Sustainable Technology

For the environmentally conscious techie: PC World reports on a few innovative products that make popular electronics greener.

Power Your Gadgets by Sun and Water
By: Narasu Rebbapragada
PC WORLD.COM
Jan. 11th, 2007

While the Consumer Electronics Association announced that it would go green by purchasing 20,000 tons' worth of carbon offsets, a few companies at CES 2008's Sustainable Technologies TechZone introduced new products that use fewer nonrenewable resources from the get-go. They're still a little pricey for the average consumer, but they show that both sunlight and water are viable power sources for laptops, iPods, cell phones, and other gadgets. A lot of solar chargers work with small devices, but laptops generally have been left in the dark--until now. Voltaic Systems' Generator briefcase, scheduled for release this spring at a not-so-cheap $599, lets you plug your laptop into a rechargeable battery inside the case. A solar panel that covers one of the briefcase's sides provides the power. The battery inside is smart enough to know whether your laptop needs 12 or 20 volts, and Voltaic Systems bundles in a bunch of universal plugs that should fit many brands of products. The bag weighs 4 pounds with the battery, so it's not uber-light for a fabric bag. The fabric, by the way, is water-resistant and made of recycled PET plastic....
The HydroPak is the first water-powered, fuel-cell, hydrogen-generating charger that I've ever seen. Horizon Fuel Cell Technology, which makes the fuel cell, and Millennium Cell, which makes the hydrogen generator, have teamed up to create a line of products that can charge a laptop or a smaller gadget such as a phone or iPod. It's scheduled for release in the United States in the third quarter of 2008....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080111/tc_pcworld/141280;_ylt=AlkaUwIyOB2OU8dxom4M5wUOSLMF