CES: Green Gadgets Part 2

A question: disposable batteries. Do we really need them?

I remember a childhood full of Costco-sized packs of batteries of all shapes and sizes. Batteries for cameras, toys, flashlights, remote controls. Batteries for emergencies. For the comfort that portable power brings. Batteries tossed casually into the trash. To spread their toxins and outlive us, like cockroaches or Wall-E.

But today we have lithium (still toxic) batteries, rechargeable batteries, LED flashlights that can be powered by hand-crank. The only conventional batteries I would still use would be for the remote control of the TV I don't have. But I think the answer to my question above is yes, most people still use disposable batteries. A necessary evil if you will. Well now there's a solution...

2) Green Batteries: For the first time ever at the 2009 CES convention, two companies unveiled the first ever Eco-friendly bats.

First up is Enviromax batteries from Fuji. As far as I'm aware these are the first ever, eco-friendly consumer batteries. What that means is they are made in eco-responsible factories in Japan, without the toxic materials like Mercury, Cadmium, or PVC found in most conventional batteries, and are packaged in recyclable materials. Add to that the fact that they last as long as regular batteries and are priced competitively... and you have a simple revolution in power! And they should soon be in stores everywhere and near you!

There's no reason to ever buy any other (toxic) brand of battery, ever again. Unless of course that brand is Aqua Power Systems No Po Po (non pollution power battery).

The No Po Po does everything Fuji's Enviromax does and then takes the innovation one step further. These batteries too are eco-friendly, safely disposed of in the trash when done, and are powered by WATER. Or soda. Coffee. Even Urine.

How does that work you ask? In truth, I don't really know, but after seeing, lord I do believe! Water is injected into a small tube in the batteries middle, or you can simply drop the battery in a cup and then dry it off. Plug it into a low-powered device like a clock, or small flashlight... and voila! Power. When it runs down, you can even recharge the battery with fresh fluid (though battery life and power decreases with each usage). It's pretty amazing technology, the catch of course being for now it can only power low wattage devices. But Aqua Power Systems out of China is right now using the same tech to build a 110 w battery that will be capable of powering an entire house for over 24 hours... on water.

The No Po Po is currently only available in Japan, but will be hitting our shores very soon. Exciting stuff!

Best of CES: Green Gadgets

Searching for green gadgets at a consumer electronics convention quickly narrows the field. With thousands of items on display at CES and over 140,000 attendees, sprawled over 2 separate full convention centers, and the meeting rooms of two separate hotels... narrowing the field is not necessarily a bad thing.

The simple challenge I faced in my search for truly sustainable gadgetry was the "electronics" aspect. By nature, electronics are man-made constructs composed of largely not naturally occurring products. They require industry and energy to produce and a power source to run.

Still I'm proud to report that "going green" was a big thing at this years' CES with major companies like Sony, Samsung, LG, Lenova, etc... touting their greener TVs, computers, washing machines, and so forth. I found what this translates to in today's market is "energy efficient" products. They use less energy and often less toxic or more nature friendly materials and packaging. These are great steps forward towards the hopeful future of fully sustainable, eco-friendly consumer electronics.



Still, there were a pioneer few with their eyes on that prize, looking to bring that future of sustainable innovation about today. And finding these planet consious products was like finding diamonds in the rough. So here are my green gadget highlights for which we can all get overly excited about! The issue they all address is eco-energy consumption.

1) The nPower Peg: On the last day, in the last 5 minutes of the convention I found what I think takes the prize for greenest gadget. The PEG, that little green pogo stick is really a Personal Energy Generator that harnesses the kinetic energy of human motion. Strap it to your hip, throw it in your backpack, go out for a walk or run, and the PEG converts your human power into electric energy that will charge your ipod, your cell phone, etc! What this means is never needing to plug your gear into an outlet again! It means endlessly sustainable power! Even motivation for a healthier lifestyle! We want it, we need it now.

For the sustainable minded start-up company nPower, the PEG just a beginning. Next they plan to use the same technology to harness wave power. For their commitment to sustainable energy SuperForest gives nPower our Greenest Gadget award.

SuperForest goes to CES!

The words Las Vegas hold a powerful association for most people. The mere mention of the eponymous Nevada town tends to ignite images of the illicit in most of us. If New York is the city that never sleeps then Vegas is the town time forgot. Hopes run high 24-7 under the neon lights and dreams slide from the fingers of millions of migrants every day and every night, across every table-top in town.

Love it, or hate it... Sin City can be a polarizing place. But if there's one thing most people would be united on it's this... when you think of Las Vegas, sustainability is probably last thing that comes to mind.

Which is exactly what SuperForest went in search of -- throwing ourselves into our country's capital of consumption culture, into the heart of one of the world's largest conventions: The Consumer Electronics Show. CES for short.

Over the course of 72 intensive hours we scoured thousands upon thousands of exhibitor booths, miles upon miles of showroom floor, in search of the greenest gadgets, the coolest innovations for 2009.

We uncovered so much awesomeness, it's impossible to post all at once. Instead we'll be breaking it into categories stretched out over the course of this week. So if you're interested in best and future tech, green gadgets, and amazing innovations... stay tuned for SuperForest's top picks from CES.

We Belong

I spy with my little eye a SuperForester whose name starts with J...



You're there for just a second you beautiful devil (at 18 seconds in)... but I caught you in this lovely "Live United" United Way commercial.

Looks like SuperForest has made it national! One of us at least. And how appropriate that it is through standing up and taking your clothes off for a good cause.

Bravo good sir. Bravo. SupeForest hearts United Way.

DreamWeaver

Wow, it's only 10 AM on the west coast and what productive day already for Team SuperForest. There are so many diverse and fascinating posts today, which I hope everyone scrolls down to read. I'll try to keep mine short.

"Scientists develop software that can map dreams"!

So writes the UK Telegraph today who reports on a team of Japanese scientists who have developed a technology that capable of illustrating images taken directly from human beings during sleep. Meaning it can actually playback your dreams!

WHAT you ask? HOW is this possible?

When hooked up, this neurological device captures and reconstructs electrical signals from the brain. Signals send to our brains from our eyes that "see" images while we sleep (remember REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement). These captured electical signals are then reconstituted onto a computer screen. Amazing!

So far the computer is capable only of illustrating simple images, but in time it may well be able to playback the full cinematic scope of our dreams.

I'd love to see what my kittens are snoozing about.

Thanks to Elizabeth Leach gallery for the dream image.

The future is now!
jordan

The Game of Life

It's been said that in this great big game of life, no one gets out alive. That may be true, but it doesn't mean we can't go out as winners. Perhaps nothing is a better testimony to that than the story of Don Doane.

At the age of 62, after 45 years as a member of the Nutt Farm Bowling Team in Ravenna, Michigan, Don Doane realized his lifelong dream of bowling a perfect 300 game.

Then he died.

Maybe the mounting tension of his game caused the heart attack, maybe it was the rush of pure victorious joy... either way, this man went out at the crowning instant of his life, and I must say, I think that is a beautiful thing. To quote his life-long friend and bowling teammate Todd Place: "It was like a book, a final chapter. He threw his 300 game with his friends, gave each other high-fives and it's like the story ended. He died with a smile on his face."

I wish that for all of us, that we find our ultimate in the midst of doing what we love. Thanks to aol news for the story, and gallerym for the image.

-always merry and bright,
jordan

Raise Your Antennas High!

I have a confession to make. I know I'm weak and should be stronger but... I just can't help myself. I have a soft spot for companies dedicated to the greater good.



So when friend and SuperForester Gaélle tipped us off to the amazing work being done by Antenna Technologies, well... I just had to post about it. And I know what you're thinking: "great, like I really need to hear about another organization providing clean water to third world nations, or low cost energy to the poor, battling malnutrition in starving children, or unifying traditional and modern medicine for those in need".

Well you do.

Because Antenna Tech doesn't just do one of those things, it does all of them, all over the world. Based out of Switzerland, this association of scientists, professor, researchers, and engineers work to develop and implement technology that benefits underprivileged communities in developing nations in need of the basic necessities of life. To quote their mission statement: "In order to cover the basic needs of the most vulnerable populations, it is essential to innovate and simplify certain technologies so that they can be made available and adapted to the socio-cultural conditions of these populations".

Working with global and national NGOs since 1989, Antenna has used innovations like their WATA chlorine purification products, their spirulina production programs, LED light technologies, and unified health studies and systems, to improve quality of life for those in need in places like Africa, Haiti, and India.

So yes, I know I'm weak to post about this awesome organization. But if loving do gooder companies is wrong, I don't want to be right. SuperForest hearts Antenna.

Now say three hail mary's, then go do some good!

Always merry and bright,
-jordan

Bionics Now!

SuperForest has posted about innovations in robotic limb technology in the past, like the Hal-5 exoskeleton, or DEKA's bionic arm... but nothing quite compares to Touch Bionics latest advancement, the i-limb!



Looking very much like Luke Skywalker's prosthetic arm from Star Wars, the i-limb is now the first commercially available bionic hand. Controllable completely by thought, and with amazing mobility, grip and 5 separately working fingers, the i-limb took over 20 years to develop and has been named by Time magazine as one of the top inventions of the year!



More and more it seems our reality is catching up to science fiction. We've got Star Wars arms, Minority Report televisions, humanoid I-Robots, and Buzz Lightyear flying men. wake me when personal teleporters and hovercars arrive.

Oh wait, they already have!

Is it weird to anyone else they got Sigmund Freud in the driver's seat? I'm starting to believe we just might see it all in our lifetimes!

The Future is Now!

Walking Into Sunshine

Yes we can! Yes we DID!

Good Press

Want to make an individual difference in the world, or... at the very least garner your cause national attention? Apparently it ain't that hard.

All you need to do is get together 5 friends, 5 bikes, and 5 bright green shirts and then do something other people might find radical. Like biking around in freezing weather

(can't embed this video, so follow the link to watch, it's only 30 seconds):

"Cyclists Stop in Utica Promoting Climate Change"

That doesn't look so bad. They hardly even seem cold. We could totally rock that!
What do you say, Team SuperForest polar bear swim the East River to promote well... polar bears as an endagered species? Pollution of our water systems? Anything? Jackson's already got his speedos out. Who's with him?

(Thanks to drudgereport and WKTV for the news scoops, and seattlepi for the pic!)

One Voice

If you don't yet know, today is Blog Action Day's 2008 campaign to raise awareness about, and inspire action towards helping solve POVERTY.  It's an impressive international initiative with over 11,500 websites and writers participating worldwide, all focused on one collective theme.

  

Thinking about what I might contribute as I browsed the hundreds of posts on blogactionday.org, I found myself feeling, well... slightly overwhelmed.  It's the same feeling I had when, as an aspiring writer, I signed up to work in a library.  Nothing is more humbling and daunting than placing your own small voice next to rows upon rows of the masters who have come before.

Pushing my cart through fields of books stacked ceiling high, I would find myself wondering what did I have to offer? What difference in the history of the world could my little voice make?

I never found an answer to that question. I still haven't... and I'm writing every day.  Because what I did find was the answer to a more important question: 

Not what difference can my one voice make in the world if I express it, but what difference can it make if I don't?

Poverty is a huge issue.  A global issue.  And we can choose to be overwhelmed by it, or we can choose to help.   To do something.  Raise our voices.  Act!   It's so easy and it's the hardest thing.

Because how many of us ever really give ourselves to a cause?  How many people commit their lives to an idea or ideal?  How much difference do we make in the world, each and every day?

One voice matters.  Your voice matters.  Do more.  

Not sure how?  Read here Peter Singer's famous call to charity: "The Singer Solution".

Or this list of 88 ways to end poverty now.  Read it, pick one, do it today!

With love,

-Jordan and Team SuperForest

30 Reasons

Friends, if like us, you are sweating the news, watching the debates (both real and SNL) and chewing off all your nails in anticipation of Election Day... here's a countdown to keep you cool:

Our man, SuperForester Jesse has helped create the website 30reasons.org, where graphic artists from around the country are up to some creative canvasing... literally and graphically speaking.

Every day counting down to Election Day,  a new, original poster goes up on the 30 reasons website. It's like the 12 days to christmas only better because it's 21 days left to CHANGE!

Because news is supposed to be objective I warn you now this campaign is (as their website states): "30 graphic designers present 30 reasons to vote for Obama".   Because I couldn't find an equivalent McCain graphic design campaign (and because I'm completely subjective), it's obama posters or bust.  

Check out 30reasons daily, and get out and vote!

-always merry and bright,

jordan

Go With the Flow

Word from our sources at HIFF (the Hawaii International Film Festival) is that we must all go see FLOW -- a new documentary about the importance of protecting our global water supply.

I know growing up with plentiful pure water I often take for granted the fact that many people in many places on Earth do not share such luxury.  In trying to keep up with innovations in our efforts to lead and promote sustainable living, it's easy to forget about one of the main requirements for life:  Water!  Clean, fresh, wonderful life. 

Just watching the trailer for FLOW reminds me that we can all do more to raise water awareness, to help protect and preserve this valuable resource in our daily lives, and to promote and provide water to those in need.

A great way to do that now, is to DONATE to organizations like watercharity.org, or charitywater.org, that actively build wells and bring water to global villages in developing nations around the world.  It's amazing but just $20 can go a long way.

And of course, conserve personally and think outside the bottle to help spread the word. If you want to learn more, Flowthefilm's take action page is a great resource with links to mucho info.

Always merry and bright,

jordan

I Met The Walrus

If you like Peace, John Lennon, and animation... and have never seen this video, then you must take 5 minutes out of your life to watch it now.  In honor of John Lennon's birthday, and legacy:

The story: "In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry turned that interview into this animated film."

Recycle This!

I don't know if you've heard but these days recycling is the biggest fad sweeping the nation. It's more awesome then POGS...

Or SPINJAS...

In fact, all the cool kids are doing it.  Especially the ones like me, who spent their lunch breaks and recesses reading fantasy novels in the library.  That's right readers can recycle too!

It's called paperbackswap and it's a website where you exchange old, dearly loved books for crisp sparkling new ones (that have been dearly loved by someone else).  How it works?

   1) You post all your books you have to exchange, and get credit for each book.

   2) People request your books, you print out a label, and mail them off.

   3) You receive credit for each book you mail.

   4) Use credits to request and receive books of your own.  Sent to your door!

There are over 2.5 million books to choose from.  So cool.

And if you're too cool to read these days, too tech minded, or just simply enjoy your kicks in 2 hour or less visual packages, there's swapadvd.com as well!

It's the sister site to paperswap and works pretty much the same way.  There's also swapacd and swap-a-friend!  Ok... I made the last one up.  But there is swapagoat.

So are you interested in entertainment in an environmentally friendly way? I bet all those stacks of books, dvds, and cds are looking pretty good to you right now.  And the best part... it's free.  

So go sign-up and tell 'em Team SuperForest (superforestnyc@gmail.com ) sent you.  Then read-swap-and repeat as needed.  

Always merry and bright,

-jordan

For the Love of a Dog

I guess it can only be called dramatic irony to write a post about kinship with sharks, only to find two days later, this story

When he saw his dog being attacked by a reef shark, a Florida man, Greg LeNoir, dove in and punched the shark to save his dog.  Wow!

In a way, you could call that a type of kinship.  Because only a very special bond with your pet drives a man to such a bold and heroic act.  And I guess you could call it communion as well.  Like: "Nooo!", or "Get away from my dog, sharkface!" and finally, "I love you Jake!"

Jake here being the rat-terrier.  Who suffered lacerations to his stomach and back, but is expected to make a full recovery.  That's one lucky dog, one loving owner, and one sore shark.

Like I said before, when it comes to sharks, there's nothing to be afraid of.  Now would I have jumped in for my dog... well, that's another story.

-jordan

The Future Is Flexible

Remember those really amazing futuristic LCD screens in that Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise Film "Minority Report"?

Well that technology is here.



Apparently the military has had versions of this technology since the mid 90's. Only now it's gotten better, cheaper, and commercially viable. To the point where most everyone is familiar with (and uses it) on their ipods and iphones.

Now imagine your computers, your televisions, your every screen: flat, multi-touch, and FLEXIBLE!

This new Sony LCD may only be 2.5 inches, but it's the just the first of the future wave. Because the best part of this tech is that it's all organic, highly energy efficient, and will be cheaper to produce.  Big wins all around!

We at SuperForest loves this and can't wait to blog from those future foldable computers of our own.  Now that's men flying jetpacks, robots dancing, and bio screens just this week alone! What's next? I've still got my fingers crossed for the Hoverboards from "Back to The Future".
Any takers?

Future Dance

If you thought the kinship through dance video was cool, you've gotta see this:


It puts "doing the robot" in a whole new light. Crazy, crazy stuff!

Kinship Through Dance

I just love videos that say so much with so few words.  Here's a powerful one that speaks only through dance:


This guy Matt's random joke dance has turned into a movement, with over 10 million viewers to date. A testament to the power that simple ideas can have in the world. 

Now I wonder if someone would sponsor SuperForest to go do the same?
For more on Matt and his dance, check out his website here:

The Trash Collector

I just found this on newsreview.com, and it takes recycling to a whole new level:

Emmy Winning Los Angeles cameraman Dave Chameides (or "Sustainable Dave", as he's deemed himself) decided last year to reduce his environmental footprint by keeping his garbage for a year... in his basement! Dave's goal, in his own words: "

"I came to the realization that if we were all accountable for our waste, if we couldn’t simply make it disappear, we’d have to deal with some pretty ugly truths about the way we live. And in so doing, it would cause us to start making better decisions about what we buy, where we buy, and what’s left over."

It's a very simple, but powerful idea, literally putting yourself face-to-face with your own waste and impact on the planet. And while Dave's may seem a radical statement or lifestyle, imagine if everyone in the world were forced to be fully responsible for their own waste. How would the visual and tactile realities of our own self-landfills, change the way we interact with our world? I know just looking at my overflowing plastic bin is tremendous personal motivation to both get off my lazy bum and recycle, as well as to reuse or reduce my waste.

So way to go Dave, raising sustainabilty awareness by boldly going where few other humans (or even eco-activists), dare to go!

And check out his blog: 365daysoftrash for great ideas and solutions for how to lower your own waste footprint. Dave started Dec 31st, 2007 and is currently on Day 274 (for the record, that's not Dave in the picture)