'Intelliworks' corrals the energy hog in you

Now that we're all sufficiently terrified that global warming will turn Kansas City into a beach town, there's been a wave of technological efforts designed to put us on an energy diet. Likewise, a proliferation of gadgets have hit the market claiming to monitor our piggish ways, though most of them are fairly limited in scope.

But a device called the "Intelliworks" claims to act as a traffic cop for the entire household or workplace by controlling the total flow of electricity. While plugged into a regular wall socket, "it automatically optimizes the voltage and current demands so that less energy is consumed. City users will save about 14 percent, but using Intelliworks in rural areas will save even more--up to 50 percent!" according to its gushing product literature.

We're not sure if we're ready to believe all that, but even it saves a fraction of that amount it may be worth the $70 price tag.