Reduce your carbon footprint with these energy-saving assistants.

Tech is a dirty business. But it’s trying to do better, really it is. From the shift away from the use of lead, mercury, and other toxic metals in computer equipment to the incorporation of recycled materials and low-impact packaging, green fever is becoming an epidemic in the tech world. We’ve rounded up some of the most interesting high-tech items available today that take advantage of renewable energy and/or recyclable materials, proving that being a gadget freak doesn’t have to mean being a slave to the grid—and the landfill.


Solio Magnesium Edition
$170 / solio.com


This pint-size charger can make short work out of juicing any gadget that fits in your pocket. Designed with cell phones in mind, the Solio has three wings that fan out to reveal a triple-threat charging system that can collect up to 0.85 watts of power in ideal conditions, and output up to 8 watts to whatever needs the electrons. The Solio, a hybrid charger, has a small battery that lets it provide sustained power even when it’s dark outside.





SimpleTech [re]drive
$100 / simpletech.com

Hard drives are not terribly interesting; nor are they historically known for environmental consideration. SimpleTech’s [re]drive changes all that. This 500GB hard drive comes in a package unique to the storage market: a fully recyclable aluminum shell topped with natural bamboo, one of the most environmentally friendly construction materials available. Inside, the drive spins slower than most external drives; this impacts performance a bit, but it uses less power and doesn’t require extra cooling, like a spinning fan. All the packaging is also recyclable.




EarthDrive
$18 (1GB) to $83 (8GB) / earthdrive.atpinc.com


The world’s first (and only, so far as we can tell) recyclable USB thumb drive, EarthDrive directly acknowledges that thumb drives, especially smaller ones, have become in the ’00s what CD-Rs were in the ’90s: disposable, temporary storage devices that often end up in the trash. Made of PLA (a plastic made from corn and other plant-based materials), the EarthDrive is surprisingly durable for a biodegradable product—it’s even waterproof. The company also donates a portion of its revenues toward planting trees.




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Watts up? Energy Meter
$100 / smarthome.com

It’s great that you’re trying to save energy, but comparing this month’s utility bill to last month’s is a pretty crude way to see how you’re doing. Watts up? lets you see how much power you’re using on a device-by-device (or plug-by-plug) basis. Just plug the meter into a wall socket, then plug a device (or power strip) into the pass-through outlet. An LCD readout displays how many kilowatt-hours you’re using, as well as your power consumption in dollars and cents. More advanced versions of the meter can even record usage over time and upload the information to the Web, so you can track the data online.


Voltaic Generator Laptop Bag
$499 / voltaicsystems.com


Solar products are great, but they suffer from a common flaw: They just don’t offer enough power to charge anything bigger than an iPod. Voltaic’s Generator line of laptop bags is the first portable solar product with enough wattage to juice a laptop computer: In direct sunlight it can produce sustained power of 17 watts, which will charge most laptops from
zero to full over the course of a day. There’s more than just a solar panel here, too: A built-in battery holds another few hours of charge, so you can keep collecting electricity even when your laptop’s unplugged. The case itself can hold laptops up to 17 inches in size and includes common adapters for charging not just laptops but cell phones and other gadgets, too. Plus, the rest of the case is green, too: It’s made from recycled soda bottles.




Baylis Eco Media Player Revolution
$206 / ecomediaplayer.com

Hand-crankable radios and flashlights have become standard parts of almost everyone’s emergency kit. Now designer Trevor Baylis brings good old elbow grease into the new millennium by adding a crank to a portable MP3 and video player. The Eco Media Player Revolution is not much bigger than most standard MP3 players (it weighs just six ounces), but it can be charged through a pop-out hand crank instead of just the grid. One minute of serious winding will net you about 45 minutes of music; a full charge (via USB) offers up to 50 hours of uninterrupted tunes. The two-inch color LCD offers crisp, 30-frames-per-second video playback, and the internal 4GB of memory can be expanded to 12GB if you add your own SD card to the mix. The device also includes Baylis’s own in-ear earphones, which, thankfully, require no cranking at all in order to work. Note: This product can be difficult to find in the U.S. Search online for best results.


Iqua 603 Sun Headset
$70 / iqua.com


The most annoying thing about Bluetooth headsets is forgetting to charge them up, which leaves you groping at your ear when a call comes in, only to miss it altogether when you finally realize you’re out of juice. Iqua’s 603 Sun headset is a standard Bluetooth headset with a twist: A small solar panel lets it charge via the rays of the sun, whether you’re strolling through town or you leave it sitting on your dashboard. Because headsets require so little energy to operate, regular sunny days should be enough to keep you up and chatting till dusk—a fully charged headset provides nine hours of talk time.


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CHRISTOPHER NULL is a freelance technology writer in San Francisco.