Green Technology

Nokia brings out bike-powered phone recharger

By Terence Huynh on June 3rd, 2010 No Comments

We’ve seen pedal power to recharge your iPod, but now your phone? Nokia has announced that it will sell an additional accessory that will use your wheel movement to power a dynamo (a small electrical generator) through the standard Nokia 2mm charging jack – though, you could also get an adaptor and just use it to power other electronics. It also comes with two small brackets, plus the generator and charge. One is to hold your phone and secure the charger on  the handlebars, while the other is to secure the generator to the fork of the bicycle.

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Toyota Austalia issues recall on Prius hybrid

By Terence Huynh on February 9th, 2010 No Comments

Toyota’s recall of its Prius Hybrid car has now extended to Australia, after Toyota Australia announced that it will start a safety recall campaign on the current models of the Prius – which have been on sale since July of last year in Australia. This effects a total of 2,378 cars in Australia – joining the already 430,000 cars affected by the recall in Japan, the United States, Europe and other territories where it has been sold – but most are said to be found in North America.

Two other hybrids – the Lexus HS250H and the Sai sedan – have been suspended from sale as they share the same glitch.

Toyota has said that the recall was because of “inconsistent break feel during slow and steady braking on certain road conditions such as a pot hole, bumpy or slippery road surfaces when the ABS is activated.” Only 111 cases have been reported, with two being found in Australia; and that no accidents have been recorded in Australia. The repairs will be free of charge.

Toyota has stressed that it is not related to the recall in North America, Europe and China because of the accelerator pedal and slipping floor mats.

Old circuit boards used to make up 2010 Olympic medals

By Terence Huynh on October 17th, 2009 No Comments

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Everybody craves to get a gold medal, because it means that for one day (or longer), you were the best at something out of the entire world. The Olympics are no exception, with the medal designs for both the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics games, both held in Vancouver, being unveiled today. But the medals are not exactly what we are here to discuss, but because they have been made with old circuit boards.

Yes, that little bit of that circuit board from your laptop, and any used consumer electronics, that you recycled could potentially be part of one of the biggest, most abstract and heaviest medals in Olympics history.

The medals will come in two different shapes – a circular shaped medal that will be used for the Olympics, and a squared circle medal for the Paralympics. Each medal will weigh between 500 to 576 grams, depending on the medal, and will feature a signature artwork at the front – meaning that no two medals are the same.

Each artwork that will be featured on the front of the medal are pieces of a much larger artwork of an orca whale (Olympics) or a raven (Paralympics), and a silk scarf will be handed in conjunction with the medal to help  the athlete locate the other pieces.

Use pedal power to charge your iPod

By Terence Huynh on September 5th, 2009 1 Comment

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Dahon, maker of folding bikes, has now shown off another gizmo at the Eurobike show. Called the BioLogic FreeCharge, the silicone-encased box which hooks up with your bike’s generator hub and siphons the power to the box and then charges your gadgets via a USB port, which allows you to charge your iPhone, iPod and your mobile (if it has a USB connector that is used for power). Inside the casing, there is a battery and circuitry to both store electricity and to smooth the bumps and spikes in the output while riding.

If you are known to get lost, but don’t want to use the Maps feature because it sucks too much of your battery, just use this device while you ride. Now, you can use the Maps app without killing the battery.

It goes on sale for about $99 and will be released next March.

Government considers recycling tax on computers, televisions

By Terence Huynh on July 19th, 2009 No Comments

The Federal Government is said to be considering on a new tax to pay for a new compulsory recycling program after a commissioned report was given to the Environment Protection and Heritage Council, which is made up of the federal and state environment ministers.

The commissioned report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers said that the community and commercial behaviours have to change in relation to recycling, with a tax to pay for their disposal is an option that has to be considered by the council.

The new tax, which is said to be adding an average of $30 on a price of a TV or a computer, has been called a “a billion-dollar scam” by retailers, according to Sunday Herald Sun; and computer users have also criticised the move.

“It’s just slugging the consumer. Computers are expensive enough as it is,” former president of the Melbourne PC Users Group, Lyn Goodall, said to the newspaper.

Other possible ways to increase recycling, which is currently around 10 percent, that were mentioned in the report include public education; or, a collection scheme at a local or state government or the industry itself. Also discussed was making the scheme mandatory for the local councils, or banning televisions and computers from landfills.

Australia does have recycling services for computers and televisions; but the State of Victoria, along with computer manufactures, have established a computer recycling program called Byteback. However, it is set to end sometime in the second half of 2009, because Sustainability Victoria (a government agency) is to review its progress.

To find more recycling locations, go to Planet Ark’s RecyclingNearYou.com.au, where you can find many other locations on recycling technology.

China to say bye bye to non-environmentally cars

By Terence Huynh on May 24th, 2009 No Comments

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China might have found a permanent solution to that smoke that has been building up in Beijing for years, as starting next June, any vehicles with that have been labelled as “green” by local authorities will be the only cars that can enter the city centre.

According to Gasgoo, vehicles will be rated either a green label or a yellow label, with certain roads restricted to yellow-labelled cars in Beijing. The standard for a yellow-label car means that your car is a high emission or polluting car.

From October of this year, restrictions are said to be tighter for yellow-labelled cars. No words if this will expand, but maybe China has finally done something environmental.

Image from: gmetrail/Flickr (CC)

A bench powered by solar energy

By Terence Huynh on May 16th, 2009 No Comments

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Got to love green technology, and this is no exception. A park bench that uses solar energy to light up and power a Wi-Fi hotspot, and is made out of aluminium and recycled plastic – so it’s also environmentally friendly as well. Because of the design, the outer cover can be changed to “various environments of the park”.

Unfortunately, this thing is sadly not in production, nor will it ever. This is a concept design, so no free internet, nor sleek-looking seat to rest your butt on.

[Product Page]

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