You have until February 20th to vote for your favorite Greener Gadget before the Greener Gadgets Conference in NYC on Feb 27th. I’m leaning towards the RITI printer (uses tea or coffee dregs instead of traditional ink and is pictured below) because it seems to be the one thing I could actually buy and get that really nice “green” feeling every time I used it. I also have a*lot* of coffee dregs.
Of course, fuzzy green feelings aside, there are definitely some other products on the short list that could have a far further-reaching impact than a coffee-powered printer.
Like a power socket that offers 5V, 16V and standard 120V to cut down on the need for power transformers and the use of disposable batteries in our electronics. Or Blink, an affordable attachment that uses a photo-sensitive cell to turn off lights when they’re not needed.
I was also intrigued by Eco-Neighbuzz, an internal telecom system that lets residents of a housing development or building exchange messages quickly. What kind of messages? Well, ones about needing to borrow a tool, giving away something, wanting to share a ride, etc. At first I was blown away by this one, but then I remembered that I’ve been a member of my neighborhood email listserv for years and it serves the same purpose, but without the need for a dedicated communications device in every home.
You can’t buy the coffee-ink printer yet, but we’ll keep you posted on the status.
