Go Green Techology

Electronics don't have to pollute.

Green technology has been a high interest topic at the annual Consumer Electronics Show for several years now. From Sony—which recently announced a laptop made out of recycled materials—to Panasonic—whose initiative includes at-home fuel cells—everyone is getting in on the green trend.

Some companies are all green all the time, however. Here are two products I saw that were built to be green.

iGo Green

You have vampires all over your house, says iGo Green. Not bloodsucking vampires—power sucking vampires.

When you plug something into a power strip or a plug, it often draws power even when not charging. Chargers for cell phones, cameras, and computers are especially bad power drains. Although it isn’t significant in one house, when you combine everyone’s vampires, it becomes both costly and bad for the environment.

The iGo Green power strip could be the answer. It is an “intelligent” power strip that can tell what the devices plugged into it are doing. It stops delivering power to a device if it doesn’t actually need that power. Kind of like a wooden stake in a vampire's heart!

YoGen

Of course, you can avert the problem of vampire power altogether if you don’t plug your electronics into the wall. But how do you charge them then?

With the YoGen, you can charge by pulling a ripcord to generate the electricity to charge things up. (Like a hamster wheel?)

Okay, you’re not actually supposed to use the YoGen to charge all of your devices—that would take a very long time—and would be exhausting. But if one of your gadgets needs a quick pick-me-up and you don’t have access to an outlet, then YoGen is the way to go.

YoGen can produce more electrical power than some of the chargers that come with your devices. With special tips (many are included, and more can be purchased in packs), the YoGen is compatible with iPods, phones, game systems, and more.

—Aaron Broder

Photo: Kid Reporter Aaron Broder checks out the YoGen charger at CES 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. YoGen lets you hand charge your electronic devices. (Photo Courtesy Aaron Broder)

Comments

[Miranda]

Awesome! I'm going to the Go Green Expo nest weekend. I'll lookout for green tech there too!