When a child begins washing their hands, the sink calmly advises them to, "HURRY UP YOU LITTLE FUCKER OR I WILL BITE YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF AND CHEW YOUR BONES RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! YOUR LITTLE ARMS WILL BLEED ALL OVER THE PLACE, SPILLING OUT MY MOUTH AND ONTO THE FLOOR. YOUR DEATH WILL COME SLOWLY AS YOUR PERCEPTION PAINFULLY FADES TO GREY AND THEN BLACK—BY THE WAY, YOU WON'T BE GOING TO HEAVEN BECAUSE THERE'S NO GOD, SO YOUR BODY WILL JUST ROT IN THE GROUND AS EXISTENCE AS YOU KNOW IT CEASES FOR AN ETERNITY YOU'LL NEVER SEE. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHAT DAD WILL SAY WHEN HE SEES THE MESS YOU MADE! WHAT A FUCK UP! NO WONDER YOUR PARENTS ARE GETTING A DIVORCE! WHAT? THEY DIDN'T TELL YOU? WELL STOP YOUR GODDAMN CRYING ABOUT IT, TEARS ARE A WASTE OF PRECIOUS WATER!"

(Or the sink uses an IR sensor, like you find in public rest rooms.) [Design Boom via inhabitots via inhabitat]

The design is a rough map of the city's neighborhood as distinguished by "air boundaries".
The data is collected from 27 air monitoring stations; every 15 minutes the map lights up in order of highest to lowest air quality. [Living Light via bldgblog]

So even on cloudy days and when placed outside of the sun's direct gaze, these panels can still draw low levels of current—too low for commercial release at this time, but something scientists are working on now.

Because of their unique design that requires less silicon, the colorful panels would cost less to produce that traditional solar tech...meaning that the stained glass industry could be due for a big boon. [GreenSun via Neatorama via DVICE]

So if you notice that you use a lot of energy around 7pm, maybe it's time to turn off the TV, lower the thermostat or eat that steak raw rather than using the Earth's dwindling natural resources to char it all fancy-like.

The only real design flaw with the Energy Aware Clock is that the face only looks more interesting by displaying your corpulent energy spikes. So while your data could be handy, the end product positively reinforces wastefulness. A better idea, and I'm just spit-balling here, would be a clock that kicked you in the nuts every time you left a room without turning off all the lights while running a hairdryer, or something. [designboom via DVICE via geek via BBG]

While most of us dump coffee grounds into the garbage (OK, some of us might use them for compost or fertilizer), eco fashion company Singtex has taken three years to patent a process that converts used coffee grounds into yarn. And this yarn can weave shirts that aren't just Starbucks-approved, but that feature fast-drying, anti-odor properties. (S Cafe shirts look like any typical performance sportswear.)

Now if only they managed to infuse the fabric with a little of the coffee's caffeine we'd be onto something. [Singtex via Taiwan News via Greenlaunches]

(The magnetic fields, of course, do eventually drive the wheels forward when the energy is transferred from over superconducting fluid that touches the rims.)

The result is, theoretically, a very smooth and quiet ride with a low environmental impact. We just like the design for its neat, rear-entry cockpit and all of the potential we see in jousting of the future. [ecofriend]

Still, this Toyota Prius Hearse plans to unleash its green yuppie fury on Japan's funeral circuit. For just $80,000 a pop, you too can ride around (rotting) in the finest of posthumous eco luxury. According to a rough translation and some metric conversion, it looks like this supersized Prius gets 52 miles per gallon. That's really pretty good for a dead person mobile. It's just too bad you won't be around to appreciate the fuel savings while giving smug looks to truck drivers at the pump. [Press Release via Japan Probe]

Old TVs left out in the cold after the switch to digital might make for an awful e-waste mess. But they don't have to. We talk about how to upgrade greenly.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, it'd be awesome to make my own verticle axis wind turbine!"? Turns out, there are some great step-by-step instructions for you to follow to make your own renewable energy source.

Gadgets are, let's face it, awesome. But it's also tough to keep them under control, and keep ourselves under control every time a new device hits the market. There are ways we can take the burden off the environment, and even make gadget consumption a thing of the past.

We've heard of smart grids, smart meters, even smart buildings and smart power strips. But what about smart outlets? Turns out they can save not only energy, but lives!

TreeHugger's EcoModo column appears every week on Gizmodo.

Every gadget lover needs to know how to send a device off to a happy hunting ground. Find out the best buy-back programs, take-back programs, and recycling resources in TreeHugger's e-cycling guide.

A great solar powered bench concept , complete with wifi, has us excited about the potential of easily blogging from park benches someday soon.

High Gain Solar power takes a front seat in San Jose where a shiny new demonstration project has just opened up.

With virtual gaming being quite the energy sucker, is it really a great idea to use it for home energy monitoring?

TreeHugger's EcoModo column appears every Tuesday on Gizmodo.

Both the stick and dome lights work on the same principle—they're LEDs and store solar power in replaceable/rechargeable batteries. No external wiring is required, just place them on the ground and let them soak up the energy.

They're listed on the Ikea site quite cheaply (5 for $15, 5 for $20) as you'd expect from Ikea, but you can't buy them just yet. [Ikea via Inhabitat]

While the Blue Earth features a gorgeously rendered touch screen front, the entire back is covered with a solar panel. Samsung claims this panel produces enough electricity to place a call any time you want—which is a little tough to believe, given the battery draw of a touchscreen. (To counter these energy shortages, the phone includes an Eco Mode, which attenuates screen brightness while deactivating Bluetooth.)

Even if solar power isn't your thing (you Hummer driving, baby suffocating, evil doer), most of the phone is constructed from PCM, a plastic extracted from recycled water bottles. And there's a built-in pedometer that tells you how many trees you are saving by walking instead of driving (that part may sound made up but it is not).

We have no more specifics at this time, but the Blue Earth should be available in the UK during the second half of '09. [Pocket-lint]

Built by Systematica, the PRT system will help keep Masdar (a planned city in Abu Dhabi) completely car-free. The vehicles travel at speeds of roughly 7 meters per second, with the longest routes planned for about 2.5km, and will be located two stories beneath street level. Riders will pay about the same price they'd normally drop on an equivalent taxi ride.

Morgantown, West Virginia has the the only PRT system in place right now, built in 1975 when the cost of the technology was many times higher. An equivalent system to the Masdar one (though to a much smaller degree) is currently under construction at Heathrow airport in London. [Treehugger via Dvice]

The Solvatten looks like a standard jerrycan sliced in half and divided into two 5 liter compartments, each of which has a clear face. The two chambers are exposed to sunlight, which naturally heats the water to a pathogen-killing temperature of roughly 130° F. An indicator changes from red to green when the water is safe to drink.

The whole process takes about 3 to 4 hours when its sunny, and 5 to 6 when it's cloudy. While that's not perhaps the fastest way to cure water, the amount of resources it saves compared to boiling over gas stoves makes it ideal for making sure some clean H2O will be on hand later. [Treehugger]

Wired does not.

Like the Wizard of Oz, the workings are hidden behind a curtain. One thing we do know — there is either cheating or batteries involved. I've walked by a few times to see nobody on the bikes, but the lights still blazing.

Perhaps the tree is powered by Christmas spirit? [Wired]

According to Nokia, the NHCC will allow third-party developers to create services that are added onto the accessibility platform. That way, you'll rarely come across an incident where some new smart home tech you bought doesn't actually work with your main controller. NHCC works with Z-Wave, ZigBee and KNX, three of the most common command languages for home networks. It will be launched some time in 2009. [Nokia via Treehugger]

The system works by harnessing “vortex induced vibrations,” the thrumming caused by the flow of liquid or air over rounded objects. A cylinder placed underwater is subject to the current and starts to vibrate as liquid sticks and creates eddies on the object's opposite side. It's the same scientific principle that caused the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in 1940.

"For the past 25 years, engineers—myself included—have been trying to suppress vortex induced vibrations. But now at Michigan we're doing the opposite. We enhance the vibrations and harness this powerful and destructive force in nature," said VIVACE developer Michael Bernitsas, a professor in the U-M Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Just a few cylinders could possibly power an anchored ship or a lighthouse. An array of VIVACE cylinders about the size of a running track could produce energy at 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour and power about 100,000 houses. U of M is now working on possibly deploying a pilot project in the Detroit River within the next 18 months. [UMich via Gizmag]