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Rich Neeley Designs rescues discarded books from certain landfill death, or from their dreary existence in the dark recesses of a bookshelf. Their goal is to bring more books into your life. Each book they meet passes an "exceptionally rare and wonderful" screening prior to being given a new life as a charger. As a comparitive lit major, Brenna chooses to recycle only those books that haven't......read more
After covering the prototype launch of Lapka a while back, we're excited to let you know that the world's first iPhone-compatible environmental monitor has hit the market. Lapka connects through a headphone jack to measure, collect and analyze data about substances within a user's environment. Each peripheral (there are four) gathers its own information: humidity/temperature,......read more
The intersection of shiny new tech and raw, natural materials is a happy place for us, and this iPhone/iPad docking station by Canadian Etsy seller Living Wood Design resides comfortably in that zone. Hand-carved from reclaimed black cherry wood, the dual dock features raw living edges for that added rustic look. With enough space to rest your iPad either vertically or horizontally and still......read more
Newly launched UK company Woodbuds ups the sustainability levels on the mobile audio game with these hardwood earphones. Made from sustainable plantation hardwood the design also features renewable bio-plastic cables and fully recyclable packaging. But the company's lofty green goals go beyond the design realm. From co-founder Chris Holmes: Woodbuds was born from a passion to do something......read more
This week, Dutch electronics giant Philips released Hue, an LED lighting system that you control remotely on your tablet or smartphone. Billed as "the world’s smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system," the Hue starter pack includes three bulbs that you screw into existing lamps, and a bridge that you plug into your home Wi-Fi router. With the Hue app downloaded onto your Apple or......read more
We can't predict the future, but this much is certain: energy costs will keep rising. So it's increasingly important that we find ways to bring those costs -- and home energy emissions -- down. Here is the slickest device we've seen for measuring electricity use from home appliances. Plugged between any appliance and an AC outlet, MeterPlug uses your handset's GPS to find local electricity rates,......read more
Here's another smart design from Etón, the French company known for its solar-powered Apple accessories. Small in size but big in features, the hand-powered Microlink is a contemporary emergency radio that boasts a large solar panel, quick recharging time and access to all seven NOAA weather band stations. Turn the crank for a 90 seconds and you get up to 40 minutes of playtime. Or if......read more
With new tech evolving faster than you can say, "Buy," last year's crucial tech accessory is this year's garbage. The team at mu mu, a UK design house that crafts Apple accessories in sustainable hardwoods, are reversing the trend by allowing customers to trade in their old mu mu cases for a discount on the latest version. Then the returned cases will be refashioned into new......read more
Recycled paper is quickly becoming a favored material for portable, lightweight speaker solutions. First we had Eco-Amp, now we have Pulpop, an O-shaped speaker system made from post-consumer pulp. The device was created by Taiwanese designers Balance Wu and Chin Yang, who surprised themselves with Pulpop's "unexpectedly potent" sound quality. The recycled paper pulp system works......read more
Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce you to the world's first remote-controlled LED bulb. Insteon's networked 8W LED bulb, which glows at the same intensity as a 60-100W incandescent, makes dimming the lights to set the mood as easy as a couple taps on your smartphone. Of course, remote-controlled ambience comes at a price, in this case $29.99 for each bulb plus $99.99 for the SmartLinc......read more
