clean

The drive for clean and green stuff/energy, etc. is in part a reaction to the supersized American consumer culture in general. Big houses, big cars, lots of stuff. All requiring more and more energy and fuel to drive around and get it, play with it, go to the show, etc. Browsing the depressing and completely paranoid LATOC site, I came across an interesting tidbit graphic:

Yes you read that right. 20.2 square feet of retail for every man, woman and child in America. 10X the world wide average (assuming it's true). Now the Europeans are small countries … Read more

We're not ashamed to admit that we like toothbrushes here at Crave, as well as anything else that promotes oral hygiene. (Note to co-workers: You know who you are.)

So nothing delights us more than an opportunity to combine technology with our favorite OCD subject. The new "Oral-B Triumph with SmartGuide" is kind of like a remote-controlled cleaning system for the mouth. Using a "sink-top LCD display that wirelessly guides your brushing," according to CrunchGear, "it clocks you to make sure you are moving your bristles long enough and makes sure you get each '… Read more

Recently published research confirms what any venture capital investor would tell you: clean tech is hot.

The Cleantech Network and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) published a report summary on Tuesday finding that VC investment grew 78 percent in 2006 to $2.9 billion. Most of that money went into energy-related technologies.

That investment growth is anticipated to continue: the report expects numbers to climb to $19 billion by 2010.

The authors cited a few reasons for the investment boom in clean, or green, tech: concerns over global warming, higher energy prices, improved technology and changing public policies.

A lot of the … Read more

Clean tech venture capitalists, known as a sunny, optimistic bunch, are finding a lot to like in solar.

A survey done by legal firm Cooley Godward Kronish found that clean tech investors believe that solar has the most long-term profit potential over the next five years, followed by "energy intelligence," or smart grid technologies. After that came biofuels and wind in terms of economic attractiveness.

Initial public offerings--which have been few and far between in IT for several years--do not appear to be the most common route to cash in.

Only 10 percent of the 75 Silicon Valley … Read more

As dust-busting has become an increasingly important factor in digital photography, competition has inevitably heated up in the resulting cottage industry. But this is the first cleaning device we've seen that comes with its own rocket.

The "FireFly" uses a "Giotto Rocket air blower bulb and advanced ionizing technology" to blow away tiny debris, quite literally, from a digital camera's sensor. The trick, according to Gadget Lab, is to use anti-static air that strips dust particles of their electrostatic charge.

Static superpowers aside, the FireFly still doesn't seem as sophisticated as the "… Read more

Even with all the cutting-edge digital photographic gear in the world, you still won't be the next Ansel Adams if your DSLR camera's sensor is as dirty as a preschooler's fingernails. That's when the "SensorScope" system shines a light on the subject, quite literally.

This portable kit inspects your sensor with a 5x magnification lens and four ultra-bright LEDs so you can view all the offensive debris, according to Ubergizmo, which is "mostly metallic, fiber, organic and silica particles." The SensorScope then removes the unwanted specks, as long as your camera has … Read more

Michael Banfield is proud of his jug filled with insect pheromones. He's managing partner at SpringStar, which sells biopesticides that work like this: Hormones from female gypsy moths are sprayed into the air, sending the males into a frenzy as they think that females are everywhere. They fail to find a real one and die before they can breed.

It's one of the technologies being touted at the Cleantech Forum this week in San Francisco, a conference where so-called green start-ups show off their wares to venture capitalists. SpringStar is working with researchers at the University of Washington … Read more

A $28-million military research project could pay off for you at the Laundromat.

Researchers have developed a water-repellant coating using a polymer film (polyglycidyl methacrylate) mixed with silver nanoparticles that, when fixed to common clothing and soaked in a chemical solution, allows them to repel bacteria.

"The coating doesn't actually clean itself," said Dr. Phil Brown of Clemson University. "You will still need some water to rinse away dirt and stains, but cleaning will be quicker and less frequent."

That works for us, but how about socks? Originally developed to protect troops from biological warfare … Read more

File this in the "not there yet" folder. A bunch of blogs have covered a new, solar-powered system for NEC monitors, yet none show how it looks. My mind's eye pictured a tidy, laptop-size solar panel. But when I received this photo from NEC, I couldn't stifle a chuckle. Who wants to claw their way to a corporate window seat only to have mammoth solar panels block the view? Oh, and try not to kick that battery pack.

The equipment is designed for big businesses that aim to cut costs with clean, off-the-grid energy sources, but … Read more