Worthwhile innovation marks the intersection of ‘future think’ and ‘practical application.’ Designers Sisi Yuan, Yiwu Qiu, Lei Zhao, Qiulei Huang, Lijun Zhang & Weihang Shu have created one such example, an intelligent barcode, called the Fresh Code, which indicates the current freshness level of vegetables. The barcode uses a special ink that recedes with time, indicating the remaining life of the produce till it reaches zero level.

Combine this idea with an inspired update to urban composting- will composting trend in the same way that recycling has in the past twenty years?- and a similar label design which ensures the safety of packaged meat [see PSFK piece from last year], and we’ll get more out of our foods and waste less.

[Sources: PSFK, Yanko Design via Inhabitat]

Earlier this year, we profiled the ‘Green Box,’ a pizza box made from 100% recycled materials that breaks down easily into serving plates. It’s the kind of new approach to an old product that we love here at LTT, and so we’re glad to see the box (and its makers Environmentally Conscious Organization Inc.) getting some attention. PSFK, one of our favorite destinations on the web, ran a story this week and included the above video.

The company’s motto is “saving the environment, one pizza box at a time,” but it could well change the pizza industry for the better as well. Call your local pizza place and tell them you want your pizza delivered in the ‘Green Box.’

We’ve pushed a future that includes energy-generating roads- harnessing the energy of passing cars through kinetic plates. Imagine capturing the collective kinetic energy of the morning commute on I-95. So, we were excited to reach about Solar Roadway which recently completed its first prototype and unveiled the photographs of the “energy-generating road surface.” The panels would “carry vehicles, generate electricity for messages to drivers, self-heat to melt snow and ice, and deliver high speed phone and internet cables to the front steps of every home.” The makers of the Solar Roadway also “envision the installation of their product as a quick path to economic recovery. With some quick calculations they’ve estimated that installing the Solar Roadway on every road in the US will employ 2.5 million people full time for 10 years.” As Britt Liggett writes for Inhabitat, “that’s not to mention the manufacturing jobs that will be created to make the components in the road panels. It will take just over 5 billion panels to cover all the US roads and each panel requires 6192 LED lights, a special glass covering and a circuit board. That’s a lot of manufacturing.”

[Source: Inhabitat, Via Gizmodo] 

It wasn’t that long ago that styrofoam came standard in packaging. A mix of consumer demand and growing awareness on the part of brands led to the eco-gregious material being largely phased out. Now, for example, Big Macs come in paper boxes. As recycling seeps into our subconscious as just part of how we expect to live, we see new examples of reusing and reducing everywhere we turn.

A restaurant owner in Taichung, Taiwan, for example, has decided to furnish his place with cardboard tables, chairs and decor. Once you’re finished dining, enjoy some cardboard replicas of  iconic attractions- a cardboard Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and more. Check out the slideshow via TrendHunter.

The World Cup kicks off in just over three months. For those of us who care- and, by the way, of the top ten most watched sporting events on the planet, the World Cup is #1 by a considerable margin, with the Super Bowl squeaking in at #10- the four year wait for South Africa 2010 is nearly up. Adding some eco-consciousness to the Cup’s drama, Nike has unveiled its 2010 World Cup uniforms which are made from discarded plastic bottles, plucked from landfills in Japan and Taiwan, melted down into yarn and then spun into fabric.

As Brit Liggett writes for Ecouterre, all of Nike’s national teams, which includes England, Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands, “will be wearing jerseys made from recycled polyester, which the sports-apparel giant is hailing as the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced kits in football history.”

Each shirt is made from up to eight recycled plastic bottles. Additionally, Nike claims to have diverted nearly 13 million plastic bottles from the landfill—enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.

Liggett explains, “if the recycled bottles used to produce the jerseys were laid end to end, according to Nike, they would span more than 3,000 kilometers (roughly 1,860 miles), a distance that exceeds the entire South African coastline. How do you say “amazing” in all the players’ languages?”

[Sources: Ecouterre, + World Cup,+ Nike]

things change

With the United States Postal Service facing $7 billion in annual losses, the U.S. Postmaster General John Potter has recommended eliminating Saturday delivery as soon as next year. People are sending (and receiving) less mail anyway- the slumping economy means less junk mail from credit card companies and advertisers, and online communication and bill payment services have provided an easier/cheaper/quicker alternative to snail mail, with a drop from 213 billion items handled in 2006 to 177 billion last year.

Would we miss Saturday delivery? What gets sent through the mail these days anyway? Birthday cards? Wouldn’t we send those out a day earlier? Checks? All the more reason to opt for e-billing and direct deposits, to save time and paper waste. According to a study in the US, by the Electronic Payments Association and Javelin Strategy & Research, if every American household viewed and paid its bills online, it would reduce solid waste in U.S. landfills by more than 800,000 tons a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.1 million tons.

What would it save us? With the agency forecasting a $238 billion shortfall over the next decade, presumably cutting to five delivery days would help save on labor and transportation costs, not to mention related C02 emissions. And as the volume of items handled goes down and more people rely on electronic communication, would losing Saturday delivery really effect our lives?

I’ll admit, I’m sad to see the art of letter writing fade away- think of how important letters are to historians in piecing together the narratives of past generations? Instead of the long, descriptive, full-thought sentences between FDR and Churchill, or Jefferson and Adams, we’ll pour over the short, uncapitalized email blurbs of Obama and…who?…Oprah? And, it must be said, getting a letter from a friend or family member is always an endearing novelty. But, I also miss bench seats in cars, not having to take my shoes off to go through security, and Conan O’Brien in place of Jay Leno. But things, invariably, change. And wouldn’t it be good for us to take two days off from the realities of the week?

The downside, of course, would be 1) deep cutbacks in jobs, though arguably having a profitable (or close to it) USPS might ultimately save jobs. The agency was forced to cut 40,000 jobs last year alone. 2) Longer lines at the Post Office. And, man, do I hate those lines at the Post Office.

Still, I think we’ll barely notice losing Saturday mail delivery. Any thoughts?

[Sources: AP, SF Chronicle]

This comes via Core77, and we’ll chalk this up as another reason Nike gets it. Since 1990, Nike has been innovating new ways to recycle old sneakers, repurposing over 25 million pairs in that time. Nike Grind, the material that is derived from the recycling of the various parts of the shoes, has been used to create gym floors, running tracks, playground surfaces, courts, synthetic turf and more.

The above video shows how the city of Tempe, AZ has partnered with Nike to create new tennis courts. The city collects pallets of used shoes, sends them to Nike’s recycling facility in Oregon, and, in return, receives the materials to resurface the municipal tennis courts.

First Solar hopes to recycle 90% of obsolete panels

We’re excited to see solar energy becoming cheaper and more efficient. But we still have a long way to go before every Tom, Dick and Harriet is putting solar panels on their roof tops. Recent estimates suggest that solar energy will only account for 10 percent of electricity use in the U.S. by 2025. And as Trey Granger writes for Earth911, “like any other consumer product, solar panels have a limited shelf life and disposing of old panels will eventually come into play.”

Today’s panels should have a useful life expectancy of more than 25 years, so the issue of disposing of obsolete panels is quite a ways down stream, but some companies are already developing solutions- thinking about tomorrow today.

Granger explains,

First Solar operates solar module recycling plants in the U.S. and Europe. According to spokesperson Melanie Friedman, the company estimates that 90 percent of the material recovered from solar panels can be recycled into useful products.

For First Solar, this glass has value, as its modules are generated using sheets of glass instead of individual solar cells. Friedman adds that approximately 95 percent of its semiconductor films are recovered and reused in new modules.

But what about other consumer solar panel models? European organization PV CYCLE was founded in 2007 to develop a manufacturer-funded take-back program for panels and modules. PV CYCLE has recruited more than 70 percent of Europe’s solar manufacturers and is looking to have a collection and recycling program established by 2015.”

[Source: Earth911]

Via Fast Company

The penny just got a face lift, apparently. The question is why. Do we really need a new look for the penny? Do we need the penny at all? In 2008, we dug into this issue, and pointed to David Owen’s piece in the New Yorker as an excellent overview of the economic and cultural debate. Put simply, the argument against the penny goes like this: at a cost of 1.7 cents a penny, the US Treasury runs an annual deficit of an estimated $50 million to produce this most annoying of coins. Add to this its relative buying power (or lack thereof), and we begin to really question the penny’s utility. But let’s consider the ecological backpack of those pennies in the jar on your dresser.

Most of the half trillion coins made during the last 30 years (the average lifespan of a coin) are pennies, but the US Mint estimates that less than 300 billion are currently in circulation. That means that billions of dollars are missing. Where are they, and do we really miss them? If we can avoid carrying around a penny we do. We horde them in jars, under the mats in our cars, between cushions. We don’t even bend over to pick them up on the sidewalk. As Owen puts it:

“A modern penny simply isn’t worth enough to worry about. In 1940, an average one-pound loaf of bread sold for eight cents…That means that a penny in those days bought enough bread to make a good-sized sandwich. These days, a penny doesn’t buy much more than a bit of crust. Accurately comparing monetary values (and bread loaves) across decades is impossible, but by almost any economic measure a 1940 penny had more purchasing power than a modern quarter does.”

Who would miss the penny? There are plenty examples of countries that have painlessly taken their small coins out of circulation. Sweden led the way in 1972, and Norway, Australia, Denmark, Israel, Hungary and others have followed suit. In fact, in 1857, the United States stopped making the ½ penny back when a ½ cent coin had considerably more buying power than a dime does today.

The debate will continue in the United States.  Does it make economic sense to hold onto the penny? Probably not. Does it make sense from a cultural standpoint? Unless you’re from Illinois or a numismatist, not really. A penny’s environmental impact is difficult to measure, but it’s certainly worth considering. We talk about conservation, but we should also consider what is NOT worth conserving.

Last March, we did a post on David de Rothschild’s ambitious plans to sail a boat made entirely of plastic bottles from San Francisco to Sydney Australia. The adventure is aimed at drawing attention to plastic waste- including the Texas-sized swirling mass of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean.

The boat, dubbed the Plastiki, is ready for its voyage. Here’s an update, via NY Times:

Topside, the layout is simple: an angular igloo provides the only shelter, with six thin bunks softened by six thin cushions. There’s a tiny galley with a sink (in which a bottle of Kombucha was sighted) and a two-burner stove. There’s a tiny desk with room for a laptop, a logbook and a G.P.S. unit. There’s — oddly — a skateboard, as well as several sailing tomes, like “The Log of the ‘Cutty Sark,’ ” by Basil Lubbock.

Power is provided by a small array of solar panels and windmills, and exercise is provided by a stationary bike. Asked how he and his five-member crew might entertain themselves for the planned three-month journey, Mr. de Rothschild said, “sunbathing.” (He later added chess, dominos and, yes, live blogging.)

The hulls’ bottles help absorb many blows from passing waves, but they also deprive the Plastiki of a certain new-boat smell, Mr. de Rothschild said.

“If you were on another boat, it smells of fuel and it smells of that horrible fiberglass and all those other things,” he said. “This doesn’t.”

For more, here’s the full article.

Researchers say their sugar-based polymer is safely degradable in your back yard or even inside your body. (Via: CNET)

Composting could be the next frontier in urban responsibility. No longer confined to hippy communes and country farms, composting could be a 21st century city thing. San Francisco, for example, has gone so far as to make it mandatory. Major brands are designing products with composting in mind- Pepsico recently rolled out a new Frito-Lay Sun Chips bag that is compostable. Now, a UK-based team of scientists has developed a new sugar-based polymer that could be used to make common food containers compostable.

Candace Lombardi explains for CNET, “scientists at the Imperial College London…have created a degradable material from sugars derived from the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass.” It’s not the first “biorenewable plastic,” but it seems to be the first that “can absorb water and breakdown quickly, leaving no harmful products in the soil or even in humans. In addition to having use for food packaging, the polymer was found to safely degrade in humans without harm, making it a candidate for use in stitches or as a vehicle for medicine delivery.” This type of breakthrough could radically change the way we make plastic containers of all kinds, given that an estimated 99% of plastics are derived from fossil fuels.

We’ll be tracking this story and composting’s urban creep.

[Source: CNET, LTT]

We love the concept of harnessing energy that would otherwise be wasted- devices that capture wave and wind power, kinetic road plates that harness the energy of passing cars, “personal energy generators” (PEGs) that power personal devices as you walk or run…- because these ideas represent the low-hanging fruit of lifestyle tweaks. Imagine, for example, if Los Angeles installed kinetic road plates on the 405? Once installed, commuters would probably not even notice that the energy (weight, speed) of their morning drive was being captured and used to help power, say, the city’s metro? Imagine if we installed PEGs in our sneakers? After that evening run, you could plug your iPhone into the heel to recharge.

Another example that recently caught our eye was the Empower Chair, designed by Ryan Klinger, and one of the 18 finalists for this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition. Created with airports in mind, the Empower chair harnesses kinetic energy as the chair rocks. Between flights, recharge while you rock and talk.

Click here for some more pics.

[Via Trendhunter, Inhabitat]

What’s greener? Buying a new hybrid/EV or picking up an old used car? The answer isn’t quite as straight-forward as you might expect. Of course, in the long-term, replacing fossil fuel-burning, carbon-emitting cars with a fleet of cleaner, greener cars should be our aspiration. But, in the short-term, as Cliff Kuang explains in Fast Company, the “most eco-friendly move of all is to simply use what you have, as long as you can.” In his article, ‘Why Can’t Buildings Changes Clothes, Just Like You Do?,” Kuang is talking about the ‘green building boom,’ but many of the same rules (and question marks) apply.

Kuang suggests, “it really doesn’t make sense to build a brand-new green building, if you can simple retrofit one with a high-performance ’skin.’” And while “new buildings still command all the headlines,” a new trend is emerging, one that recognizes the value (and economy) of minimal interventions.

The music industry has always been about excesses. The myth of rock stardom is built upon the license to do whatever you want, consume whatever you want, wear whatever you want. Cameron Crowe nailed it in Almost Famous, especially when Billy Crudup’s Russell yells “I am a golden god!” from a rooftop. While social consciousness has always been part of the fabric of music (think Pete Seeger, Dylan, Springsteen, Bono), it’s really mostly about the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.

So it’s refreshing to see some of pop music’s biggest stars come together for The Green Music Group, a coalition of musicians, so-called “industry leaders” and fans that aims to make the music industry green from the inside out.

Founded by environmental nonprofit Reverb, the group is a coalition of Founding Artists (Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raiit, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson, The Roots and others), music venues, record labels, publishing groups and non-profit partners that “has officially come together to green the music community.” According to the Green Music Group Web site, actions will include:

1. Creating an engaging online community of musicians, music industry leaders, and music fans all committed to addressing our greatest environmental concerns.

2. Facilitating large-scale greening of the music community through touring, venue, and label standards, resource development, green grants mentoring, and viral video and public service campaigns.

3. Providing environmental nonprofits with a megaphone for their cause, allowing them to expand their reach and support base.

4. Creating a sustainable green music guild to support and inform the efforts of the music community and position leaders in the music industry as voices for change, working to shine a light on the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Green Music Group is the first organization to harness the collective power of the entire music community to affect millions of individual actions, bringing about measurable global environmental change. Green Music Group is not simply green in name – we are committed to a sustainable future both on and off-stage.

[Source: Green Music Group via Fast Company]

Your fridge is cramping your eco-style, I’m afraid. Anyway you cut it, the fridge uses more energy than any of your other household appliances. There have been considerable improvements, of course- to qualify for EPA’s Energy Star, a new fridge must now use at least 20% less energy than federal regulations allow for a new model with comparable specs. And if you’ve had your fridge since Clinton’s first term, a) time to upgrade, b) you should know that current models that are Energy Star qualified use 50 percent less energy than models made before 1993.

But energy consumption is also tied to how we use these appliances. How many of us- and this might be mostly a male thing- stand in front of an open fridge surveying the food/beverage options? I, for one, am guilty as charged. As soon as I’m confronted by the array of tupperware possibilities…I’m a deer in headlights.

For food wafflers and energy wasters, I submit the Window Refridgerator, designed by Yoon Jung Kim and Jong Rok Lee. The concept is brilliant- whether or not it’s possible is another question. The concept uses clear glass, opaque glass and a rotating container system inside, where molecules in polymer are activated by electricity. For more, click here.

[Source: Yanko Design]

Now that Apple has unveiled it’s iPad- a name that has already inspired no shortage of ridicule- the long wait for the “game-changing e-reader” is over. We’re wondering where the next breakthrough will come. Perhaps in the form of a product like Light Blue Optic’s Light Touch [pictured here], a portable computer that turns any surface into a touchscreen.

Reaction to the iPad in the blogsphere seems a bit muted, despite claims by Steve Jobs that it represents “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.” Tech blogger Robert Scoble tweeted “On a scale of 1 to 10, did iPad meet your hype expectations? My expectations were 10. iPad showed up with a 8.7. My mind was not blown.” He followed up with, “Of course compared to Microsoft at CES, which I would have scored a 4.9, an 8.7 is pretty damn good.” After it’s official unveiling, Apple put out the first video on the device which has us convinced. That video is below.

The Light Touch, not surprisingly, has received less fanfare, but we think it could provide a similar glimpse at tomorrow’s computer. Using a process called holographic laser projection, a clear projected interface is created that users can interact with as they would any other device. It could also spell a greener direction for the industry- making use of existing surfaces. We’ll be following this with interest.

Now, here’s that video from Apple.

[Source: HuffPo, Chris Pirillo, Technabob]

Innovative design meets sustainable thinking. The Shamrock Green Cup is an origami-inspired answer to the service industry’s reliance on two-piece drink cups which use non-biodegradable plastic lids. They may have seen our video of our origami-inspired take-out container [watch our video from 2008], but we’re still big fans on this product. The cup folds together into a single container with a “simple pinch-and-press.” Cutting out the lids cuts down on necessary inventory and waste. The cup is made from renewable bioplastics and a corn sugar coating. Check out the video on the company’s site.

It’s always good to come across a new approach to an old concept. The pizza box, an unwieldy, over-sized nuisance when it comes to squeezing in the recycling bin, has received an innovative makeover. The Environmentally Conscious Organization Inc. has created the ‘Green Box,‘ made from 100% recycled materials. As the above video shows, the perforated lid easily breaks down into serving plates.

The bottom half of the box then transforms into a more compact storage container which, unlike a standard pizza box, will actually fit in your fridge.

Brands in every industry are thinking creatively about ways to reduce waste, promote reuse, improve shipping efficiency. Even within the same industry, different brands are tackling in remarkably disparate ways. But few concepts are as old and tired as the pizza box- can you think of the last time you saw any variation in a pizza box other than simple branding?

The company’s motto is “saving the environment, one pizza box at a time,” but it could well change the pizza industry for the better as well.

[Images from ecoincorporated]

Is Coke the most ubiquitous substance on Earth? You can find Coca-Cola or Pepsi just about anywhere on the planet. In war-torn places like Gaza and Burma, from the highest villages in the Himalayas to the most remote reaches of Africa, where clean water may be scarce and the infrastructure to harness renewable energy even more so, you’d probably not have to search too far to find a Coke. So, has Chinese designer Daizi Zheng designed the most useful third world cellphone ever? Forget solar, hydrogen, kinetic, this phone is powered by cola.

Designed for Nokia, which has been a pioneer in green mobile phone technology, the phone runs on a battery that generates electricity from carbohydrates. According to the company, the phone harnesses clean energy from sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi, which generates water and oxygen and lasts about four times longer than contemporary lithium batteries on a single charge. Oh, and the handset is 100% biodegradable. This represents the lazy alternative to the phone profiled in our last post, about the world’s first truly sustainable phone, one that boasts a hand-crank that allows the user to charge the phone manually.

[Source: The Design Blog]

Jackson Family Wines is introducing a new water recycling technology that returns 90% of water for reuse and can cut total water use up to 70%, a move that could signal a new era of efficiency in the wine industry. If the technology is adopted by even a third of California winemakers, the wineries could conserve as much as one billion of water annually.

The company, best known for its Kendall-Jackson brand, recently completed a yearlong “proof of concept” pilot program that hinted at the technology’s potential. For the program, Jackson Family Wines partnered with Napa-based Civil Engineering firm Riechers Spence and Associates, and winery wastewater specialists Heritage Systems, with the University of California at Davis providing independent third-party validation of testing results.

The system returns 90% of water, much of which is used for rinsing wine barrels and tanks, enabling a winery to reuse water up to ten times. Since the recycled water also retains 75 percent of its heat properties, the new process will also reduce energy use and cost.

“This is the first time that the wine industry has seen a water filtration system that is so efficient and cost effective,” said Jess Jackson, founder and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines. “We expect this to have a major beneficial impact on water and energy use not only in the wine industry, but in many industries throughout the state. As a family business, we remain committed to being a leader in responsible stewardship of our natural resources.”

For Jackson Family Wines, the system is expected to result in annual reductions of 6,000,000 gallons of water, 133,000 kWh of electricity, and 73,000 therms of natural gas, part of the winery’s Sustainability Program, focused on the triple bottom line and takes into account the environmental, social, and economic needs of the world. Over the last year, the Jackson family’s investment in energy efficiency initiatives has resulted in electricity savings of 9,000,000 kWh per year (equal to 1,300 homes usage).

Check out two of previous posts on innovation at wineries (Picking The Right Wine To Go With Your Planet, from Dec of 2008, and Wineries Getting Greener, from Aug of 2008).

[Source: GreenBiz]

How’s this for the kicking off the new year in style?! Cow flatulence! As Vermonters, we have firsthand knowledge of how the wind carries the smell of cows around. But it’s the way cows break wind that has researchers at James Cook University concerned. According the group at James Cook, the world’s domesticated cattle population accounts for as much as 20% of methane emissions. The scientists, though, have found that feeding “algae cakes” to cows results in a significant reduction in their methane emissions. The theory behind using algae is that cows can digest it more easily, because it contains more starch and less cellulose than conventional fodder.

We’ll admit it, it’s difficult to predict what type of innovative thinking will inspire us here at LTT. We’ll watch this story and hope it’s not just more hot air from down under.

[Source: The Australian, via CleanTechnica]

Unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees heading en masse to the wood chipper, Scott Martin, Los Angeles-based landscape architect, saw a business opportunity and a chance to make Christmas a little greener. As Jennifer Steinhauer explains in her NY Times piece- Business Delivers Christmas Trees For Rent- Martin’s “new business is delivering live, potted Christmas trees that are taken away once the toys have been unwrapped and, possibly, already broken, and the New Year’s confetti has been swept away.”

Rentable Christmas trees is not an entirely new concept, especially in eco-minded cities (Portland, Oregon, for one), but, as Martin tells Steinhauer, the idea is a perfect match for Los Angeles, “where Christmas trees have’an image issue,’ and escaping a drive through traffic with a tree strapped to a car roof is especially welcome.”

Steinhauer writes,

To rent a tree, a customer visits his Web site, www.livingchristmas.com, picks out a tree from among several varieties and then awaits delivery. Delivery days are determined by geography, to save time and gas. Prices range from $50, for a two-to-three-foot number, up to $185 for something considerably bigger. While two weeks is the recommended length of stay for a live tree in a house, Mr. Martin lets his customers keep them for three weeks.

The tree is then picked up to join its evergreen cousins; they will summer together on industrial properties where Mr. Martin rents space for pennies on the dollar to house his inventory. People who want the same tree next year ask for the tree to be tagged with their name, so it might return next December, taller.

Extra-credit groovy points: The delivery trucks run on biodiesel; the trees are cared for by adults with disabilities; the drivers will pick up donations for Goodwill and used wrapping paper for recycling; and his Web site also sells eco-friendly, fair trade ornaments.

[Source: NY Times]

Anyone who has traveled overseas knows there is a dizzying amount of power outlet configurations. Why? I’m sure there’s a number of perfectly reasonable explanations- but, seriously, can’t we all just get along? It’s also a technology that, at least in this country, hasn’t seen a great deal of updating. The three-pronged plug was patented in 1928, eventhough it didn’t become standard until about 20 years ago. It’s time for another update, and the good people at FastMac are presenting this step forward: the dual-port power-outlet with USB.

The USB outlet will include 2 sockets for USB cables and will be available from FastMac for $9.95 as early as Q1 next year. FastMac explains the port’s conservation of energy:

The USB ports only draw power when something is physically connected to the port. We didn’t want a vampire port that continually sucks and wastes power when not in use so this was one of the features on the top of our priority list during the design phase.

The USB ports will be able to charge mobile phones, iPods, iPhones, PDAs, MP3 players, PSPs, & digital camera.

Also check out our post from June of this year on John La Grou’s “intelligent electrical outlet.”

[Sources: FastMac, PSFK]

Time again to give thanks- should there really only be one day set aside for that?- and we’re certainly grateful for the tremendous feedback we’ve received since launching Love Tomorrow Today. As always, we invite you to let us know about programs and people making a difference or tips to incorporating simple change into our daily lives.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! This weekend, remember to reduce, recycle, reuse and…relax! Don’t forget, eating leftovers (delicious, food coma-inducing leftovers) is good for the planet!

[this is a recycled post]

This time next week, I’ll be just starting to emerge from a turkey coma. Ah tryptophan! My favorite of the essential amino acids! Thanksgiving is, for my money, the best holiday of the year. It’s one we all share- as Americans- and, without the stress of having to find the right presents, the focus is food, family and gratitude. But the holidays can also present certain challenges to sustainable living. For starters, Thanksgiving is the busiest time of the year for US travelers. With all that travel, shopping, cooking and eating…it’s a holiday that produces a lot of waste.

With a few tweaks to your normal routine, it’s possible to save time, money and waste this Thanksgiving. Often, simply being conscious of your consumption guides you towards responsible decisions. According to the Nature Conservancy, an estimated 96 billion pounds of food are discarded nationally every year, 5 million tons of trash during the holiday season alone. So, maybe if no one really finished your homemade pumpkin pie last year, make less this time around! I know, I know, you mistakenly put in a cup of salt instead of a cup of sugar, but, seriously, back away from the stove…!

What’s our point? Well, while some green sites might suggest things like a vegan menu, we know, in reality, you’d probably get expelled from all future family events for a stunt like that. And why drastically change one of the greatest days of the year? As you’re thinking about Thanksgiving, consider all the little decisions that go into the day, and then consider tweaking them. Carpool to your Aunt Barb’s house, or, if you’re flying somewhere, consider offsetting the carbon (roughly $12 for a cross-country flight), where possible buy products with less packaging, and don’t forget the best part of Thanksgiving…leftovers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

[this is a recycled post]