If you venture to CES 2010 in Las Vegas this week, you will see a lot of companies preaching green initiatives, concepts, products and more.  You might think that big business was trying to save the world, but in reality much of it is lip service and marketing.  Greenpeace has created an Electronics Guide to help consumers understand which companies are really doing something meaningful.

January 7, 2010

Greenpeace’s Electronics Guide cuts through the greenwash at CES

Apple, Sony Ericsson and Nokia products free of worst hazardous substances – Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and LGE disappoint

LAS VEGAS – As technology companies jostle for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , Greenpeace’s newest edition of the Guide to Greener Electronics, released at CES, cuts through the greenwash. Apple, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia lead the way for introducing products free of the worst hazardous substances with HP following just behind.

Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, and LGE pick up penalty points in the Guide (1) for failing to follow through on a promised phase-out of toxic chemicals in their products. The majority of the companies in the Guide had pledged to remove toxic PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (2) from their product range by the end of 2009, which would have meant a greater show of greener, toxic-free products for visitors to preview at the CES. But, for now, it’s a no show for these companies, who have delayed their phase-out to 2011 or beyond.

“It’s time for a little less conversation and a lot more action on removing toxic chemicals,” said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Electronics campaigner. “Apple is leading and HP is playing catch up, but the lack of action from other companies is ensuring that customers and the environment are still losing out.”

Several companies see their scores reduced in this edition of the Guide, with the bar being raised on hazardous substances. Having endorsed the precautionary principle, companies now need to actively support bans on PVC, BFRs and chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs) during the revision of the European Union‘s Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electronics Directive.

“Companies need to support legislative bans to ensure a consistent phase out of PVC and BFRs across all electronic products,” said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. “Sony Ericsson and Apple are already calling on EU institutions to support such a ban. Other big players, such as HP and Dell – who have so far been silent – and Acer, need to ensure the ban is passed in the European Union parliament.”

Nokia leads the ranking with a score of 7.3. Sony Ericsson follows closely, and is the only company to score full marks on all the toxic chemicals criteria. In third place is Toshiba, but it risks losing points if it fails to meet its commitment to market new models of all its consumer electronics products that are free of PVC and BFRs by April 1, 2010. Philips comes in fourth place, while Apple rises from ninth place to fifth.

Samsung drops dramatically from second place to a tied seventh place for failing to eliminate BFRs in all its products by January 2010. With only its latest models of mobile phones free of toxic substances, it has set January 2011 as the deadline for eliminating them from new models of its notebooks and still has no definitive timeline for removing them from its TVs and household appliances. Nintendo continues to languish at the bottom of the ranking.

“In 2010, we should see significant developments, with products free of PVC and BFRs in the PC and TV markets,” continued Harrell. “Any company failing to achieve this goal is taking a big gamble with its green reputation. More positively, it’s good to see non-ranked companies beyond the PC and TV sectors, like Cisco (3), committing to eliminate these harmful substances.”

A refinery in California collects rain water for industrial use. The pond covers over 6 acres and has about 4 feet of sludge on the bottom.
They had problems. The pond stunk. They tried using brush aerators. But there was no power to the pond. So they brought in two diesel generators to power brush aerators which needed to run constantly. The pond smell was partially reduced. The smell of diesel and brush aerator aerosols brought new smells.

Nearby residents and employees were affected by the noxious odors. The refinery was looking at a $150,000 cost to run power to the pond and begin upgrading the system.
In December 2004, SolarBee installed two solar powered odor capping machines. One machine is tethered to shore mounted photovoltaic panels. Panels are mounted directly on the other machine. The two machines look like a small boat on the water. Each looks something more like a communication satellite when seen in whole.
The SolarBees circulate the water and eliminate the smell.
The generators and brushes are gone and so is the $150,000 annual cost to operate and maintain them. The SolorBees have had no maintainance issues and work quietly 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
Energy savings alone paid for the two SolarBee units in less than a year.

Having discussed a number of cool solar gadgets over the last couple of months, I wanted to take a second to talk about one of my favorite new gadgets; the Glow Brick. The Glow Brick is a regular sized solar powered lightbulb that is housed in a glass brick. Upon soaking up sunlight all day, the bulb glows an eerie green at night. I have no idea why I think this is so cool? I suppose this post would have been a bit more helpful around Halloween, but I’m sure you found that Leptovox post on one of those other blogs more helpful.

Currently, the Glow Brick is about $19.99. I’m not too sure about any practical applications for this gadget other than ambient light while camping or perhaps a night-light for the kids (or nerdy adult “kids”). I’m also not terribly certain as to whether or not this product would really lessen your monthly utility costs due to the miniscule item (night-light) that it would be replacing. I suppose I am reading a bit too deeply into this one. This product is meant to be fun for folks interested in solar energy and creepy glowing green things.

Source: Coolest-Gadgets.com

Having spent a great deal of time researching various solar gadgets and technology I have found some very interesting gadgets that appear to be solar in name only. Recently, I was reserching solar lighting accessories and stumbled onto a web page that sells designer “solar bath faucets”. Yeah, that’s right solar bath faucets! After conducting some “research” (reading further), I discovered that this product is merely a space-age inspired faucet that is trendy in design. As to whether or not the thing is solar powered seems obvious (no).

What really got me about the site was that they are marketing products as being “solar” when in fact they are not. The other thin gthat got me was the price tag. Would you spend $798.40 on a faucet? No, I didn’t thin so. Heck, I think the $60 Moen faucets are expensive enough and they aren’t even “solar”. I don’t know what the good folks at irawoods.com are thinking. Maybe there is something I am not seeing on their page, but I am having an awfully difficult time believing that their bathroom faucets are somehow solar powered. For that price they should come with solar panels for your home. Maybe that is it, maybe they come with panels or something? Just feels kind of like they are just slapping the name solar on it.

Source: IraWoods.com

Alright, there are a lot of great solar gadgets out in the marketplace and over the last few months I’ve brought you a great deal of info regarding them. Today I want to mention, in brief, the most random and worthless solar gadget ever; The Solar Powered Dancing Panda. Granted, the Panda does dance and would be a cute addition to anyone’s dashboard, but I think the effort might have been better spent elsewhere. 

I mean, am I the only one who thinks that this “gadget” is totally random? As I mentioned earlier, yeah it is cute, but come on. The panda sells for about $16 dollars and can be ordered on the following site. If you’re into this sort of thing it might be for you, in fact, if you were considering wasting your hard earned money on some silly supplement like Decaslim then maybe you ought to buy the panda instead and at least get something tangible out of the transaction.

Having recently undergone a rash of power outages and various grid “issues” many residents in the Galveston and Houston areas have begun looking into the purchase of solar gadgets (especially radios) when preparing for potentially hazardous weather situations. Recently, Sundance Solar has released a number of both solar and crank radios that offer consumers a wide array of options so consumers can choose just what will work well for their needs.

Ranging from $34.95 to $84.95 consumers will have many choices when it comes to selecting a radio. At least they wont have to figure out if you will need HDMI cables and the like. These radios are pretty simple and designed for portability and ease of use. In addition to great solar radios, Sundance Solar offers a wide array of other green gadgets for just about any application you could imagine.

Source: Sundance Solar 

NRG Dock wants you to save some greenbacks this year by switching to solar. When I say switching to solar, I’m referring to your re-charging methods for your cell, blackberry, PSP or other small communication tools. The device utilizes a small photovoltaic panel to collect energy and features a storage capacity that reliably delivers stored energy when sunlight is unavailable.

In addition to utilizing free, off the grid, energy, the government is issuing 30% tax credits off the original purchase price of your technology. NRG charging stations are just another innovation in the ever blossoming field of solar products bursting onto the scene in ’08, so why not take the plunge into solar with NRG?

We’ve already seen larger applications used on digital signage as well as traffic lights, street lights and billboard lights.  This is just another example of the technology applying things at a more micro level for off grid reliable energy situations.

There are a lot of cool solar gadgets out in the marketplace nowadays, but a solar security camera is really, in my opinion, one of the coolest. Spy Gadgets slogan, “Serious Surveillance Solutions”, holds true with this truly innovative security option. Imagine never needing to replace batteries, deal with wires and the limitations of being plugged into an outlet or hardwired into a system.

In addition to being completely weatherproof, these security cameras utilize a small photovoltaic panel  and a powerful 2.4 GHz transmitter to guarantee effective surveillance in areas that are out of the way and off the grid. Whether you want to keep an eye on the very outermost regions of your property, or need to follow the movements of your animals, this solar solution is worth checking out.Source: SpyGadgets.com

In order to reduce nearly 2 tons of CO2 emissions annually, Fuel Miami LLC is implementing 600 solar powered bus shelters citywide. Granted, 2 tons of CO2 is just a drop in the bucket, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Claiming that the energy used to light bus shelters is often overlooked when trying to change the world, Fuel Miami LLC feels as though their move may influence others to begin similar projects. 

Unfortunately, there is speculation as to whether or not this is a viable plan due to not only graffiti and possible destruction of the stations but also theft of panels which would likely have a high “resale” value, though it would be strange walking into a pawn shop and seeing solar panels sitting next to snowmobile parts and jewelry, but you never know.

Source: ecogeek

Solar Power In America features one of the largest online auctions of solar goods and materials online. Set up in an Ebay-like format, online visitors will find only solar related goods without having to sift through other products in the “deep discount bin” that is Ebay.

In addition to offering listings for solar items, Solar Power In America offers a number of search bars and dropdown menus to help locate specific products hassle free. Flowing seamlessly into Ebay, when a customer decides on a product, they are immediately whisked away to the Ebay site to read product specs and be given purchase info, it is even easier than shopping for car insurance.

Solar Power In America really simplifies the online purchasing process for specialty solar products. Source: Solar Power In America