Ecofriend

Eco Factor: Hybrid boat comes with solar panels and wind turbines.

Tourists will now reach Alcatraz Island, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, in a hybrid boat. Dubbed the Hornblower Hybrid, the boat comes with a roof-mounted solar-array and a couple of ten-foot-tall wind turbines. The renewable energy generated would just power the boat’s navigation systems, lighting and some other electronic devices. The main engine of the boat will however run on fuel-efficient marine diesel.

Eco Factor: Solar-powered street lights from Sanyo.

Sanyo has launched solar-powered streetlights at the Eco-Products 2008 fair at the Tokyo Big Sight in Japan. The energy-efficient streetlights come with LED bulbs to make the energy captured during the day last longer. Sanyo’s solar streetlights stand apart from the rest due to the use of lithium-ion secondary batteries, which replace traditional lead batteries that are not as efficient.

Eco Factor: Buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells to be tested in Burbank.

Burbank has been selected as a test ground for the new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell powered buses. The buses are due to replace the polluting diesel and gas powered buses currently plying all over the world. These silent buses will be able to ferry 67 passengers at a time when they will officially enter service sometime during the spring of 2009. The buses will be able to cover 250 miles before they need to be recharged. As a backup mechanism the buses can also be recharged in just six minutes using a regular power socket.

Eco Factor: Clock made from recycled materials.

Green products aren’t necessarily eye-striking and wonderful. The products get to go crazy mostly when they are made from recycled materials. While there are some recycled products that just amaze one and all, there is no shortage of products on the other side of it too. Check out this clock made from a recycled PCB with an old and broken CD serving as the dial. The $64.50 clock tries to better its appearance with polished gemstones known as the cabochons, but as you all can see all those efforts have gone in vain.

Eco Factor: Electricity saving power cord.

The wastage of water is easy to spot and stop, but the same principles don’t always follow for other things that need conservation like electricity. Lufdesign has designed a new power cord called the ECord that makes spotting electricity leakage easy. The power cord comes with PVC covering that changes color when a specific range of current passes through it. It also warns in the same fashion if there is a loss of current due to any reserve power.

Eco Factor: Concept compost bin stops bad odors from ruining your cooking experience.

Compost bins do a wonderful job is encouraging people to recycle and save the environment. However, the major drawback of compost bins it the foul odor that fumes into the kitchen due to the composting process. The SmellFree Compost Bin designed by Joe Brunton makes sure that the only odor present in the kitchen is just of the food you are cooking.

While the iPhone was not developed to be ecofriendly and sustainable, there were many who used their skills and their creative minds to develop products and applications that tried to better its green credentials. The way some individuals and companies believed that the iPhone can be charged with clean energy was simply fantastic. While many of these chargers are still in concept stage, they were worthy of the attention they got. Here is a list of ten such chargers developed that promise to give your iPhone a green recharge every time it runs out of juice.

Old and broken down auto parts are nothing more than trash for some, but for people like Armando Ramírez they are no less than treasure. The artist transforms these objects into sleek, black and silver chess sets. The found objects are rolled into a specially crafted die machine that transforms them into horses, pawns and everything that you see on a chess set. To complete the chessboard Armando uses everything from screws and bearings to a car’s electrical system. The final product is not even polished to keep it in its distinct appearance. The chess set is perfect to be gifted to any eco-minded chess lover. It retails for $192.95 at NOVICA.

Eco Factor: Concept external hard disk is 100% recyclable.

Kansas-based industrial designer Franco Marino Cagnina has come up with a concept external hard disk design that not only looks different but also makes sure that the unique design is easy on the environment. Coming in the shape of a disposable coffee cup, the hard disk is 100 percent recyclable. The concept shows the future of digital storage where hard disks won’t always mean cubical metal boxes with loads of LEDs flashing on their face.

Eco Factor: Zero-emission electric Go-Kart reaches speeds in excess of 60 mph.

An engineer has built an electric Go-Kart that should show the greener path to all aspiring F1 racers. The Go-Kart carries six Optima D34 batteries that provide power to an ES-33 motor and an Alltrax AXE-7234 controller. The electric engine propels the vehicle to speeds in excess of 100kph, enabling the engineer to enter the record books.