The camping trip always looms large as a battery-sucking deterrent. I’ve personally had friends running parked cars for hours just to keep their phones alive and stay on the connected Facebook grid.

A responsible human being will no doubt already have jumped on board with eco-friendly products and companies, like Apple – which went from being notoriously bad to one of the greenest and conscientious producers of electronics in the twenty-first century, and all of their batteries last a heck of a lot longer than anyone’s.

What else can the consumer do to enjoy the perks of reading the next Neil Gaiman page-turner on their Nook tablet, no matter the circumstance and lack of a wall outlet?

Buy a Solar Charger kit from Changers.com, and change your luck!

It is true that the price tag – just shy of a hundred and fifty bones – is steep, but Changers makes it well worth your money.

Their starter kit includes everything one needs to revel in the power of the sun and keep the smartphone, iPod, tablet, and laptop alive. The Kindle-look-alike solar panel (complete with suction cups for window hanging), portable solar battery, and USB (and micro-USB) connection complete with eight adapters to fit thousands of devices are all in the Starter Kit.

The software that accompanies the solar charger even measures how much carbon is saved with each charging attempt. While the online marketplace lets your chart your savings, share your stats, and compete against your friends.

Reports suggest that at least a few hours are needed to really power up a smartphone, but the sky – even when cloudy – offers us the sun for many hours throughout each day.

Save electricity and save the environment and save the dying batteries of all things gadgetry!

The sculptures bring together tossed items that most of us might not glance at twice and creates something entirely new and entertaining. While much of Gould’s sculptures don’t move, there are some that incorporate the use of motors to create a very cool diorama.

It’s interesting to see the combination of technology and art together in such a seamless way that they are one and the same. While simpler than many of the steampunk laptops, Gould’s work looks as though it could really belong in a steam-themed Victorian era.

One of my favorite examples of techno-art is his Firefly sculpture. The mashup of piano parts, violin neck, flicker bulb, furniture parts, an old radio, brass, gears, motor, lamp hardware and knobs really give this a distinctive look that still hearkens back to an actual firefly, while the clever use of motors and gears make this little animatronic creation even more whimsical.

While still on the low-tech side, these pieces of art just go to show how you can take the mundane (or even trash) and transform them into something larger than the sum of its parts.

The SolarKindle cover takes the already paperless green nature of the Kindle to the next level by providing up to 3 months of unplugged use with just a “normal sunlight environment.”

Charging times do vary depending on the weather but, the guys at SolarFocus say one hour of charge time in direct sunlight can provide almost three days of reading time.

After charging the on-board e-reader, the SolarKindle automatically switches over to charge a built-in 1500 mA battery used to power the swing out LED reading light and provide extra power for the Kindle.

At $79, it does seem strange to spend as much money protecting an item as the item is worth itself but, with other leather lighted Kindle covers coming in at around $50, the extra $29 seems like a small price to pay for infinite uptime and one less cord dependency.

Whether you need a cover for that new Christmas Kindle or want an upgrade to show up your eco-conscious-know-it-all-book-loving friends, the SolarKindle will be in stores later next week.

The company Sunn has created an easy to build and use solar powered car, perfect for small country roads and drives around campgrounds. While the “car” appears more like a cart than anything else, it certainly works and is pretty cheap considering all those solar photovoltaic cells. All in all, the cost of the kit comes to about $6,500 (batteries not included… seriously).

The little car can travel up to 25mph with a range of 3 miles on the solar panels alone and up to 30 miles with a set of batteries. 25 mph is not very fast nor is 3 miles very far, most people can bike faster than 25 mph and travel distances much further than 3 miles so, what’s the point? Well, with most solar-powered cars, the batteries are the trick here. Traveling up to 30 miles is pretty good, even if you’re going rather slow, it makes for a nice scenic ride along some country roads and could be used by eco-conscious rangers to cart around a national park.

Of course there are other solar cars out there, but many of these have been created to decrease drag and weight as much as possible in order to reach speeds of 42 miles/hour. These too still use a battery, but for everyday use, they are not nearly as comfortable looking as this little car.

While there currently isn’t any way yet to run cars completely from solar photovoltaic cells, technology is slowly progressing forward and more and more companies are focusing on hybrid cars and creating solar charging stations for the onboard batteries. Will there ever be solar powered cars that do not require batteries? Probably not likely in the near future.

Welcome warmly, or coolly depending on the weather, the Nest Lab’s newest creation:  the Nest!

The new company from Tony Fadell, the designer for eighteen iPods at Apple, launches the sexy wall item, the Nest Learning Thermostat, in November for $249.

The Nest, for all intensive purposes, thinks about how the user likes their temperature. All that is required is for the energy-minded to continue to turn the thermostat up and down according to when they leave the home, or go to sleep, or the seething summer heat requires A/C, or the frigid pre-November snow asks for more warmth ASAP.

As the consumer manually sets the Nest thermostat, like they normally do (we are not talking about the complicated and convoluted programming that nobody spends the time doing), the Nest remembers, reasons and then begins to program the thermostat’s temperature for you.

It learns.

In fact, Fadell believes the Nest learns so thoroughly that he says users will save up to 30% off of their utility bills when Nesting.

And let us not forget the minimalistic and gorgeous body of the Nest. Fadell, the iPod designer, knows how to carve out a sexy piece of tech, and the Nest is a prime example. The round face is black bordered and inside is either digitally blue or orange, depending on a rising or lowering of the temperature.

How hard is it to operate? Well, just twist the Nest left or right to plus or minus degrees, like you would any other traditional thermostat.

The Nest is money saving sexiness!

Now it is true that the sleek and fun designs caught my eye, and my writer’s heart leaped at the sight of one pen in particular, the shiny black and silver surface donning three white skull and cross-bones and there in bold print the words:  NEED COFFEE.

The sexy look, the innovative presentation sets The Seven Year Pen apart in and of it’s own right.  But then I read about the pen’s purpose.

The Seven Year Pen is made by the Swiss and offered by a Brooklyn based company called Seltzer Goods who sell recycled and environmentally friendly products.

The overall achievement of these eco-friendly pens is truly one to be amazed by.  The Seven Year Pen boasts an extra large ink cartridge, a long-life tip and smooth black ink.

The company states that worldwide 100 million pens are thrown away every day, but The Seven Year Pen is able to write 1.7 meters a day for seven years before running out of ink.  Wow!

Now aside from the gorgeous looks to the thirteen different pen designs, there was one thing remaining for me to do in the shop.  I had to try the pen to see how it wrote.  No writer or pen connoisseur can use a pen that does not write to their every nuance and pleasure.

I am happy to report The Seven Year Pen is not gel ink, but writes very smoothly and beautifully (almost as if it were a gel pen).  At just over seven bucks, The Seven Year Pen can be the last writing implement you buy for a lucky stretch of time.

This incredibly small and light lantern’s base fits in the palm of the hand, yet provides enormously bright LED-powered light while it deters insects for a 15 x 15 foot radius.

Does it work?  Well, yes it does!

This lantern is small, gives off a good amount of light on my deck but is not overbearing and is the best thing that I have ever witnessed for getting rid of the vampire-sickly mosquitoes and their friends.

I spend a great deal of time outside, especially in the summer months, and because I live on an island there are myriad armies of bugs constantly trying to harass or worse (drink blood).

Off, Tiki torches and fires might slow the onslaught, but the ThermaCELL lantern is the only truly effective means to keep away the bad guys.  The company even boasts that the Outdoor Lantern keeps at least ninety-eight percent of the awful mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-ums (which I have no idea what those are) at bay.

The ThermaCELL Mosquito Repelling Outdoor Lantern has even been used by the US Army to drive away the nightmare-ish flesh-eating (or at least annoying) desert bugs.

The Outdoor Lantern has a European inspired design that resembles the old oil lanterns with a hunter-green casing and handle.  The frosted-globe walls give off a pleasant light, while the repellant mats provide for hours of outdoor partying whether you’re on a deck, a boat or camping.

This little gadget works by mixing a tiny butane cartridge (that is included) with a repellant mat (also included) that fits snugly on the top of the lantern.  AA Batteries allow for the LED lights to brighten up the night, but the repellant function does not require them to be in there.

Once the butane is in place, the Outdoor Lantern is set to give off an invisible bug deterrent that lasts for twelve hours (per cartridge)!

These Outdoor Lanterns from ThermaCELL can be found at Amazon.com, Bass Pro Shops and in most outdoor equipment stores for anywhere from twenty to thirty bucks, and believe me it is worth every penny!

The skeptic might chime in and say that a web site or App cannot be updated frequently enough to help out a cruising two or four wheeled consumer.  But the “GasBuddy” App is that kind of a friend, and your “GasBuddy” is exceptionally helpful and kick-ass!  I will now define this “kick-ass” bud further.

You see, some friends will give you the shirt off their back, and some friends will laugh on as you fall up a large flight of stairs moving a ridiculously heavy recliner-couch, while they sip cold beverages from tin cans in their underwear. The “GasBuddy” App is a story about one of the shirt-off-the-back friends.

The free (and oh so portable) “GasBuddy” App is available for iPhones, Androids and Windows phones alike.  Your Buddy groups together the prices and locations for the fueling of Regular, Midgrade, Premium and Diesel gasoline.  By clicking on Distance the closest stations arise before you and include an Update time for when each station was last cited with a cheap or freaking expensive oil price.

“Now wait just a second,” queries the skeptic, “are you telling me that some group of strangers laying down their digital footprints are going to keep me informed with up to the hour gas prices at the stations that are closest to me?”

In short:  yes.

Just press your thumb down on the Price button to group the cheapest stations together before your dazzled eyes.  The pumps are all within a couple of miles of the user’s location, and there is a handy map option that can cue up Google Maps to locate the targeted gasoline provider that will save the hungry tanks a five spot or two in fares.

Thanks to all of the GasBuddys!

Unlike the original, the 600 version has larger blades, enhanced software and an improved integrated inverter. According to a press release, the turbine will also be the first to fully integrate into the smart-grid. These improvements will produce 74 percent more energy for commercial and residential use than the 3.7 and provide an average of 7,400 kWh of clean energy. Of course this is averaging 12mph winds and depending on the consistency of the wind, could provide up to 60 percent of the necessary energy for average households.

This percentage will vary depending on location, wind conditions, tower height and other factors. So, it’s a good thing the Skystream 600 comes with the internet accessible Skyview System which shows users how much energy is being produced in real time.

The Skystream 600 will be available for purchase in April 2011. While there is currently no price tag for this turbine, it will certainly cost a pretty penny (the 3.7 is about $6k per unit). Still with the upgrades and the direct connection to the smart-grid system, the turbine would end up providing affordable and independent energy to the consumers.

The turbine was on display at GEs “home of the future” exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show. GE is currently the largest investor of wind power, recently doubling their previous investments to $10 million for research and development. Southwest Windpower is one of the few companies that have been on the receiving end of these investments.

Companies like GE are beginning to look to renewable energy as a viable source of power. With peak oil and coal already happening and many climatologists citing the importance of reducing human’s carbon footprint, research into wind energy is even more pertinent than ever before.

Besides being lost, many people often put aside their old USB flash drives when a newer and larger version appears. The problem with simply tossing the old USB drive in the trash is that most casings are generally made of either plastic or metal to withstand both heat and water damage. Unfortunately, what makes these materials appealing to customers and creators of these USB drives also makes them detrimental to the environment.

Since these drives last a long time, disposal is a huge issue. If not disposed of properly or lost, these drives can last decades if not centuries in landfills. Rather than use items that were not easy recyclable or degradable, Tremblay turned to corrugated cardboard which has the same water and fire proof  capabilities as the standard USB drive cases, but can easily break down in nature. The design comes in a corrugated cardboard card and can be detached, by cracking along the dotted lines, into five 1GB USB drives.

While the device is not actually available to the market, the eco-friendly idea will hopefully inspire actual companies to follow suit. One issue is that while the cardboard itself is recyclable, the components of the actual USB drive might make it difficult for sanitation companies to actually accept these drives for recycling. On top of that, computer and tech recycling has quite a ways to go before the sector can actually be considered green.

Via [Unpluggd]