solar power

Considering how plugged in and geeked out our homes are these days, sometimes it baffles me that the simplest, often most crucial things aren't well-lit. Personally, I'm a big fan of motion-sensor lighting, so when you're walking toward your front (or back) door you won't trip and wind up falling flat on your back. But motion-sensor lighting doesn't help passersby who are trying to locate your crib. That's why I'm smitten with the Matter Inc. Solar LED House Numbers ($19.99). The solid aluminum fixture absorbs the sun's energy during the day to power two high output white LEDs for eight to 10 hours during the night, keeping your house numbers well-lit without draining the grid or your wallet. The laser-cut numbers are completely weather-resistant, too, which is a plus. Although I personally don't mind the modern, sans-serif shape of the numbers, I wish they were offered in a traditional serif to appeal to more homeowners. What do you think?

One of the main reasons that green power hasn't taken off is its high price tag, but Australian PhD candidate Nicole Kuepper may be changing that. This green-thinking student has discovered a way to produce solar cells using a pizza oven, nail polish, and ink jet printers.

According to the The Sydney Morning Herald:

Ms Kuepper realised a new approach would be needed if affordable cells were to be made on site in poorer countries: "What started off as a brainstorming session has resulted in the iJET cell concept that uses low-cost and low-temperature processes, such as ink-jet printing and pizza ovens, to manufacture solar cells."

While it could take five years to commercialise the patented technology, providing renewable energy to homes in some of the least developed countries would enable people to "read at night, keep informed about the world through radio and television and refrigerate life-saving vaccines". And it would also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The inspiring Kuepper was awarded the British Council Eureka Prize for Young Leaders in Environmental Issues and Climate Change for her solar power development, as well as a $10,000 study tour to Britain. I'm always proud of girl geeks, and since women are underrepresented in the sciences, I am doubly impressed by this young inventor. Congratulations, Nicole!
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If you read my reclaimed wood bench Before and After, you'll remember that the Oakland-based design-building studio, Because We Can, was hired by SunPower to create furniture for their new office in an old Ford manufacturing building. The reclaimed wood benches that they designed are beautiful, but their job didn't stop there. SunPower, a solar power company, also asked Because We Can to design them special table for their executive office, with a different feel than their other furnishings. Because We Can harnessed their own energies to design a particularly special executive table: a table that holds one of SunPower’s solar panels. The panel, which has a smooth plastic surface, was dropped into the steel table frame, and looks sleek and most definitely "special." What's more: it actually functions, trapping the suns rays as it sits there during important business meetings about . . . solar power!
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If you're looking for inspiration on ways to go eco chic look no further than Kristin Davis. Perhaps better known as Charlotte from Sex and the City, this celeb is surprisingly green in her lifestyle choices. While it's true that she did drive a Beemer to the Sex and the City movie premiere, her BMW was actually hydrogen powered. While hydrogen vehicles are still in the experimental stage for the general public, research suggests that they may help to curb greenhouse gases, since their use doesn't involve the burning of fossil fuels.

Another eco choice? Well, Kristin is an ambassador with Oxfam, a charity that works to find long-term solutions to poverty and injustice in over 100 countries. Kristin's worked with Oxfam since the South East Asia tsunami in December 2004, first as a donor and most recently traveling on behalf of Oxfam all over Africa.

Kristin's biggest eco change, though, is probably her new solar-powered house, which is currently being built in LA. To see a video of Kristin talking about her house, read more