This is the first time that the firm, who is well-known for making the BlackBerry smartphone, has been featured in the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, which was published on Wednesday. The list ranks the top 15 electronic companies by the impact of their products and their environmental policies.

According to Greenpeace, the company does not have a target to increase its use of renewable energy and it does not have a clean electricity plan. The group also added that RIM’s products are energy inefficient and the company is part of a trade association that has attacked energy efficiency standards.

“Right now, HP takes the top spot because it is scoring strongly by measuring and reducing carbon emissions from its supply chain, reducing its own emissions and advocating for strong climate legislation,” said Tom Dowdall, Greenpeace’s International campaigner. “However all companies we included in the guide have an opportunity to show more leadership in reducing their climate impact.”

The guide, which first started in August 2006 and is released quarterly, assesses firms based on only their public information. Its aim is to put pressure on companies to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals such as BFRs (brominated flame retardants) and PVCs (polyvinyl chloride).

Dell Inc. was ranked second, followed by Nokia, Apple, Philips, Sony Ericsson and Samsung.

via: Vancouver Sun

RIM at the bottom of Greenpeace’s green list is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

As well as being able to power homes and large buildings, solar panels can be used in their miniature form to power things like toys, mobile phones and even cars! Who can forget the solar powered calculator that everyone had as a child?

This article will take you through some of the weird and wonderful items that are powered by the sun.

Here are some of the strangest things:

The car that runs on solar power

The Nuna6 is aiming to be the world’s fastest solar powered car and has to be seen to be believed! The Nuna6 was created by a University team in the Netherlands and (as you’ll guess from the name) is the sixth incarnation of the car. It’s supposed to be incredibly aerodynamic and quick.

The Solar PV Butterfly!

Yes, you read it right. A company has invented a butterfly that flies around your garden and is completely powered by the sun. The butterfly in question is attached to a solar powered stake by a see-through cord so it really looks like a butterfly is circling your garden. It sounds absolutely stunning.

The solar powered spider – that runs!

Ooh scary! However these can easily be ordered online. These spiders have solar panels on their backs and just need exposure to daylight before they start running about. Great if you’re one of the few people that actually like spiders…not so great if you live with one of these people!

Solar powered fairy lights

These are absolutely beautiful, and powered by solar cells. One of the biggest bugbears about fairy lights was always the power they used and the potential fire risk. However, with a solar powered set of fairy lights, these issues are almost solved immediately. They’re stunningly and great for use all year round.

Of course, there is no greater benefit to the environment than going the whole hog and investing in some solar panels for the home. Enough energy from the sun hits the earth every year to power everything on it for an entire year. Solar PV can also mean you are better off by up to a thousand pounds every year, an excellent return on your investment and a just reward for doing the right thing.

The Benefits of Solar Power

The Energy Conservation Group is a leading installer of solar PV systems and is passionate about making sure customers get as much out of doing the right thing as possible. Their installations and customer service are both of the highest possible quality, outstripping competitors at every turn.

What are you waiting for? Contact them now at http://www.tecg.co.uk and get your free quote!

Novel solar powered Gadgets is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

A group of engineers from the United Kingdom has set a new land speed record for a vehicle powered by gasification. The car, which is powered by coffee beans, is called the Coffee Car. It was created by the Teesdale Conservation Volunteers of Durham, England.

The previous world record, which was held by Americans called the “Beaver Energy,” was 47 mph. Beaver Energy is fueled by wooden pellets. Now, The Coffee car beat that record, making the car run as fast as 66.5 mph.

Gasification is done by introducing an amount of oxygen to any organic, carbon-based material (in this case, coffee beans), and by increasing its temperature to above 700 degrees Celsius, syngas (synthetic gas) is produced. Sythetic gas consists of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen, and can be burned using an internal combustion engine.

The Coffee Car shows that green energy can be used to power vehicles, and it aims to show people that a car’s performance using renewable energy is impressive. The Coffee Car has an engine that looks like the one from the Delorean, which is not a bad thing. In BBC’s video, they did not mention if the exhaust fumes smelled like a cup of brewed coffee .

via: The BBC

UK-made coffee-powered car beats the world record is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

To demonstrate how useful the Shoftshelter is, one member of the Molo design team has volunteered to use a Softshelter module located in the Molo workshop space for a couple of weeks.

“By occupying the shelter as it is being designed, we will be able to make discoveries that allow us to further refine a system that, hopefully, will one day be able to assist in disaster relief in an immediate and tangible way,” stated the company.

The Softshelter is made from recycled materials and is designed to be used for long periods of time. The flexible walls can be packed easily and is suitable for shipping. In a matter of minutes, the walls can be expanded to create small rooms.

“With 1-2 people, private rooms for individual families can be created within minutes without tools or experience,” the design firm explains. “The softwall quickly and easily expands to create the four walls of the space and the end panels are connected magnetically to each other.”

People can also personalize their space with its magnetic clipping system for photos and a Tryvek hanger that can be used to hang personal items on walls.

The Softshelter is perfect to give evacuees a more comfortable shelter when disaster strikes.

via: Molo Design

Molo unveils Softshelter, a revolutionary housing design is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

While hiking in the Catskills, he took the time to observe the way branches of some trees are positioned. He then noticed a pattern in the branches above him and took photos of it. He said that the tangled branches “seemed to have a spiral pattern that reached up to the sky.” This led him to investigate whether the purpose of its spiral pattern is to collect sunlight more efficiently.

“I knew that branches and leaves collected sunlight for photosynthesis, so my next experiments investigated if the Fibonacci pattern helped,” Aidan explains. “The tree design takes up less room than flat-panel arrays and works in spots that don’t have a full southern view. It collects more sunlight in winter. Shade and bad weather like snow don’t hurt it because the panels are not flat. It even looks nicer because it looks like a tree. A design like this may work better in urban areas where space and direct sunlight can be hard to find.”

After the story broke online, one blog post claims to have disproved it. The blog has been taken down, but a summarized version can be read here.

Is this the future of solar power?

via: Gizmodo

Can this 13-year-old’s revolutionary solar panels be wrong? is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The thing that bothers people about Full-EV and hybrid vehicles is that they tend to forget to charge their cars. They would come home and wake up the next day realizing they forgot to charge it the night before.

A company called Evatran unveiled its new vehicle charging solution called the Plugless Power. The Plugless Power is a wireless charging system that can be placed in your garage so that it can charge your car’s battery without using those lousy cords. From the wall to the car, the charger is 90 to 91 percent efficient, while the efficiency between the charger and the car is 97 percent efficient.

All you need to do is to upgrade your plug-in car with the charge receiver. Drivers will have to be close enough to the sending unit in order to charge the vehicle without the cables.

The device is not yet ready to be released to the public as it has to undergo a couple more tests. Evatran is currently looking to convert a number of Chevy Volts before the end of the year to further test the device.

via: Engadget

Chevrolet Volts used to test Evatran’s Plugless Power charger is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

According to a study by the Hong Kong- and Denver-based company, about 500 million of the world’s mobile phone owners have no access to electricity. One the face of it, it doesn’t make sense, why would you buy a mobile phone if you don’t have electricity at home? Surprisingly, these people have to travel to charging hubs in order to charge their phones. Nokero designed these cheap panels to be used by impoverished villages around the world that have little to no access to electricity.

Nokero International claimed that their two solar panels are cheaper because the don’t have batteries. The 1-watt P101 model can charge a mobile phone for three hours, while the P102 charger can fully charge a dead cellphone in about one and a half hours. These pocket-sized solar panels are USB compatible and come with a variety of phone adapters. These Nokero solar chargers are not strong enough to charge smartphones, though.

“We’ve heard stories of villagers traveling by foot and by boat, sometimes for days, to reach a place where they can charge their phones,” said Nokero founder Steve Katsaros. “In other places, people pay exorbitant prices to have their phones charged by vendors who use diesel generators and car batteries.”

via: Ubergizmo

Nokero aims to help the poor with its solar chargers is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The BMW i3 Concept is an all-electric city car that features rear-wheel drive. It was announced at the current Frankfurt auto show.

The i3 concept is a five-door hatchback with fully transparent doors. It also sports a roof made of glass. The car is capable of accelerating from zero to 100 kph in less than 8 seconds and has a top speed of 150 kph. Its range, depending on the style of driving and conditions, is rated at 130 to 160 kilometers.

“The majority of current electric vehicles are so-called conversions of traditional vehicles but conversions are always compromises,” said Klaus Draeger, BMW’s development chief. “We wanted to bring e-mobility to the streets without compromise.”

The lightweight nature of the car allows it to use less power to propel, and it is made from recycled materials, so it is is environmentally friendly. The company said that 10 percent of the carbon fiber used in the care are recycled, while 25 percent of the thermoplastics is also recycled.

The BMW i3 Concept also has a number of energy-saving technologies when it is driven in ECO PRO+ mode. In a conventional electric car, running auxilliary features like radios and air-conditioning will sap power from the engine. Driving the i3 on the ECO PRO+ mode will shut these down when in heavy traffic, making sure the driver reaches his/her destination without running out of power.

The company hasn’t announced its pricing, but the i3 Concept should be available in early 2013.

via: Diseno Art

BMW unveils the all-electric i3 Concept car is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Microsoft’s founder and Chairman Bill Gates previously announced that he wanted to reinvent the toilet, making it cheaper and safer to use. This design by Xiao Chowen should be included in the list because it is safe to use and it is environment friendly. The Pee Pee Tree Urinal is filled with small containers, which will be used to grow small plants. These plants will take in toxic gases, like Spathiphyllum floribundum ‘Clevelandii’, and will help purify the area around it.

Because of the costs of maintaining public urinals, they are usually kept unmaintained and dirty, which lets out a very offensive odor. By using plants, the Pee Pee Tree Urinal lets out fresh aroma and it will help filter the air around it, killing bad odor that irritate urinal users.

It will also help trees grow better as human urine has been known to be beneficial for the growth of plants. This will help users feel good about the process by thinking they are helping the plants grow, not just urinating on it.

Like this? Check out our top urinal gadgets that make peeing fun .

via: Coroflot

Pee Pee Tree Urinal eliminates foul odor while growing plants is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The monks from Khun Han could see their local neighborhood being ruined by countless problems including littering and alcoholism, they needed a new Temple and decided to tackle both problems head on. The locals were encouraged to collect unused beer bottles and deliver them to the building site for sorting, the entire complex uses green Heineken and brown Chang lager bottles to create an awe inspiring effect. In total it took one million bottles to create the main temple,Abbot San Kataboonyo explained that as more bottles were delivered new structures are created.

The project started in 1984 and continues to grow, now an entire complex of buildings is used by the monks and has even become an official eco-friendly tourist attraction in Thailand.

via

Buddhist Monks build Temple Complex from old beer bottles is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos