#EcoMonday tip 7: Smart Meter!

Last friday the Tech the Future team visited Good! in Lelystad. We saw some interesting products and had some good conversations and discussions. One of which with founder and CEO of Metsens, Wil van Paridon. Metsens is a yound Dutch ICT company that specializes in smart meters and energy analysis. What Metsens does it pretty simple. They install a smart meter that's connected to your gas, water and electricity meter and to your router. As a consumer you can acces and analyse real time data wit...

Last friday the Tech the Future team was invited to test and review a few of the best sold electric scooters of this moment. I took the Ebretti Electric for a spin and was surprised by its comfort. Hope I'm not hurting anyones feelings, but it felt just like riding a Harley. Ebretti is a Dutch company that focusses on electric mobility. Quality is their main selling point. All scooters come with a two year warranty, unique in this business. And you can actually feel the quality driving the Ebre...

Mili launched the Power Skin for iPhones doubling your iPhone battery life. It's the world's thinnest external battery and protective case for iPhone 3G and 3GS. The Power Skin comes with a 1,200 mAh battery capacity boosting your iPhone uptime. A pass-through USB/mini-USB for syncing and charging without removing the case and is designed to be easily removed for docking. What's eco about the Mili Power Skin? When the iPhone is connected to the MiLi Power Skin, the MiLi’s internal smart chip ef...

It's Earth Day! Earth Day is not a day to celebrate but to contribute. Time to take action! I found this lovely iPhone app called Billion Acts of Green. This simple application created by the Earth Day Network shows local Earth Day events on your map and let's you make and see environment pledges in your community. See where you can volunteer, plant trees and meet motivated people. Happy Earth Day!

In a few hours time Earth Day begins. The Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. And Earth Day is not all thinking but it's about taking action. Earth Day Network has a global reach with more than 20,000 partners and organizations in 190 countries. More than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world....

Just one of those gadgets I would like to own: The Puzzle Bamboo Laptop Stand. Great design and made from a renewable resource. Bamboo grows quickly so it's a great alternative for other, less earth loving materials. Moso, the company that produces the bamboo for the Puzzle, takes sustainable production very serious. I found the puzzle in a Belgian webshop.Price: €45,-

Combine German functionality with Italian taste and you'll get something that looks like this Volkswagen zero-emission taxi, designed especially for the city of Milan. The taxi runs on electricity and it's lithium ion batteries have a range of about 300 kilometers. The Volkswagen taxi has a large slide door and the front passenger seat is removed for extra luggage space. Passengers have acces to a touch screen concole which provides route information and entertainment. A concept is revealed at...

The people of Copenhagen strike me as earth loving citizens. The air smells clean, the city is bike friendly and it's very easy to buy local products and food. The Crowne Plaza contributes to this image with a remarkable campaign. The hotel invites their guests to reduce their ecological footprint by generating their own electricity. The Crowne Plaza installed special bikes that generate about 40Wh every hour. If the guests reach the target of 10Wh they are rewarded with a free meal. iPhones mea...

China is taking the future seriously and started building 'Solar Valley City', a center for manufacturing, research and development and education around solar energy technologies. China is moving fast on the market of sustainable technology and is leaving other players behind. Already China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels and wind turbines. Solar Valley City is supposed to boost this proces even more and attract hundreds of major companies to China. It is expected that China...

Food from far places can be really cheap, but flying over those tomatoes all the way from Argentina produces a lot of carbon-emission. And we can grow tomatoes just as well, without the excess emission! Buying local produce simply cuts the CO2-emissions and fuel-use needed for the transportation. I can imagine not everyone is aware of the distance your average veggies travel, and it can be hard to see what produce is local and what isn't. That's why I really like these clever package designs Ja...