Charging handheld devices with 100% solar power is rapidly becoming reality. This solar charger takes its inspiration from Mother Nature and the leaf arrangement used by flowers to soak up sunlight. The foldable panels make the versatile charger compact to transport, yet able to absorb maximum energy when fully opened. The charger can be spread out in a window, or with adhesive panels even stick to the glass. When not in use the petals close and you can plug in your gadget for easy recharging.

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Sanyo today announced the development of a world first inverter driven commercial freezer with CO2 refrigerant, and it will aim at practical use in the future. Using the newly developed Inverter driven Commercial Freezer with CO2 Refrigerant, a customer can reduce CO2 emissions resulting from electrical consumption by up to 15% compared to a conventional commercial freezer with alternative fluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant(R404A). Through the development of a highly efficient split refrigeration cycle and a compact Two Stage Rotary CO2 Compressor, Sanyo was able to realize energy-saving and CO2 refrigerant technologies for commercial freezers.

Via - [Fareastgizmos]

SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) has released two new 'eneloop kairo' portable rechargeable hand warmers. Let me just say that they are absolutely adorable with their egg shape. The sleek one-sided 'eneloop kairo' KIR-SE1S comes in white and pink, and the the double-sided 'eneloop kairo' KIR-SL2S is available in silver and pink. There's no doubt that my vote goes to the pink ones. With the winter here, I'm sure people are going to be holding on to these babies for some warmth. One good thing is that they are eco-friendly. You can make use of them indoors and outdoors during most activities. The SANYO eneloop kairo portable hand-warming device is slightly smaller than a deck of cards, which easily fits into a pocket, purse, or backpack. Convenience is very important in my opinion! The single sided version has an internal battery that provides up to 3 hours of heat and the double sided version runs of 2AA enloop rechargeable batteries. The starting price of these cute hand warmers is $35.

Via - [Gizmodiva]

With toughness comparable to any plastic, and the natural beauty of hardwoods and Bamboo, hand-crafted ipod and iphone cases are surely the most environmentally friendly, not to mention distinctive, gadget covers on the market today. Wood is the most abundant renewable material on the planet. Vers cases take advantage of hardwoods such as Walnut and Cherry, combined with the quick growing grass Bamboo, to create a desirable and sustainable product that will protect any ipod or iphone from day-to-day wear and tear.

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Fluorescent tubes are ubiquitous with the modern office building. Functional, practical and durable, they’re a familiar feature across the land. Did you know however that fluorescent tubes are actually classed as Hazardous Waste in England and Wales? This is because they contain mercury, a very toxic substance.

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In the UK alone, it’s estimated that 6.7 million tonnes of food waste is produced by households every year, most of which could have been eaten. Householders aren’t the only culprit however; shops, supermarkets and restaurants also throw out food that is fit to eat. Around 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste. This figure seems staggering until you understand that food waste actually releases methane when put into landfill – a gas that is 25% more damaging than carbon dioxide. Why does so much good food end up in the bin? There are several factors at play – from shopping habits to cooking skills, to unclear food labelling.

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Plastic disposal is a huge problem the world over, and one that is only set to grow in the coming years. We use well over 4 million tonnes of plastic in the UK alone, of which packaging accounts for about 35%. Most of this packaging goes into our household waste and so into landfill. How long that plastic takes to degrade depends on what type it is, but some estimates say that a plastic carrier bag will take over 1000 years to break down. The reality is, plastic hasn’t been around long enough for anyone to know for sure.

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MSI today announced the latest power-saving technology called "Super Idle" at the Computex 2009. Some people may think when they shut down the system then there is no power consumption anymore, but the truth is the system still uses the standby power unless you plug it off. Now it's been changed by MSI "super Idle" technology. The MSI "super Idle" technology drives 50% power saving for the system, and it works in every standby mode such as S3 (standby), S4 (Hibernate), and S5 (Shutdown). The cutting edge innovation makes MSI mainboard to be the first one which is compliant with 2013 ECO product.

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Christmas is here and we want to wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday. Spread the jolly cheer for the moment… In our effort to bring you the best, we started two new blogs this year, Designlaunches.com and Greenlaunches.com and we are glad that they are being received so warmly by you.

The future holds a promise of success.

Striving to keep you abreast with latest in the field, the team hopes to embark on a literary feast and bring to you more new blogs to read.

Till then, have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Don't think that the biggies of the retail business are going eco-conscious for no reason at all. There always is an ulterior motive as far as they are concerned. Recently giants like Wal-Mart Stores, Kohl's, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have fitted their roofs with solar panels to generate electricity on a large scale. They need to complete all the installations before the Dec. 31 deadline to take tax advantages for these projects. The trade analysts state that these projects could produce enough power to help reduce total electricity demand and depending on the location and weather, the solar panels generate 10 to 40 percent of the power a store needs. Whatever the motive, I vote in the favor of such tax benefits if they result in such eco-friendly endeavors.

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News is that the EU has proposed a 120-grams-per-km emissions standard by 2012. This new regulation could adversely affect the European carmakers, edging them towards closure. Big Daddies of the business like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche, would find it very difficult to comply with this ruling. LeftLane cites this example: the feather-light and relatively fuel efficient Lotus Elise S emits 196 g/km, whereas the segment average is in the 200 to 500 g/km range. According to Reuters, since exotic sports car are driven very rarely, and their limited production numbers means they only account for 0.3 percent of EU total car emissions. Whatever the case looks like the sports car industry just got a heavy-duty jolt!

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Do you think Archie would trade his trusty old jalopy for new shiny wheels even if the government gave him £1,000 ($2,000)? Incentives and cash is what the British Government plans on offering its citizens to dump old fuel inefficient cars. Apparently a similar scheme is up in France and the Brits want experiment it on their public. Due to the increase vehicle excise duty for people owning cars bought between 2001 and 2006, the citizens have been criticizing the government. More than one million people will see their road tax double and offering people money to switch vehicles may be the right option.

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Daimler was not so forthcoming about their EV Smart till it didn't pass around a hundred tests or so, and apparently since the car has done sufficiently well in those tests, the car will be on the roads by 2010. This tit-bit was announced by none other than the company CEO Dieter Zetsche. Hopefully this announcement has nothing to do with the fact that the Chevy Volt is scheduled to come out in 2010 as well. Little else is known, except that the company is undecided whether it wants to sell or lease the batteries. Leasing does lower the up-front cost, but continued cost of ownership may be an issue. Neither pricing nor US release has been indicated.

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At a recent presentation, MINI USA VP Jim McDowell clarified that there is no concrete news on the car's US debut, except that will be in "regular customers hands" by the summer of 2009. Although he could not specify what type of battery that will be in the cars, he did say that MINI would make a further announcement later this year, probably at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Furthermore, it has not yet been finalized whether the cars will be leased or sold, or how many will be built.

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Ineos a British chemicals company seems to have found the answer to soaring fuel prices; an alternative fuel derived from rubbish. They have patented a method of producing fuel from municipal solid waste, agricultural waste and organic commercial waste. Apparently they can produce about 400 liters (90 gallons) of ethanol from one tone of dry waste. The procedure is thus: they heat the waste to produce gases, which is then fed to bacteria, who in turn produce ethanol that can be purified into a fuel. Ineos plans to sell the environmental product in industrial quantities by the end of 2010. Peter Williams, the chief executive of Ineos Bio, said: "This should mean that, unlike with other biofuels, we won't have to make the choice between food and fuel."

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