I don’t know about you, but I can never manage to have enough backup disk space. With all the computer systems, media files, images, and software archives that I need to keep fully backed up, it just seems like I never have enough room on my backup drives. If you’re looking for the absolute best in a huge capacity external hard drive then you’ll want to pay close attention to the Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB External Hard Drive.

First of all, the Fantom GreenDrive External Hard Drive provides 2 TB of disk storage space. That’s 2 trillion bytes of storage! Now maybe eventually you will fill this drive up, but that’s a huge amount of disk storage.

Here’s where this external hard drive really shines. The Fantom GreenDrive supports both the USB 2.0 and eSATA interface for high performance throughput and is designed with an advanced technology that reduces power consumption by up to 40 percent.

And customer feedback validates that this drive is really capable of lightening fast performance through the eSATA interface, more so than the USB 2.0 (eSATA is a higher performance specification than USB 2.0). It only makes sense that the larger the storage capacity, the more you’ll depend on fast, high performance to move files to and from the external hard drive.

Minimize Your Carbon Footprint Without Giving Up Performance with the Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB External Hard Drive

Not only does the Fantom GreenDrive achieve a remarkable reduced power consumption footprint, it is also manufactured to conform with the ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive. Without question, the Fantom GreenDrive truly raises the bar on power saving technology and materials design to earn this green eco-friendly distinction.

The Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB External Hard Drive is constructed with a durable aluminum case and has a fanless design for silent operation. The fanless design is also part of the power saving capability. The external hard drive can be positioned horizontally or vertically on a stand to maximize your limited desktop space.

The Fantom GD200EU GreenDrive yields an average hard drive power savings of 4 to 5 watts compared to other competitor’s hard drives. This substantial power savings translates to an amazing CO2 emission footprint reduction of up to 60 kilograms per year. That’s equivalent to taking your automobile off the road for fourteen days each year. Perhaps you’ve never worried too much about the environmental impact of your external hard drive but it’s nice to know that that you’ll be making a difference with a Fantom External Hard Drive!

Think the Fantom GreenDrive is going to be too expensive! Well, we saved the best news for last. You can pick up the Fantom GreenDrive 2 TB External Hard Drive at TigerDirect at the unbelievable low price of $139.97. Are you kidding me, $139.97 for a 2 TB hard drive. Now that is amazing!

Available: TigerDirect

Price: $139.97

Every child has a favorite toy. For little girls, it’s probably a doll or a teddy bear. On the other hand, the boys typically go more for cars, trucks and guns. One toy, however, is a big hit with boys and girls alike. For that matter, even adults can’t help playing with RC Toys (remote controlled or sometimes referred to as radio controlled toys).  There’s an unspoken thrill and excitement to be able to control a small object and make it speed around the house as fast as its wheels can take it.

The one downside with these RC toys perhaps is that they tend to chew up a lot of batteries. And that’s not too eco-friendly, or easy on the pocketbook.

As an alternative, check out the RC Solar Car – a solar rechargeable remote control car. This bright yellow solar car is powered by the sun’s rays which are absorbed by a solar panel located on the roof of the car. And when you don’t have a suitable solar light source available, the RC Solar Car can also be re-charged from a USB port (a USB cable is included). Even the remote control panel also charges using the solar panel on the car, simply plug the remote control panel into the port on the car’s back bumper and it will re-charge from the solar panel as well.

With the RC Solar Car, you have full maneuverability from the remote with forward/reverse and left/right steering control. The RC Solar Car is recommended for kids eight years of age and up. But don’t kid yourself, the adults can’t keep their hands off this little amusement either (must be the kid in all of us). And what better way to teach your kids about environmental responsibility with this eco-friendly RC car at the same time.

RC Solar Car – Charging and Play Times

Solar Charge:

• 30 minutes solar charge  gives you 5 minutes of power
• 1 hour solar charge gives you 10 minutes of power
• 2 hours solar charge gives you 15 minutes of power

USB Charge:

• 1 hour USB charge gives you 20 minutes of  play time

Get the RC Solar Car that runs on sunshine. Very affordable at a price of £24.99, your kids will enjoy hours of entertainment, and you’ll enjoy the savings when you don’t have to buy or replace all of those batteries.

Available: IWantOneOfThose

Price: £24.99

Have you ever wished that you could bring along your washing machine where ever you go? There are times when you are on a camping trip and you accumulate mud and dirt on your clothes. It is simply impossible to pack that piece of clothing together with the rest of your clothes and wash it when you reach home. By that time, the mud would have hardened and the stains would have had set into the fabric. You might as well throw the apparel away.

The solution to this laundry nightmare is the Portable Mini Laundry Pod. Created by a company in California, the designers got their inspiration from salad spinners. Measuring at 33 by 35 inches, this Portable Laundry Pot can fit snugly anywhere in your dorm room or apartment without taking too much space unlike a bulky washing machine.Even better, the Portable Laundry Pod is eco-friendly. It doesn’t require a lot of water and it runs without electricity.

For a single wash, the Portable Mini Laundry Pod can take about six items. You simply add a soap solution into the Portable Laundry Pod together with your clothes, close the lid, and start churning the basket within the Pod by turning the handle on top of the Pod. After 10 minutes of getting a good work out from turning the handle, you can empty the Pod via a hose at the bottom. After that, you begin the next rinse cycle with clean water to make sure your clothes are soap free. You will need to dry your clothes by squeezing the water out with your own hands and most likely hanging them up to dry.

Available: ThinkGeek

Price: $99.99

An irritated groan escapes your lips as a familiar beep followed by a pop-up reminds you that your iPhone is running out of juice. Fortunately, with the Freeloader Pico Solar charger ( priced at $39.99 ), charging up your iPhone and going green at the same time is definitely not a problem.

At the first glance, the Freeloader solar charger is a light and compact device that allows its users to lug it around in their pockets. Besides that, the Freeloader acts as a portable battery, allowing the Freeloader to transfer energy to the connected device in fairly short time – around 30 minutes to fully charge up an iPhone.

The difference is that, when this battery is exhausted, it can be recharged through a means of solar energy – charging under direct sunlight will take 10 hours to achieve maximum capacity though. In addition to that, the device also comes with extension tips for several portable devices such as Nokia, Samsung and so on.

Using the Freloader Pico Solar Charger, however, can be quite confusing at the beginning. If you take a closer look at the device, you’ll notice that there are four LED lights beside the word “Pico”. These lights indicate a function. For example, if the second light is lit, it indicates that the battery is currently charged by solar or USB. When it is fully charged, the light turns off. If a device is being charged, all lights will be used and each fades away as the connected device charges to maximum capacity.

Available: ThinkGeek

Price: $29.99

OK, this one makes me chuckle a bit. Finally, a convenient solution to an age-old pet problem. Cleaning up after your dog is not just a public service; it is your responsibility no matter how icky it may be. I bet all the dog owners out there are sick of handling dog poop plastic baggies, or worse, carrying around your dog’s steaming smelly pile of a gift (I’ll refer to you-know-what as gift from now own). And for dog walkers, cleaning up doggy gifts just may be the worse experience ever.

What if I were to tell you that there’s a device that could zap your problems away as easily as in a Star Trek episode when they zap their crew out of sight (Scotty, energize!). AshPoopie does just that, except it leaves behind an odourless ash of the previously smelly gift. AshPoopie looks similar to a walking cane with claws at the bottom that cover the doggy gift and turn it into ashes. The AshPoopie literally burns the gift until it is beyond recognition. No more bringing your dog’s gift home with you!

The only downside to this device that I could see is that you have to carry a cane around with you as you walk, but that’s not really a very objectionable inconvenience if you can finally solve this smelly problem. Maybe you won’t mind carrying a cane when you walk around and with AshPoopie, you can now walk your dog without the worries and add a little entertainment while you’re at it.

The manufacturer of AshPoopie has not come up with a cost or price for this device yet but they are expecting a monthly supply to cost around $10 to $20. A pretty small price to pay for a major convenience for you. Not to mention how much more tolerable you’ll be making it for all the other innocent bystanders and passersby.

Today there is more pressure to be environmentally friendly and preserve social ethics individually and community wise. You can start this norm by purchasing an Electree Solar Bonsai. This fascinating device can charge all your electronics in one go. It is a unique design with a perfect blend of ecology, arty and functionality.

This Bonsai depends on solar energy to charge your electronics. You can reduce your electricity costs substantially by using this device. This device is ornamental yet functional. In general, Bonsai trees require care and nourishment to grow healthy and strong. You should apply the same principles for your Electree Solar Bonsai. It requires 36 hours to charge your electronics, and thus you should place this Bonsai in a place where it can receive sunlight. It is more ideal to place the Solar Bonsai on a window ledge so it can receive as much sunlight there is.

If you live in a sunny area, this will be a good device to purchase. On the other hand, if you don’t get much sunlight, it may not be worth to buy the Bonsai. However everything comes with a price. This Bonsai will be around $400. It’s a little pricey, and is not ideal if you are serious about saving money.

Some people may be hesitant to buy this gadget because the price tag is a little hefty. On the other hand, it makes an interesting and unique ornament to show off in your living room. Sometimes it pays to make our life a little more unique and comfortable.

It can be a headache if your device runs out of battery when you’re at a place which is out of nowhere? You won’t have to worry that this will happen with the NoPoPo (No Pollution Power) Aqua Battery. This rechargeable AA size battery is designed to be recharged with many types of liquid, including water, saliva, soft drinks, and even urine. Hence, earning it another name – pee powered battery. The liquid is injected with a pipette into the battery chamber. Within the battery chamber, the existing magnesium-carbon mixture will react with the injected liquid, producing power of up to 500mAh.

A piece of good news is: The NoPoPo Aqua Battery is about to be upgraded! What kind of update? You would wonder. Aqua Power System Japan (APSJ) has announced that this four year old product will be upgraded so that it can keep up with the times. The new updated version can still be recharged by various liquid, but what makes it unique is that now it can be recharged or refilled by soaking it in water from 3-5 minutes, which is much more convenient, compared to recharging it using a pipette.

On a long term basis, the NoPoPo Aqua Battery is more environmentally friendly compared to other batteries, as it can be recharged up to five times, and can also be recycled. In addition, it can also make use of unwanted fluids such as urine to generate power, putting these substances to good use. The only flipside is that the NoPoPo Aqua Battery only comes in one size – AA, so its usage is limited.

[Source: Japan Trends]

It is a well known fact that children these days are less active and therefore more likely to suffer from being overweight than children did 20 years ago.  The reason for this is that most of them would rather play on computers and gaming consoles rather than play outside and get some exercise. Along with the lack of exercise, food and drink consumed by children these days such as chips, pizzas, and soft drinks are unhealthy. The result of this is overweight children or in some instances obese children.

To help keep children interested on their journey to school and to burn off some calories a Pedal Powered School Bus has been designed. This eco-friendly gadget has been developed in Netherlands by De Café Racer and has a working capacity of 10 children with one adult steering.  As a backup in case the children have no energy to cycle then the school bus can be powered by a auxiliary electric motor.

I really can’t see this gadget working here in the UK after all children sitting on the back of the bus are notorious for being worky tickets, trying to get them to pedal would be impossible. Can you imagine also if your last lesson of the day was PE and you had just done some vigorous exercise, the last thing you would want to do is pedal home (especially if you lived far away).

[Source: Bicycle Design]

Printers as the name suggests normally involves printing text or images of ink onto paper. However if I said to you the words Reverse Printer what would you think? Maybe something that does the complete opposite or reverse of a normal printer, i.e. a piece of hardware that sucks paper in the wrong way and removes the ink? Well that’s almost what we mean with the latest concept gadget published on Yanko Design.

Basically the Reverse Printer is a normal looking printer but it can remove ink from paper. It removes ink from the paper by using laser technology. You may be thinking why would you want to do that? Well I can think of two good reasons straight away.

Firstly, you may want to be eco-friendly and re-use or recycle the paper. Once ink has been stripped you can put it in a normal inkjet or laser printer and print on it again. You can keep repeating this process until the quality of the paper decreases that it is unable to be printed on. Secondly, I see it as a very useful way of removing sensitive data from paper. Lots of people these days shred their bank statements, however if someone goes through the bin and collects all the pieces they can easily read the shredded material. I see this as the number one reason to use a Reverse Printer.

[Source: Yanko Design]

As the world enters a new generation and has come to a new era, the world is greatly advancing in technology and most of it is designed to prevent global warming and save the environment. 16,000 solar panels were built on top of Belgium’s high speed rail line over a two mile stretch of tunnel to provide power about 4,000 trains every year. It runs through Antwerp Central Station and generates power through it as well as the surrounding infrastructure in the tunnel. This project was built to prevent global warming and reduce the consumption of electrical usage.

During the summer of last year, engineers started covering the 164,000 square ft surface with monocrystaline solar panel over the surface area of the roof of Belgium’s HSL4 high-speed rail tunnel. The solar panels are rated at about 250 watt peaks for each panel and it has been installed using an extraordinary ballast tile structure that negates the need for rooftop perforations. The installation began generating power estimating about 3.3 GWh of electrical power each year said Enfinity. The power generated every year by the solar panels can light up around 1,000 houses for a year.

The total project costs about US$20 Million and it will be the first railway that is powered by green energy. Also, not only that it saves the environment, it will also save a significant amount of money that Antwerp Central Station spent just on the electrical consumption before the solar panels were installed.