out Amazon.com’s selection of Energy Star Rated Televisions.

Which technology do you buy green?

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LG Electronics is bringing green to mobile phones. To be released in green concious Europe by the end of this year, LG has created an eco-friendly cell phone made of recycled products with a solar panel battery cover. The panel can convert solar energy into electricity just by leaving the phone in the sun. Ten minutes of solar energy will provide for a 3 minute phone conversation, which is great for emergencies. Leaving the phone out for longer periods will negate the necessity for charging devices.

Samsung also plans to release their eco-friendly phone (blue earth) made of recycled water bottles by the end of the year.

Making the planet greener one cell phone at a time…

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