Tip of the Day: 5/16: Green Technology

New York Times contributing writer, John Quain share ways you can Go Green with your cell phone, computer, television and other earth-friendly technology.

• LCD models consume much less power than plasma sets; but you should still unplug your set when it is not in use.
• Samsung Series 6 650 LCD HDTV (LN46A650T), $2,900: EnergyStar rating; special energy saving modes result in a maximum increase in energy savings of up to 70%; unique "Touch of Color" manufacturing process uses dual injection technology to infuse a hint of red color into the TV's bezel without the use of paint spray; no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or harmful mercury used in manufacturing; less overall materials used in production.
• Philips 42-inch Eco TV, $1,400: automatically reduces backlighting according light in room. The Philips has all the various energy and toxic chemical ratings.

POWER GAUGES

• Kill A Watt, $25, and Kill A Watt EZ, $35: gadgets tell you how much power anything plugged into it consumes; the EZ version lets you enter your cost per kilowatt hour and it will monitor the plugged in device and give you a cost per week, month or year, also has back up battery so you can unplug it and still get info

SMART SWITCH and POWER STRIPS

• Watt Stopper power strip, $90: 6 outlets, automatically shuts down some outlets if not in use, plus 2 unswitched plugs (for router and digital phone)
• Watt Stopper Sen Switch, $30: replacement light switch senses when there's no motion and turns off lights
• Smart Strip, $35: also shuts down outlets when not in use; should have 2 different models to show

CONTROL LIGHTS:

• Intermatic Home Settings Lighting Control Starter Kit, $100: comes with 2 lamp modules for controlling lights and a master control; Z-Wave product means it can be expanded for security and other controls relatively inexpensively

SOLAR CHARGERS

• Reware Juice Bag Beach Tote, ($250): for charging phones and PDAs; no battery
• Voltaic Backpack, ($250): 11 adapters a built-in battery for storing power; made from recycled soda bottles
• Solio H-1000 Hybrid solar charger, $80: wide variety of adapters; includes a storage battery so you can charge your device without the sun shining (one full phone charge; one hour of sun = 15 minutes of talk; 40 minutes of music)
• Solio Magnesium Edition, $200: very cool propeller design; built-in storage battery (two full phone charges; one hour of sun = 20 minutes talk; 50 minutes of music)

Solar and Wind: HYmini, $50: handheld, universal charger/adapter device that harnesses renewable wind power (and has solar power option, Mini Solar Panel option, $25); also adapter for conventional wall plug power to recharge almost all your 5V digital gadgets; energy stored in its internal battery can be used to recharge your cell phone, MP3 player, iPod®, PDA, digital camera or other 5V devices.

LED ITEMS

• Princeton Tec Torrent LED, $60: extremely bright, durable, and water proof to 100 meters; can use lithium ion rechargeables
• Black & Decker 3 LED Hand-Crank Rechargeable Flashlight $30: 10,000 hour bulbs; crank for one minute, get about 15 minutes of light...but it can start to dim
• Black & Decker Weather Radio Flashlight/Cell Phone Charger, $40, : 10,000 hour bulbs; also can charge a cell phone; AM/FM, and weather alerts from NOAA
• Black & Decker Bright Bar 26 LED Work Light, $30: rechargeable, rated for 7 hours; LEDs last 10,000 plus

• New ratings can tell you what uses less power and contains fewer toxic elements; also some models are designed to generate less heat: Check out EPEAT or the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
• Lenovo ThinkCentre M57 Eco ($924 to $1,204) & the ThinkVision L197 Wide ($260): Industry's first PC with GreenGuard Air Quality certification & made from recycled post-consumer content (PCC) & brand new ThinkVision L197 Wide screen monitor (low powered monitor & EPEAT Gold).
• Apple Mac Mini ($600 to $800): reduced footprint also means reduced environmental footprint (price difference is 2.0 GHz CPU, larger HD 120 GB, and Superdrive);

• Generally laptops consume less power and are being built with fewer toxic elements
• Fujitsu LifeBook S6510 ($1,529 to $2,309): Energy Star 4.0 compliant, EPEAT silver rated and RoHS compliant; even though this system has a 14-inch screen, it only weighs 4 lbs.
• Sony Vaio ($1,100 and up): uses Intel's Core 2 Duo Processor delivers up to 40% more performance than previous generation of processors, while using 40% less power ; Energy Star rated

• Pay Bills Online: saves tons of paper and transportation
• Use E-Mail: faster, cheaper, and more eco friendly than snail mail
• Use Web 2.O: there are services that keep everything online so that you don't need paper versions and can access them from any computer or portable device. People doing fund raising, bake sales, etc., are moving it all online to save paper and other resources.

• The US Post Office has a pilot program for sending cameras, cell phones, and MP3 players (small gadgets) in for recycling. The "Mail Back" program is being tested in 10 cities. Just grab a free envelope from one of 1,500 participating offices and mail in your old gadget or inkjet cartridge for free.
• Some computer companies (Dell and HP, for example) accept old machines and printer cartridges returned to some retailers can earn credit and coupons; donations, such as the National Cristina Foundation a not-for-profit that accepts donated computers and other technology and then matches them to charities, schools and public agencies that are in need.
• Visit the EPA's website for a list of all the e-cycling locations in the US and visit Earth 911 for more great e-cycling resources.
• For cell phones: Call2Recycle will give locations for drop offs. The CollectiveGood does this; refurbishes old phones for people in developing countries.