Green Tech

LAS VEGAS--When you come to CES here, you expect to see computers and TVs galore. Mobile phones, sure. Printer and speakers? Check. But a 50-foot-long mechanical snake?

Though we're in an arid, desert-like Nevada environment (never mind all the cement and golf courses), this isn't Burning Man. But sure enough, just behind the CNET trailer here, Titanoboa is strutting its stuff. And indeed, Titanoboa is a 50-foot mechanical snake.

Created by EatArt, the Vancouver arts collective, Titanoboa seeks to invoke the promise -- or the threat -- of global climate change, and the kinds of things we might start to see happen on this wonderful planet of ours. According to the Titanoboa project page: … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Ever since the launch of the Nest in 2011, programmable thermostats have become one of the hottest in-home technologies.

With its Apple-inspired interface and design, Nest gets the lion's share of the attention, but new competitors are hoping to steal some of the thunder. At CES 2013 here, Austin, Texas-based Allure Energy is hoping to join the party with Eversense programmable thermostat.

Eversense, which works on iOS and Android, is meant to give users the ability to automatically control their thermostats, not based on learned behavior, but on what they're doing in real time. The idea, explained … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you're stocking up on gear to prepare for the next major hurricane, Eton has unveiled some handy gear for when the power fails.

The ZoneGuard is an emergency clock radio that combines an AM/FM radio and NOAA weather alerts.

It also has SAME (specific area message encoding) technology to broadcast automatic weather alerts, as well as LEDs that flash three colors depending on the severity of the warning.

Developed in partnership with the American Red Cross, ZoneGuard also has optional wireless speakers that you can put in different rooms when you're away from the unit. … Read more

What if everything around you had the potential to generate small amounts of energy?

We've seen flexible, even stick-on photovoltaic cells before, but these decal-style solars are compact and fun.

In a recent article in Scientific Reports, Stanford University mechanical engineering assistant professor Xiaolin Zheng and colleagues describe thin-film solar cells that can be peeled and stuck anywhere.

The researchers manufactured them on a reusable silicon and silicon dioxide wafer and then stuck them on paper, plastic, and window glass.

The original cell efficiency of 7.5 percent was maintained, and the manufacturing uses existing processes and materials. That … Read more

It's cold. I'm sitting here with a heating pad on my desk chair. I use it all the time, but I have no idea what its real impact on my electric bill is. The same goes for my LED Christmas tree and the glowing smartphone charger I leave plugged in all the time. The big mystery around the cost of electrical appliances could soon be cleared up if a little device called MeterPlug hits its fundraising goal on Indiegogo.

MeterPlug plugs into an outlet. You then plug your appliance directly into the MeterPlug. The gadget reports energy usage over Bluetooth to an app that translates the draw into actual dollars. You can manually enter your local electricity prices or use the app's average for your country.… Read more

It's easy to take our electric lights for granted. Many people in developing counties don't have the luxury of electric grids and have to rely on kerosene lamps to brighten the night. Kerosene costs money and breathing the fumes is dangerous. A new light powered by gravity could be a superior solution to lighting needs.

GravityLight doesn't need to be recharged through solar cells. It doesn't use batteries at all. It's powered by the same force that keeps our feet on the ground. A weight attached to the light takes 3 seconds to lift up, but provides 30 minutes of light as it descends. … Read more

Bike riding is already a more environmentally conscious pursuit than driving around in a car, but you can really take it to the green extreme with a bike made from 100-percent-recycled aluminum. ReCycle is working at raising funds on Kickstarter to put its first full run of bikes into production.

There are some nice design tweaks that make the ReCycle bikes stand out. The usual seat tube support is gone. Two of the models have belts rather than chains. The eco-friendly aspects go beyond the use of recycled aluminum. The bikes also have saddles and grips made from cork. … Read more

With its many pedestrians and subway users, New York seems like one of the greener cities in the U.S. But it still produced a gob-smacking mountain of carbon emissions in 2010.

In the vid below from graphics firm Carbon Visuals, the 54 million tons of CO2 is illustrated as a mass of spheres that tower over the city, engulfing its buildings.

Some 75 percent of the pollution came from buildings, with the bulk of the rest from transport, according to the firm, which used city data. … Read more

Here's a generational test. Look at this table. What do you see? If you see a weird-looking coffee table, then you're young enough to have no idea what a VHS tape or landline telephone is. If you see a floppy disk, then you should probably spend the $930 it takes to get a Floppytable for your living room.

The Floppytable is anything but floppy. It's made from hot-rolled steel and stainless steel, making it much stronger than the plastic originals. The table is nearly 28 inches wide, 18 inches deep, and 26 inches tall, so you won't be able to cram it into the floppy slot on your ancient PC.… Read more