The case itself features a sizable 1500mAh battery pack that they claim can be charged by the sun in as little as three hours. It also has a mini USB to USB cable that allows you to charge from your PC or hook up other gadgets for a quick shot of sweet solar juice. The case is slated for release in August in both black and white versions for around $54. [Mobile Fun via SolarFeeds via EcoGeek]

I do jump off of my bed sometimes though, that counts for something, right? [Groovy Green via Huffington Post]

According to Ikeda, the material is not very efficient at converting light into energy, but he is confident that it will improve in time. He also noted that the material is about 4 times more elastic than human muscle, and it maintained its strength during a test despite contracting and expanding every 7 seconds for 30 hours. He hopes that one day the technology will come of age to the point that we will all be driving around in light-powered plastic automobiles. Maybe—if by "we" he means our grandchildren and great grandchildren. [Pink Tentacle via DVICE]

If you are concerned about how much power something like this would consume, Kilmatec has answered that problem as well with a solar power option that can keep the water coming even in the harshest conditions. Five gallons in 24 hours may seem high—but that is actually a fairly common feat for a dehumidifier. Pricing information has not been made available. [Kilmatec via TRFJ via DVICE]

Super-deluxe-awesome-o toilets are always on, constantly sipping power—they now make up four percent of household energy consumption, more than dishwashers or clothes dryers. And they're in 68 percent of homes. One expert says it's the Japanese equivalent of the slightly suicidal American love of the Hummer, except that sales of quasi-mecha toilets aren't slowing down. (Probably because 23 to 30 percent of Japanese men apparently sit down to pee. So inefficient.) How serious is the problem? Tricked out commodes might knock Japan out of meeting its Kyoto Protocol goals, even as the government demands more efficiency out of manufacturers.

Toto, for its part—besides cutting energy usage of its toilets in half—has come up with a smart toilet that learns everybody's pooping schedules and warms up just prior to your usual pit stop, so it only powers on when it needs to, rather than staying armed and ready all the time. Technology really can solve all our problems, even the ones it creates. [Washington Post]

Beyond the self-sufficient floor, the club will also sell organic spirits served in polycarbon cups; and the bathrooms will feature a recycled water system for flushing the toilets.

Entry to the club costs about $20, but clubbers who can prove they arrived on foot, bicycle or public transportation will get a free pass (so long as they sign a pledge promising to work towards curbing climate change too, that is). Charalambous hopes to open the club on July 10, with US-based clubs in New York to follow, as part of his Club4Climate campaign. [Evening Standard]

The device still requires about 5% of the diesel fuel needed to power traditional generators, but that means that fewer fuel runs are necessary. And, as as Army biotech scientist Dr. James Valdes pointed out , "Those convoys that carry fuel are also known as targets." It also means that fewer garbage trucks and their drivers are put in harm's way. Not quite Bact to the Future style garbage-fueled fusion power, but it is a step in the right direction.[CNET via Danger Room]

[Design 21]

The concept of decentralized wind power is not a new one, but adoption has been held up by the expense and unwieldiness of existing solutions, which basically involves building a tall, ugly, miniaturized Texan wind farm on your roof. "Architectural Wind" promises to simplify the process, allowing you to strap as many of the attractive, unobtrusive fans to the edges of your building as you can, without requiring any kind of additional renovation.
[Inhabitat]

It's a clear sign of the desperations airlines are feeling with the prices of jet fuel rising to, ahem, stratospheric levels. With jatropha costing 20-30% less than fuel, it looks like an attractive alternative. It's not derived from a food source like ethanol is, which is a big plus for ANZ. It's also a hearty plant that can cope with poor soil and a lack of water, making it easy to come by. You know, because it's a weed. What did you think the headline meant? [FlightGlobal; Thanks Jason!]

Their ambitions don’t stop at snow; Riverhead also has a water park, botanical gardens, hotels, convention halls and various other resort mainstays slated for construction around the slopes. It’ll also fill a neighboring, yet-to-be-built suburb for resort employees and people who are really, really enthusiastic about indoor skiing but can’t afford a move to Dubai.

Riverhead plans to build the resort complex on property that now holds a long-disused Cold War naval facility, so the plans wouldn’t be displacing residents or destroying small towns. The primary opposition to the project is based on environmental concerns. Detractors argue that the construction project will destroy the ecosystem on this peaceful area of Long Island, which given the ridiculous scale of construction seems totally certain. Seriously though, have they seen the proposal? They’re building a mountain! It’s hard not to appreciate that. Optimistic projections are for opening in a decade but you can have a look at Riverhead Resorts' whole sales pitch below.

[MSNBC]

In order to service a heavy load of vehicles down the line, it will be necessary to produce hydrogen at petrochemical plants until it becomes possible to manufacture it from cleaner sources like carbon capture and storage, bio-feedstocks and municipal solid waste. There are numerous hydrogen stations located throughout the world, and it isn't the first of its kind in California, but the fact that it is backed by a major company could be the spark needed to generate real progress. [Ecogeek via CNET]

The Xbox 360 isn't all that much better, using 23.57kWh per week when idling compared to the PS3's 31.74kWh. The Wii, on the other hand, is downright dainty in comparison, using only 2.97kWh per week when idling, less than 10% of the energy used by the PS3.

It's all a good lesson to simply turn off your console, whatever it may be, when you aren't using it. I'm not one to disparage the good work done by Folding@Home, but if you leave your console cranking away on it all the time you'll spend enough to go out and buy a Wii by the time a year is up. [Choice via GadgetLab]

Luckily for warlords such as myself, experts at the University of Munich have developed new types of bombs using the compounds HBT and G2ZT, bombs that only produce ammonia when detonated. That'll leave target areas nice and clean with no acid rain to pour down on the charred remains of my victims. And people say I'm evil!

To be fair, the same compounds may be used in rocket fuels in the future, which are less destructive than bombs and have legitimate reasons to be eco friendly. But initially, at least, it's all about the bombs. [American Chemical Society via io9]

The first layer, produced from the data supplied by the Hadley Centre depicts CO2 concentrations spanning from November 1999 forward to October 2099. Along the time line, annotated place markers pop up to provide information on the impact of global climate change for specific regions and links to external resources on the topic.

The second layer, utilizing data provided by The British Antarctic Survey, documents the Antarctic ice shelves retreat since 1940 and constructs a projected regression through June 2099. The layer is covered with dates of specific discoveries and documents the retreats of 10 different ice shelves.

Because of their soft glow, Planilum lights only get about as hot as the human body, which means that there is no need for a shade or diffuser. They are also about 90% recyclable because the design is nearly all glass. For these reasons, the Planilum can be integrated into designs that make a break from traditional lighting fixtures. In fact, the plan is to develop furniture and other household objects with these panels to make more functional and attractive lighting solutions. With any luck, we could see products based on this technology sometime within the next few years. [saazs via Inhabitat via OhGizmo]

Plus, the solar charging properties of the compounds means that there would be no need for a traditional power source. When applied to a surface, the OLED screen could run under the power that it generates for an indefinite amount of time. It could even be applied to the back of cellphones to provide a constant charge. Again, this sort of technology seems seriously out there, but the researchers believe that they can have a working prototype up and running within two years. I'll believe it when I see it. [Tech Radar via OLED-info]

Studies indicate that electronic scraps are the fastest growing component of our waste system, so it is imperative that we find ways to recycle these products and put them to good use. As you probably know, the recycling of scrap circuit boards is of particular interest because of the valuable metals they contain. However, I don't plan on holding my breath that old, crappy Dell desktops will be an alternative fuel gold mine. [Live Science]

They are also pretty pricey to rent at a whopping £120 or $240 per person. That's right, I said "rent." Once the concert is through, the Myhab is dismantled and set up for the next customer. Man, we have come a long way from Woodstock where you had sex in the mud, did your drugs out in the open and loved every minute of it. No word on whether Myhab plans on expanding outside of the UK anytime soon. [Myhab via Hippyshopper via Core77]

Sure, it is Earth-friendly and it could come in handy during a power outage, but the product site is also billing the device as a great upper and lower body workout. And let's face it, there is nothing more satisfying than turning on your MP3 player and knowing that each song was powered by your own sweat and tears. Available for around $141. [Rakuten via TFTS]

Thanks to its lightweight frame and complex gear system, the Naturmobil can can reach speeds of around 50 mph when the horse is really hauling. However, the cruising speed generally tops out at a more leisurely 12 mph. Mirhejazi hopes to parade his invention throughout the world in an attempt to secure financing for a second generation 4 horsepower Naturmobile that he plans to use for tourist transportation. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. [Xpress via Neatorama via DVICE]

Silver has long been known to have antimicrobial powers, and with nanotech (and better hygiene) being all the rage, companies have added nanoparticle silver to everything from children's toys to washing machines. But as elements get smaller, the way they react to their environments change—and nobody's sure that itty bitty silver pieces aren't going to kill us all.

Studies have already shown that nano-silver is screwing with fishes and destroying benign bacteria at wastewater facilities. The legal petition asks the EPA to regulate nano-silver as a pesticide, insist on product labels, and analyze the potential human health effects (especially on children) before allowing nano-silver goods to be sold.

So unless you absolutely have no other way of keeping things clean and smell-free, lay off the nano-silver for now, mmkay? [ICTA via NY Times]

Most consumer drives aren't rated for 24/7 use, and even if your drives are set to sleep, you're going to wear out fan bearings and suck dust into the case. Then again, those torrents aren't going to download themselves.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

[EcoFriend via DailyMail via DVICE]

The project is in its pilot stage now in a smattering of Swedish cities. If power consumption reaches eco-friendly levels, a little green smiley face will pop up to congratulate you for doing a good job. It's kind of like a game—with the future of the Earth at stake!

In addition to utility usage, the device also gives you information ranging from when the next tram will pass by your stop to weather forecasts into the week to who's milling outside your door. [Treehugger via Slippery Brick]

As I said before, the problem with shipping tiny objects in large boxes has very little to do with the extra cardboard included in the box, which is easily recyclable. While sometimes these boxes are full of Styrofoam peanuts or some other environment-raping material, the real damage being done by this shipping method is in the transit itself.

When a company like Dell or Amazon is shipping out thousands of small objects in large boxes every day, it takes up room on UPS and FedEx trucks. Clearly, many more trucks need to be on the road, consuming gas and pumping CO₂ into the atmosphere, to get these to where they need to go. If padded mailers or more appropriately sized boxes were used, it would allow for many more to fit in each truck, cutting down on the greenhouse gases emitted every day by shipping companies.

What we need are promises from online retailers that they'll start being smarter about how they send things. I don't expect there to be a perfectly sized box for every item you sell; it's never going to be perfect. But with electronics getting smaller and smaller, it just makes sense to have small boxes on hand that can fit things like thumb drives, memory, cables, CDs and other such products. Oftentimes, padded mailers can be used for items unlikely to be damaged during transit, such as thumb drives.

Who will be the first retailer to make a strong commitment to responsible shipping? One that will take this problem seriously and not just provide lip service while they continue to fill gas-guzzling UPS trucks with boxes that are 90% empty? It's a problem that demands attention. Even if it's not the most glamorous or exciting thing in the world, having a company who ships as many things as Amazon or Dell commit to a more responsible practice would have a serious impact on the amount of gas being consumed and CO₂ being pumped into the atmosphere. Let's make this happen.

Thanks to everyone who submitted shots to the Hall of Shame!

Reader Mick received five ink cartridges in five different packages, most of which were ludicrously large for the single tiny box within. This is such an idiotically easy problem to solve that would have a huge impact on the environment. Let's start being responsible, online retailers. It's in your hands.

Have you received an irresponsibly-packed item from an online retailer? Snap a picture and send it to me at adam@gizmodo.com and I'll help you shame them publicly.

Such idiotic shipping practices also waste space on trucks and planes, requiring more trips, therefore more fuel used and more pollution. And it's not like this is something that we haven't seen Dell do before. Think about it: how many thumbdrives could fit in a UPS truck in boxes like these? What about if they were in boxes that were sized more appropriately? There would be a huge difference. And with most online retailers shipping like this, it's a problem that could be easily solved.

Let's shame them into changing. Next time you receive a tiny object shipped in a gigantic box, snap a picture of it and send it to me. Nothing helps change harmful policies like a healthy dose of bad press. [Consumerist via Treehugger]