Toyota, who's Prius is easy on the environment to drive but horrible on it to make, has engineered a new type of flower to help shoulder some of the damage their factories are spitting out.

The sage derivative's leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia's leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).

Well, holy shit. That is pretty insane. [Drive via Treehugger]

Actually, that's 4-hours on a 3-phase 400V/32 source. It takes 28 hours on a standard, European 220V outlet. To put the benefits of an electric-powered boat in perspective, consider this: a full charge only runs about 5 Euros (about $7.40). The boat may be priced 30 or 40 percent higher than an equivalent diesel powered craft, but you could save money over the 10 year life of the battery on fuel costs.

If you have the means it's probably a good idea to wait a bit longer for Nimbus to improve the technology. Apparently, a new generation of batteries that can double the range will be available "soon". That would make it a serious competitor will diesel boats in terms of performance while offering you more juice to rig up a way to electrocute fish. [Nimbus via Luxist]

UPDATE: Nimbus claims that E-Power is the "world's first electrically powered boat for the commercial market", but it appears that there are other companies out there that have been selling electric boats for decades. However, the E-Power seems to be bigger than previous models.

Lame jokes aside, TerraCycle actually has a decent little business plan going on. Put simply, they recycle the world's garbage into electronics, bags and other knick knacks, and sell them on the cheap.

These Frito-Lay Cheeto speakers, for example, sell at Radio Shack for $20. They won't melt your face, but I can see them finding a comfortable home on the desk of some college undergrad. [TerraCycle via CNET]

In fact, the idea is intended to save the planet from the scourge of global warming. The "Stratoshield", as he calls it, would spray what some would consider an environmentally acceptable amount of liquid sulfur into the air through a 15 mile long hose attached to a helium-filled balloon. Apparently, the sulfur would dim the sun's rays, effectively cooling the earth in an emergency situation. Yes, it sounds crazy (much like the hurricane defense system he proposed with Bill Gates) but keep in mind that when filthy rich captains of industry have kooky ideas, lots of other people take them seriously. [TechFlash]

The shingle will use thin-film cells of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), a photovoltaic material that typically is more efficient at turning sunlight into electricity than traditional polysilicon cells.

Dow is using CIGS cells that operate at higher than 10 percent efficiency, below the efficiencies for the top polysilicon cells — but would cost 10 to 15 percent less on a per watt basis.

As you can see, the panels look like standard asphalt shingles—and they can be installed without any specialized knowledge. In fact, they only take about 10 hours to install on average compared to the 22-30 hours for traditional panels. Since a basic roofer could handle the job in a short amount of time, installation costs should be more manageable. Plus, Dow claims that their Powerhouse will be 30% to 40% cheaper than other solar shingle designs.

This could finally be the innovation that gets homeowners on the solar bandwagon. It's still not cheap of course, but the energy savings, boost in home values and government incentive programs might make the upgrades worth it. [Reuters via Treehugger via DVICE]

OK, it's not "pornography" (I can tell because I don't want to pay for it, to riff on the old saying) but there's a 99-cent photography book called Boundless being sold in the App Store, which—in certain zoomed-in cases—flashes the nip. Here. Enjoy. You can thank me later. (But seriously don't.) [MobileCrunch]

As a career journalist who has spent the last 2.5 years working for a "blog" that's also a major media outlet, I was surprised by the FTC's request that "bloggers" disclose gifts or payment for reviews. Obviously Giz staffers don't accept gifts or payment for reviews—or, mind you, any kind of airfare or hotel fees paid for by a company—but the FTC's ruling is so naive it's not funny. Yes, these things should be monitored but, while the internet certainly plays a role, the problem isn't specifically a bloggy one.

Take TV: There have been plenty of reported cases of open bribery, and every time a product appears on a show, you should consider the likelihood of payola. In print publications, the bribes simply take a different form: Many magazines—both trade and mainstream—hire contributors and even staffers who happily get shuttled around the world on corporate dimes (used to be first class, now it's business class, poor babies), getting put up in nice hotels for nothing, collecting sweet juicy frequent flier miles while they're at it. This is standard marketing procedure for many beloved companies, and common in all major review-intensive industries. (*cough* auto industry *cough*) I have been gently castigated by "peers" on several occasions for refusing trips to Asia and Europe, because (obviously) it made the people accepting the trips feel self-conscious.

I love a call for ethics as much as the next reasonably ethical SOB, but man, this is a can of worms that can't possibly open and close solely on bloggers (and the related Facebookers and Tweeters), however the hell the FTC attempts to define them. [NYT]

Remember Sony's ice-cream-cone of a motion controller, showed off at E3? Well, according to seriously unconfirmed accounts, its codename is Sphere. There, you can finally get some sleep. [Engadget]

Not asleep yet? This will surely do the trick: Apple belonged to something called the US Chamber of Commerce (which to me sounds like an organization consisting entirely of slightly overweight white guys with moustaches who like to grouse about the unfairness of pretty much everything), only now Apple doesn't belong to it. See, the USCoC opposed a bill in Congress that would charge carbon tariffs on imports. Apple supports this and other environmental legislation, so they quit in protest. BOOM. Or something. [Mac Rumors]

Nighty night!

Supposedly, the ecoATM went live on Friday, in an Omaha furniture store, of all places. Update: It's not a store, it's a mart! Nebraska Furniture Mart. And it's huge!

The process is pretty simple. The cellphone is placed in the ecoATM, scanners judge how terrible you were to your phone over the years, and then you are presented with a quote that can be used as store credit or cash. Cellphone beat up beyond repair? That's OK too: ecoATM cheerfully informs you that the phone will be recycled and that a tree will be planted in your name.

More ecoATMs are slated to appear in other stores over the next few months. Might we suggest a Best Buy or any store that happens to specialize in electronics? Update: Nebraska Furniture Mart, which is apparently huge, specializes in furniture and electronics. The world makes sense again. [CrunchGear]

This dishwasher concept from De Dietrich uses cavitation to clean your dishes. In layman's terms that means tiny bubbles strike your dinnerware and scrub the surfaces clean. The process cuts out much of the water and energy waste associated with traditional dishwashers.

Sadly, this dishwasher can't be used to steam a salmon, which, on second thought, may be a good thing. [De Dietrich via Appliancist via DVICE]

But I did what any geek would do. I regressed into an excited 10 year old, grabbed the camera, and went out to play in the freakish weather. After 5 minutes of constantly clearing my throat, and noticing that my G9 had started to collect dust, I decided it just wasn't worth it. Having been asleep with a window open meant a little dust was also inside. I switched off my main desktop (it's got a big air-intake fan), and fired up a laptop to find out what the hell was going on.

Big winds had swept the dust from Australia's drought-stricken interior, carrying it hundreds of miles to the east coast. Sydney (with a population of 4.3 million) was most affected, but other cities were, too. In terms of air pollution, particle concentration reached a thickness of about 15,000 micrograms per cubic meter—a normal day here has about 10-20.

Comedian Arj Barker (from Flight of the Conchords) Tweeted this pic: "It's like Dune here in Sydney. This is the giant dust storm we had to land in."

Until winds swept the dust to sea mid-afternoon, flights were canceled, Twitter went crazy, MMS traffic spiked 50 percent, and data centers installed air filters…it was interesting to watch how technology intersected with the bizarre weather.

The dust cloud was the worst in 70 years, and it's still unclear if climate change was to blame. But at the very least, I got a dusty taste of life on Mars for the day (well, sort of). [Sydney Morning Herald]

His concept Blood Lamp calls for users to break off the top of the bulb-shaped glass, cut their finger on the jagged edge and then mix a tablet in with their own blood. Some sort of mysterious, unexplained chemistry ensues and the bulb glows. Not exactly the most practical device ever—plus the lesson about reducing your carbon footprint might backfire in the long run. Consider how many of these bulbs you would need, how many you would throw away and how many Band-Aids it would take to dress your wounds. It seems that it would end up doing more harm to harm the environment than good. [Mike Thompson via The Design Blog]

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]

This new technology – which builds on Ford's advancements such as SYNC®, SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide and Ford Work Solutions™ – allows the vehicle operator to program when to recharge the vehicle, for how long and at what utility rate.

"Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions," said Bill Ford, Ford's executive chairman. "This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles."

All 21 of Ford's fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes eventually will be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology. The first of the specially equipped plug-in hybrids has been delivered to American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio. Ford's other utility partners' vehicles will also be equipped with the communications technology.

When plugged in, the battery systems of these specially equipped plug-in hybrids can communicate directly with the electrical grid via smart meters provided by utility companies through wireless networking. The owner uses the vehicle's touch screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer to choose when the vehicle should recharge, for how long and at what utility rate.

In other words, you could program your car to charge during off peak hours or during times when renewable energy is being used. So it's green and efficient—impressive. [AutoblogGreen via HotHardware]

Take your pick, ruthless capitalist/unpleasant hippie! On the green front, 80% of its building materials are corn-fed and recyclable (the other 20% presumably vaporize baby pandas on contact), it doesn't come with a paper manual, and its recyclable packaging uses soy-based ink. (!) It's also painted green or blue, just in case the phone's "deal" wasn't already clear to you and your friends, and each purchase nets a land conservation charity a few bucks.

On the phone front, this is a slide-out-QWERTY-equipped dumphone, with Sprint's in-house OS and the One Click social-networking-oriented user interface. A 2MP camera, GPS and expandable storage and Bluetooth 2.0 round the specs out. It's nothing spectacular, but this Pre-like phone (wannaPre?) is also just $50 with a two-year contract on Sprint, after a small stack of rebates. Available from August 16th; full press release below. [Sprint]

Sprint Expands Environmental Leadership with New Initiatives and Debut of Eco-Friendly Samsung Reclaim

Available for less than $50, Samsung Reclaim is the most full-featured eco-friendly phone in the U.S.; Purchases of Samsung Reclaim benefit The Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program

Sprint retail stores to feature green products and services section; Sustainable design blueprint announced for future Sprint-owned store builds and refurbishments

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & DALLAS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sprint (NYSE:S) is making it easier than ever for customers to "go green" with new eco-friendly products, services and programs and expanding its commitment as a leader in sustainability. Available on Aug. 16, Sprint and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the #1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, today announced Samsung Reclaim™ as the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Samsung Reclaim is a feature-rich messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious customers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing the latest in network speeds and must-have features.

Reclaim is the most full-featured QWERTY phone launched by Sprint at less than $50. It will be available on August 16 in all Sprint retail channels, including Best Buy, Radio Shack, Web (www.sprint.com) and telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) for just $49.99 with a two-year service agreement after a $30 instant rebate and a $50 mail-in rebate (taxes and service charges excluded). It will be available at Wal-Mart in early September.

When customers purchase Samsung Reclaim from Sprint, $2 of the proceeds will benefit The Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program, which supports land conservation across the United States and protects some of the world's most beautiful and important natural habitats.

"This generous donation from Sprint will help us protect and restore some of America's most beautiful and ecologically-important landscapes for future generations to enjoy," said Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. "We applaud Sprint's sustainability efforts, as innovation and new technology are crucial to the future of conservation."

Sprint is also launching several new environmental initiatives in an effort to support its aggressive long-term environmental goals:

* Sprint is the first U.S. wireless carrier to establish a set of environmental design criteria for future devices and accessories.
* Sprint is implementing a series of new environmentally-responsible retail initiatives including adding a dedicated display area in stores that highlights Sprint's commitment to eco-friendly products and accessories.
* Sprint is committing to reduce paper usage by 30 percent during the next five years.

"Sprint is widely recognized as a leader among telecommunications companies in environmentally-responsible initiatives, and today we are proud to announce an even stronger commitment to sustainability with new eco-friendly products and programs," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. "Samsung Reclaim enables customers to go green while getting the latest in wireless technology. When customers walk into a Sprint retail store, they will be greeted by the information they need to make earth-friendly wireless choices, coupled with Ready Now to learn about the rich functionality of this device."

DEFINING GREEN WITH SAMSUNG RECLAIM
An eco-friendly overachiever, Samsung Reclaim from Sprint is designed with environmentally-responsible components and fully recyclable packaging, making it the perfect wireless phone for the eco-conscious consumer.

* Its bio-plastic material, made from corn, makes up 40 percent of the Reclaim's outer casing. Samsung Reclaim is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR): three materials commonly targeted on green electronics guidelines.
* The outer packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled materials. The images and text on the box as well as the phone warranty information are printed with soy-based ink.
* The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced with a virtual manual that users can access at www.sprint.com/reclaimsupport.
* The charger is Energy Star approved for meeting the highest energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. It consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption and is equipped with a visible notification to alert the user to unplug the handset once it's fully charged.

"Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-friendly device, it's also a powerful and stylish phone that's easy-to-use," said Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile. "When you combine the Reclaim's impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-friendly packaging, you're using a phone that is good for you and the environment."

Operating on America's most dependable 3G network2, Samsung Reclaim boasts One Click, Sprint's award-winning customizable user interface with quick access to such social networks as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. A new green One Click tile makes its debut on Reclaim providing the gateway to several green applications including:

* Five Simple Steps from Discovery Channel provides five simple changes you can make to be more eco-friendly, from how you commute to what you eat for dinner;
* Green Guides from Discovery Channel offers handy guides to help you green your lives with ease, and understand why;
* Green Glossary from Discovery Channel provides words and explanations about the Earth and Climate Change; and
* All Things Green, a Sprint Web category contains dynamic green headline and links to downloadable content.

Customers don't have to sacrifice the latest in technology to be environmentally-friendly with Reclaim. The stylish, full-featured phone offers:

* a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard making it easy to access personal or corporate email as well as text and multimedia messaging;
* Sprint Navigation with Search, providing easy access to directory information and GPS-enabled directions;
* 2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom and camcorder;
* advanced stereo Bluetooth® 2.0;
* expandable memory storage up to 32GB;
* an integrated Web browser; and
* two color options - Earth Green and Ocean Blue.

Sprint currently offers more eco-friendly accessories than any other U.S. telecommunications company. In May, Sprint announced the availability of new eco-friendly accessories, including the SOLIO Mono solar-powered charger and two new cell phone carrying cases made from 100 percent recycled plastic water bottles.

Sprint's green-themed website, www.sprint.com/green, details Sprint's green mobile applications and helps customers learn about Sprint's sustainability initiatives, including online bill pay, wireless recycling programs and acquiring green tips, such as using mobile GPS to calculate the quickest route to save gas. Customers can receive Sprint updates on specific company-wide environmentally-responsible initiatives on Twitter via @SprintGreenNews and can visit www.sprint.com/green for additional green tips.

GREENING SPRINT RETAIL STORES AND PRODUCTS
Beginning in September, all Sprint-owned retail locations will feature a new dedicated environmentally-responsible section that highlights eco-friendly products and accessories such as the SOLIO Solar Charger and carrying cases made from recycled materials. Sprint also will implement a new sustainable design blueprint for all future Sprint-owned retail store builds and refurbishments.

New and refurbished stores will implement numerous sustainable design elements consistent with LEED design standards, and will include energy-efficient lighting, low water usage plumbing fixtures and low VOC paint and carpet. The roll out of these energy efficiency upgrades is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of each store by about 19,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents.

Sprint's Environmental Product Design Criteria Vision Statement applies to all products sold in Sprint channels. Sprint will work with its device and accessory suppliers to design and provide products that:

* Reduce the use of potentially hazardous materials,
* Are energy efficient,
* Include standardized audio and charging interfaces,
* Are more recyclable, and
* Have more sustainable packaging including standardized sizes, reduced weight, increased recyclability rate, and increased recycled content.

Sprint also will work with its suppliers to measure and report on the environmental impact of their manufacturing processes.

The Bibliosphere is focused on sustainability, with natural lighting, ventilation, and using only renewable energy sources, and consumes an amazing 50% less than German regulations require—and we imagine German environmental laws are already much more strict than those here in the Land of the Free and the Home of the SUV. [Greeen Architects [sic] via PopSci]

Still, Office Space comparisons aside, for me the simple dimming of the four-square OLED, and the fact that these lights won't rape and pillage the environment like those nasty mercury-containing fluorescents we see everywhere today, were cool enough to warrant the wait.

Unfortunately, just like OLED HDTV screens, these lights are starting small and expensive (the prototype shown here is just 24-inches). Hopefully the $2 million Department of Energy grant awarded to manufacturer UDC in July 2008 (it's their prototype) will hasten the process, if only slightly. [YouTube via OLED Info]

How are we going to measure greenness? How much of the original product is used in the new, recycled product? How much energy in joules it takes to make this? How many pounds of carbon is spent? Many of these are nebulous numbers, and it takes a combination of them to determine whether or not one thing is "greener" than another. Something may be using 99% of its original materials but take a lot of energy to recycle, whereas something may be using very little original material but be quickly grown from the earth.

It's an interesting idea, but I don't see it happening any time soon, at least not in a way that actually helps people make a decision about which products to buy. [Fast Company]

"The networked grid-friendly charging stations are a perfect complement to the many innovative green features of the restaurant," said Ric Richards, "Our customers will have a dedicated place to park and recharge their vehicles. McDonalds is enabling a better environment for future generations by supporting zero-emissions transportation infrastructure, through the use of the ChargePointSM Network.

So, it appears that McDonalds has their sights set on the all important electric car driving, morbidly obese carnivore demographic. Yeah, I don't think that "s" is necessary after the word "customer", but I'm sure that this is the start of something genuinely important in our quest for greener energy. [Novacharge via Red Ferret]

Instead, we should be thinking about our poop. Like how much water we waste when we poop or how many people in this world don't have a pot to poop in. The Loowatt solves this problem with a structure that is composed of 90% horse poop. The biodegradable lining stores your poop which will be inserted later into an outdoor biodigestor—a device that turns said poop into biofuel for cooking. It's like the poop circle of life. The project has been well received in exhibits around the world, but funding is still needed to get the Loowatt off the ground. And don't worry—your contribution will not go unrewarded. For only £17 ($28) you will receive your very own "poo gem" to cherish forever. Awesome?

*number of times poop was referenced in this article: 12 (poopity poop poop) 15 [Loowatt via Dwell via Inhabitat]

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]