Here’s a device that looks like a tree trunk and does your lungs a favor by purposefully pointing out how dirty the air around you is and does a small bit of cleaning and filtering too! Known as the Eco-Green Ring, this hook-onto-your-wall tree trunk-like device uses a series of lights to indicate the purity of air. Those tiny twinkly lights remind us how much just how much pollution we fill our beloved lungs with. Designed by Park Jun Seok and Kwon Hye Rim, the Green Ring uses a red light to denote that the air is dreadful, and green lights to show that it’s as clean as the top of a Himalayan mountain. That’s not all. This environment loving tree trunk also uses recycled materials like recycled plastic and waterbome paint, pushing the green factor upwards. So what powers up this device? Human power! All you need to do is pull the little branch on the side to rev up power supply.

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We usually use water from kettles to make ourselves that hot refreshing cup of tea. Well here’s an eco-friendly way to boiling water before you pour it into your mug. Known as the Echo Chrome kettle, this appliance is equipped with a reservoir that holds a full capacity of water ready for your disposal. The measuring button enables your preferred quantity of water to be released in a separate chamber for boiling. This prevents the wastage of water allowing you to boil only the required amount. This stylish kettle with its shiny smooth chrome finish also boasts of the celebrated Recommended mark by the Energy Saving Trust. This was the first time the award was given in the EST newly established kettle category.

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Cornell University’s Textile and Nanotech Lab which had teamed up with two Italian labs have devised a way by which they can make cotton threads conduct electricity along with maintaining the lightness and flexibility of cotton. Although this has been achieved before, it was at the cost of the fabric losing its natural feel. In this method, natural cotton fibers are coated with a combination of semiconductor polymers and nanoparticles in a coating less than 100 nanometres thick which helps to retain the flexibility of cotton. Using this fabric a dress has been made which can charge a mobile device or an MP3 player using a USB port by using solar energy.

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Sheng-cheh, a student from Taiwan, has invented a life jacket which may greatly reduce the risk involved in sea travelling. Though normal life jackets keep a person afloat, a major cause of death at sea is due to the hypothermia caused by the water. However, Sheng-cheh’s invention LIFEON consists of chlorophyll solar cells which get charged within 10 second after coming in contact with water and can heat up the life saver to human body temperature and can maintain it up to 72 hours. Apart from this, it also has a GPS system and compartments that can hold food and water.

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Saving energy and finding ways to do so is what’s playing on the minds of people all over the world today. That’s pretty obvious taken the fact that energy resources have been exploited before, and if we don’t save up now, we’ll run dry in the future. Another product of this realization is the PowerHouse Dynamic's eMonitor. How helpful is this device? Well it hooks on to your circuit board and tells you how much energy each individual circuit is using. This power management software helps users attain real time stats and also customized energy saving recommendations and a handy read-out of your "carbon footprint" and ways to offset it.

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The world’s largest ship builder, Hyundai Heavy Industries is here with what will be the world’s first environment-friendly marine engine. This 16,680-horsepower engine reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 15 percent on a trial run. Built in collaboration with German-based MAN Diesel, the engine was delivered to China's Yangfan Shipyard for a 92,000-ton bulk carrier on Wednesday. It meets the latest Tier II regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO set more stringent regulations in 2008 that ruled for lower NOx emissions for marine engines reducing it from 17 grams per 1 kilowatt-hour to 14.4 grams. Ships built from January 2011 onwards will abide by these regulations and use engines that meet these standards. Hyundai developed components such as turbochargers, fuel valves and air coolers that renew the design of its engine and help meet these regulations.

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We all face the frustrating situation of having our cell-phone batteries run dry while out of home and away from a charging socket. Now you don’t need to worry yourself about things like that anymore. That’s if all goes well for Nokia, the Finnish cellular giant who have recently filed a US patent last week for a self charging handset that powers itself up using energy generated by the owner’s motion. Nokia is dreaming about a phone in the future that will have its heavier components like the radio transmitter circuit and battery on a sturdy frame which will move along two sets of rails that allow it to move upwards, downwards and sideways. The end of each rail will have strips of strips of piezoelectric crystals that will generate a current when compressed by the frame. So all you need to do is slip the phone in your pocket and it’ll charge itself up as you walk about.

[Newscientist]

The latest unveiling from Solar Components-‘Joos Orange’, sure has heads turning. This solar powered cell phone charger is supposed to be 6 to 20 times more efficient than its present competitors in terms of “3G cell phone talk time per hour of sun”. According to Solar Components, ‘Joos Orange’ can deliver up to 120 minutes of cell phone talk time per hour while its competitors are way behind at 20 minutes per hour of sun. Solar Components is also providing an enhancement accessory called a reflector which can further increase the efficiency of this device.

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Now here’s a urinal by Neo-Metro that’s eco-friendly. Besides being made out of 90% recycled metal, this sweet green concept made to answer nature’s call simply doesn’t use water! Its hot pink and powder coated finish sure makes a style statement and will make your toilet a colorful place to be in. The urinal meets the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) design criteria. It may sound weird at first, but this urinal helps save a whole lot of water by going dry instead of having it continuously flow down the drain. In case the color doesn’t appeal to you too much, you can also chose from sober shades like black matte and white gloss powder-coated finish.

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The ‘Plant Mate’, a “solar powered gardener wannabe helper”, is an amazing example of the progress in technology. The Plant Mate is in shaped in the form of spikes which can be placed into the ground. These devices relay information relating to the moisture and nutrient levels in the soil, the sun’s exposure and the temperature to any smart phone or hand-held computer. Plant Mate uses solar energy for computing and relaying this information. These devices can be used for any type of garden; small or big.

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The above image makes the need to find an alternative to the regular finger-prick method of testing blood glucose very clear. A new blood glucose sensor of the size of a rice grain is being developed which can be injected into the patient’s body and can monitor glucose levels all day long. This sensor, which is called Glucowizard, is injected into the wrist and it uses photovoltaic cells. These photovoltaic cells are powered by a wristband, which send flashes of light through the skin. The Glucowizard works in the same way as conventional monitors to detect glucose levels. It has enzymes which react with blood and release electrons in proportion to the glucose contained in the blood. The chip senses the electrons and beams the data to the wristband where the sugar level in the blood is indicated. The chip is coated with an anti-inflammatory material which prevents the body’s immune system from attacking it. The chip will need to be replaced after this material is degraded-which is expected to be once a year.

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April 1, 2010 will have Toshiba Corp selling its residential solar cell systems that will use SunPower Corp's monocrystalline silicon solar battery module. This isn’t an April Fools joke by the company, if that’s what you’re thinking. The company has decided to enter the residential solar cell system market to promote their electric appliance and smart grid businesses. In future, the company has also planned to sell their solar cell systems with "SCiB" lithium-ion batteries and smart meters. The solar cell system has all its devices purchased from other companies along with SunPower's solar battery module, "SPR-210N-WHT-J," that boasts a cell conversion efficiency of 21.5%. Added advantages include back-contact structure and the absence of an electrode on the surface.

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Although, fabrics having the ability to generate energy using solar energy have already been produced, none of them have shown actual usability. However, in a new method, invented by Ideal Star, a Tokyo based company; threads are infused with solar cells. As a result of this technique, this method greatly reduces the high production costs occurred in manufacturing these types of fabrics along with making the fabric look like a normal fabric.

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Imagine having a remote in which you never have to replace the batteries. That is the kind of promise the ‘Battery-less Wireless switch’ shows. This switch is actually a miniaturized generator having the same internal structure as a permanent magnet stepping motor. The generator is rotated using the 3.5mm linear movement that takes place when the switch is operated. The permanent magnet and the coil used in the generator are tuned to enhance the power generation efficiency of the motor. As a result of this movement several milliwatts of power are generated. This power is then used for the generation of 2.4GHz radio waves, which are received by the wireless module of the switch, which in turn, is connected to the equipment to be controlled, by wires.

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Now here’s a contraption that you can strap on to your back and will generate power. Created by Bourne Energy, this hydroelectric generator is light weight and can easily be strapped on behind you making it easily transportable. Known as the Backpack Power Plant and weighing less than 30 pounds, this system can easily generate around 500 watts and can produce energy from a stream four feet or deeper. This generator is easy to install. All you need to do is dig a trench on either side of the stream that will accommodate two lightweight anchors. A rope connecting the anchors to the generator helps keep it afloat thru tension. A flow speed of 2.3 meters per second is ideal. A more powerful and lighter version for military use has also been designed by Bourne.

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