Ipods have been the latest obsession of the youngsters and so have the ipod docking stations. But how are you doing anything for the environment in all of this? The ReVerb iPod dock from Regen sets an example by drawing energy from the sun to charge the battery and play the music for approximately 4 to 12 hours. Yes, so what if your product isn’t environment friendly. The other accessories related to the product can be chosen sensibly- just like this ReVerb iPod. The ReVerb won't only dominate a room's landscape with its huge proportions that include a 13.75 in (35 cm) by 19.7 in (50 cm) flat panel speaker with stereo drivers and a 6 in (15 cm) by 9 in (23 cm) sub-woofer which give an actual output of 6 watts with a frequency range of 50Hz to 20Khz. Adding to the green features, the flat panel system includes solar panels that fully charges the battery if given access to 20 hours of direct sunlight outdoors or direct sunlight indoors for 40 hours. For those who can't wait that long for the sun to donate its energy, the ReVerb pairs the ability to draw power from the sun or a traditional electric outlet. The Regen ReVerb will be available in April next year will cost US$2,299.

[Gizmag]

Lightweight design has been one of the core skills of the BMW Group for decades – after all, reducing weight is a major factor in cutting fuel consumption. But now BMW has something more to contribute towards the environment. It has decided to produce carbon fiber and textile semi-finished products for the new line of electric vehicles that is going to launch in the coming years. Megacity will be launched under a BMW sub-brand in the first half of the next decade, the extremely sturdy but ultra light material constitute an important proportion of the materials used. The Megacity Vehicle constitutes the combination of the superior CFRP fibers’ developed by the SGL Group and the BMW Group's expertise in the industrial manufacture of CFRP components. This is making it possible, for the first time, to install CFRP on a large scale in a series vehicle at a competitive cost. A very good move and since especially when a brand like BMW promotes, will definitely have a flurry of followers, which will make a huge difference!

[Autoblog]

Horace Burgess has built the most outstanding tree house using tons of reclaimed wood. This treehouse is 10 story big in Crossville, Tennessee. This treehouse is commonly known as the Minister’s Treehouse with a 80-foot-tall white oak tree foundation. The treehouse is measures around 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. The wood used in the making of this treehouse is has been donated or salvaged from from sheds, barns and garages. Burgess, a landscape architect and an ordained minister, has put in a of effort and patience in the process. About $12,000 has been spent on this treehouse solely by Burgess. Approximately 258,000 nails have been used in this treehouse. Other recycled materials used are license plates, furniture, roofing material, and Plexiglas skylights.

More...

With changing times every individual is now being more careful about the environmental issues today. Olympics is the new target of the environmentalists this time. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games has come up with designs for the gold, silver, and bronze Olympic Medals which are made out of recycled materials. These medals are designed by Canadian artists and are made up of used electronics. 6.8 metric tons of circuit board diverted from landfills has gone into the making of these medals. The design of these medals is curved and is laser etched, making every medal unique.

[Geeksugar]

James Law has designed an outstanding building for Dubai's Technopark, this new development goes beyond just exploring sustainable technologies and planning principals to create a desert community that will be not only carbon neutral but will also be free from zone waste. The Technopark of Dubai will be constructing a building in such a way that it will reflect the state of Planet Earth in the current and future times. Planet Earth reflects the essence of the ecosystem that we live in. This concept interprets the planet earth as a Cybertecture building that wonderful for people to visit, live and work in and be a symbol of technological power. This building will be called 'Technosphere'. The key features of the Technosphere are it's technological systems and architectural spaces that will help the building to generate a self breathing environment as well as generate electricity from solar power to supplement the energy needs of the building.

More...

65" eco-friendly LED panels by AUO have proved that AUO also wants to to green. The LED panel that will come with QFHD high resolution are their latest invention. The speciality of this model is that it sips up to 50% less juice on average compared to other devices in the same category. This LED panel also features a 7.9mm thickness for its 65" TFT LCD module and also a a contrast ratio of over 2,000,000:1. Other than the eco-friendly aspect AUO has also pre-mixed “LED Light Cell” with 256 zones for local dimming promising you a premium image quality.

[Ubergizmo]

Power by the people is power for the people! Generating power out of every step of pedestrians is not too common. We have seen dance clubs generating energy from dancer’s thumping on the dance floor. Now Laurence Kemball-Cook intends to trap energy out of more than 50,000 pedestrians everyday on a busy street by paving a stone. The rubber Pavegen stone will produce kinetic energy when it is stepped on. When it flexes 5 mm, the dynamo technology will capture this energy. Such pedestrian power can help to energize lights, computers, automatic doors and ticket machines. Also streets and shops frontages can be illuminated with this power. Whenever stepped on, the slab glows to indicate that the energy is captured. It is estimated that five paving slabs distributed over a section of a pavement will provide sufficient power to illuminate a bus information panel overnight. Early next year, trials will take place in several locations throughout the UK. To know more details, please read here.

More...

Tired of all those aluminum cans horded in your house and only occupying space? Most times even when we discard these cans, they aren’t really discarded sensibly. EZ Life LLC has finally come up with a smart way of discarding these cans without using power, that is, without electricity. The ‘EZ Power Crusher’ crushes cans, but without power. It crushes the cans in a matter of seconds using compressed air. This is a very smart move I feel, and a rarely used concept. The crusher body, mount, and safety door are all-steel for a strong, great looking machine. The crusher was designed with safety in mind - the can is completely encased in the crusher body and the crushing ram does not operate without the safety door being closed.

More...

Only if things were unlimited on earth and there would be no pain and struggle for the human kind, wouldn’t it be perfect? Nevertheless designers Kim Hyo Jin and Seol Ah Sun have sought nature’s help to solve nature’s problems. Inspired by the Giving Tree, this project called the “Savior Bud” latches on to trees and uses it’s natural recycling processes to obtain water. In a simple process which basically involves collecting the moisture from the leaves and emptying it out into containers, the Savior Bud takes one more step toward acceptable living conditions in Africa where out of the little available water most of it is polluted and undrinkable. After clamping the ‘Savior Bud’ onto the leaves, about one cup of drinkable water can be produced in a matter of 4 hours.

More...

Cutting down on our carbon footprints doesn’t really mean that one should live in smaller space. And Margie Hamrick, the builder and owner of an 8,000-square-foot “green home” in Vail justifies this statement. Christened as the Ranch at Cordillera, the house is built with green materials like recycled roofing tiles, reclaimed flooring and timbers and low-emission paints and stains. This colossal den was conceived with two goals in mind. Primarily to be as sustainable as possible, and at the same time be spacious enough to house the Hamricks’ big family and visiting relatives and friends. The occupants also strive on solar energy as a 7-kilowatt array of photovoltaic solar panels caters to 50 percent of the electrical consumption when fully occupied. And the same solar power provides 100% energy when the house is significantly empty.

More...

Swapping petrol-guzzling vehicles for bicycles is the best and the simplest way to switch to eco-friendly commuting. However those who intend to do it without compromising on style can settle for the newest Trussardi 1911 city bike. Designed by a fashion house, the bike comes with bike bags in trademark camouflage motif. The special painted steel frame with leather accessories not only looks good but also promises durability. Gold details jazzes up the appearance. Also the brand’s signature greyhounds sit over rear wheel cover. Sold at the new Trussardi 1911 concept store at Piazza della Scala 5, this new bicycle will soon be sold online too.

[FashionWindows]

Vision Industries Corporation has recently come up with the zero emission, plug-in electric/hydrogen fuel cell hybrid, Tyrano Semi truck. The Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced the Tyrano to the people of California in Sacramento, on the 20th of this month. This truck is designed basically to replace diesel and LNG short haul trucks in California. It has been estimated that there are currently more than 100,000 short haul trucks in California and more than 1 million nationwide. These short-haul trucks not only pollute but also affect the health and quality of life of the people residing in California. The major attraction of this truck is that it produces zero greenhouse gas emissions. Other than that the added benefit of these trucks are that they are 30% to 40% cheaper to operate than diesel trucks.

[AllCarsElectric]

After the Zero Energy wall of Beijing we will now see the all new fascinating Taipei Pop Music Center that integrates a photovoltaic facade and a wall clad in LED panels. Nabito Architects has proposed this new pop-art inspired design for the wall. The wall will show the activities of the Pop Music Center for every day activities. The LED media wall will not only broadcast news, weather and advertisements but also trailers of new events. This wall is powered completely by the sun. The Taipei Pop Music Center would be controlled by a central computer which can change the projection of the activities according to the events of the night.

More...

Did you know every time your phone gets charged and when you yet haven’t unplugged it from the socket, the electricity units still get counted? In other words, the electricity is still being consumed. Though many of our ecologically conscious friends will feel the pinch, for the not so conscious people also the pinch is felt on the pockets. Designer Yong-jin-Kim has come up with a way to cut the electricity out once the charge is done even without having to unplug from the socket. Power socket ‘SWITCH’ allows for easy power control by twisting the plug to about 45 degrees and not having the need to unplug it.

More...

In this hour of need, we just cannot afford to sit aside and go on consuming energy in the form of electricity. It’s high time we sit up and take control of what and how much we use and consume lest a day comes where all natural resources get exhausted. Solar energy and wind energy are the richest sources of energy and Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira have initiated a design that increases the ‘green’ quotient. They have designed a bridge will illuminate itself in the night with the power generated by the cars that pass below the bridge by the day. Thus they have optimized the conversion of wind energy to electric energy which is something to take a note of. The cross-wind bridge is meant to promote the notion of a multipurpose envelope, engineered to capture the wind power from a network of 2,188 light-weight rotating panels.

More...