Archive for September, 2012
Electric Scooter Sharing Comes to San Francisco
These days when it comes to getting around in big cities, owning a car is no longer necessary. From Zipcar to DriveNow, there are tons of easy ways to just jump in a car whenever you need to run an errand, take a day trip, or go shopping. The ease of car sharing coupled with public transportation proves a great alternative to owning a car. But now one company has taken eco-friendly transportation a step further in San Francisco, a hotbed of transportation innovation. Enter Scoot Networks, a new electric scooter sharing system that allows for ultimate mobility.
- Sep 28 2012
- By Ariston
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Turn that Pop Bottle into a Party
There’s no shortage of portable speakers on the market. But it’s hard to find ones that aren’t bulky or battery-draining. Designers Lin Nien-An and Cheng Ya-Fang have found the answer, creating the funnel-inspired Green’s Voice Speaker System, that turns any empty plastic bottle into a party. It’s the perfect picnic accessory this fall.
- Sep 25 2012
- By Ariston
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Stunning Eco-Designed Keyboard
If you find yourself sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day or more, longing to be out in nature, perhaps a desk makeover might help lift your spirits. The new Orée Board is an eco-designed keyboard fashioned from a single piece of wood, offering a warmer desktop experience for the user. The name has a double meaning: “the outer edge of the forest” and “the brink of something new.” Orée chooses wood varieties from sustainably managed forests, offering natural and renewable material sources with each product. Each board is cut into three sheets to preserve the wood grain and minimize waste.
- Sep 20 2012
- By Ariston
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How to Recycle Your Old iPhone
Are you getting the new iPhone 5? Pre-Orders have already hit two million in 24 hours, more than double the demand of the iPhone 4S. Whether or not you need to upgrade is up to you, but if you decide to make the leap, what are you going to do with your old one? Apple has sold more than 244 million iPhones since its release in 2007. That’s a lot of old iPhones sitting around in the junk drawer. USA Today has created a handy list of ways to recycle your old iPhone to ensure that it doesn’t become another wasted piece of hardware taking up desk space.
- Sep 18 2012
- By Ariston
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Take a Ride and Visit a National Park
Did you have time to get a vacation in this summer? If not, that’ll give you all the more reason to visit one of our National Parks this fall. The amazing Sierra Club has put together a fun subway map depicting all of our country’s great treasures. How many stops have you made along the way? Unfortunately, getting around our parks isn’t nearly as easy as this map would have you believe. However the clever design reminds us just how rich our country is in natural wonders.
- Sep 13 2012
- By Ariston
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A Guide to Ecodesign
Back in the day, being eco-friendly often meant automatically having a flagrant disregard for good design in favor of a more hippie aesthetic. Today all that has changed. Indeed, to earn the title of eco-design today, a product has to not only be good for the environment, but also look great in the home, in your wardrobe, in the school or office. A new trilingual handbook, Ecodesign: Ecofriendly Objects for Everyday Use, written in English, French and German by Silvia Barbero, Brunella Cozzo, Paola Tamborrini serves as a guide for designing with an eco-conscious today.
- Sep 10 2012
- By Ariston
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A Greener Popemobile
Pope Benedict XVI made waves last year when he took a ride in the first green Popemobile, a Mercedes M-Class hybrid. Now His Holiness has gone a step further, with two fully electric vehicles designed and gifted by Renault. It’s not bad being the Pope. Renault made one car, based on the Kangoo maxi Z.E., specially for the Pope for travel at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. The other gift is a blue, bulletproof version, to be used by the Corps of Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City for the Pope’s security.
- Sep 7 2012
- By Ariston
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A New Excuse to Cook
Ready to finally solve the universal problem of what to make for dinner once and for all? Meet mor.sl, a new website founded around the principles that we should be eating out less and making home-cooked meals more. Of course that’s easier said than done for the busy mom. But the brains behind mor.sl have put over a year’s research into perfecting the new site, and giving you literally no excuse not to cook.
- Sep 5 2012
- By Ariston
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