These foldable speakers from OrigAudio are super cool. They’re made of recycled materials and fold up for easy transport. They work with any device that has a headphone jack – so computer, ipod, etc. Time listed these as one of the 50 best inventions of 2009! The company is based in Chicago which I think is cool that in purchasing from them I’m supporting a local business. Not only do they make some cool speakers, but they care enough to support non-profits – Music National Service.
You can even create your own foldable speakers…designed however you want them! I’m not sure what the minimum order would be but if you were using them as a business gift or something where you needed a large quantity they’d be a fun idea!
I must admit that as eco-friendly as these are, I didn’t purchase them so I can’t say first hand how they are. I did however purchase the Sphere…of all their products it has the best sound quality so I just decided to go with it. It’ll be great to take on the honeymoon next week! I haven’t tried it yet but I will this weekend, so I’ll report back on the sound quality
Chicago now has these cool bike rental stations! I had heard about them on the news and was pleasantly surprised to run into a bank of them in Daley Plaza. How very European of us to have this great system for locals and tourists alike to rent bikes for a ride around town. I have yet to look into the cost but I’m definitely pretty excited about these new additions to the city!
Here’s all the info you’ll need:
Bike sharing has arrived in Chicago! Chicago B-cycle, operated by Bike and Roll Chicago, offers residents and visitors an entirely new, and green, way of exploring of the city. With B-cycle, Chicago joins Denver, Colorado; Montreal, Canada; and cities throughout Europe in offering bike-sharing to the public.
Chicago B-cycle is designed to make all your short excursions fun and healthy. Simply check out a B-cycle when you need one, and return it to any open station when you arrive at your destination. It’s quick, easy, affordable, and kind to the environment!
With both monthly and day pass options available, riders can easily check out a bike at one of six convenient ’B-stations’ located in and around downtown:
John Hancock Center, Michigan Ave. & Delaware Pl.
Daley Plaza, Dearborn St. & Washington St.
Buckingham Fountain, Columbus Dr. & Congress Pkwy.
Shedd Aquarium, Museum Campus
McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive
541 Fairbanks Court at Grand Ave.
Bikes may be dropped off at any location above, or at Bike and Roll Chicago’s rental stations at Navy Pier, North Avenue Beach and Millennium Park. Visit www.chicagobcycle.com to download a map of B-stations and a FREE iPhone app (coming soon…) showing bike locations and availability.
Dates:
Jul 30, 2010 – Oct 31, 2010
Hours:
Daily, 5 am – 10 pm
Location:
Daley Plaza (and other locations)
Dearborn St. & Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
Admission: Temporary Pass – purchase with credit card at any B-station and pay as you go.
$10 for the first hour, $5 for every additional half hour;
Maximum charge per day is $40;
Temporary Pass begins at time of checkout and expires once bike is returned
Monthly Memberships – First hour is FREE; $2.50 per additional 30 minutes; maximum charge per day is $40. Membership fees are as follows:
…half used travel size shampoos, conditioners and lotions that is! Most of us bring our own toiletries when traveling but on the occasion you forget or just decide you want to test out what the hotel has to offer, bring the left overs home! It’s unlikely that you’ll use the whole bottle in the time that you’re there so bring it home with you to avoid wasting the leftovers. This saves on waste and also means you’ll be able to recyle the bottle! These little items can be great for the gym, and the lotions fit nicely in hand bags and glove compartments of cars.
I just found this on inhabitat and think it’s the coolest thing. It might be a little odd to take 15 minutes out of your day to do this but if you don’t mind what the hotel restaurant has to offer it’s not a bad deal!
Scoring free stuff at nice hotels is a rare occurence (hello, $10 bag of mini-bar peanuts!), so when a classy establishment like the Crowne Plaza pays guests to embrace green energy, we get a little bit excited. The chain’s Copenhagen hotel offers guests free meals for pedaling stationary bicycles to power generators.
Crowne Plaza’s stationary bicycles are hooked up to generators, which provide electricity for the hotel. Guests staying there can receive a $36 meal voucher if they produce 10 watt-hours of electricity, which typically takes about 15 minutes of pedaling. iPhones attached to the bikes’ handlebars display power generation as it’s occurring. Crowne Plaza execs hope the offer will lessen the hotel’s carbon footprint and incentivize fitness for guests.
The fraction of the hotel’s energy generated by biking is probably pretty small, but the concept is quite novel. If all stationary bikes could be hooked up to generators like Crowne Plaza’s, think about how much carbon-free energy could be generated in places like gyms, hotels and college campuses.
I think this is just the coolest thing…I wish we had them in cities here in the US – what a fab idea! I personally don’t really have a place to store a bike so I don’t have one, but if I could rent one on occasion I sure would! Next time I’m traveling in Europe I’m going to be on the look out to take advantage of one of these!
These are SO COOL!!! I totally want one! I’m not crazy about plastic even when it is BPA Free, but for occasional use it’s certainly still better than a regular disposable plastic bottle. It’s crazy how small they roll up when empty! Check them out at ReusableBags.com
I flew Jet Blue last night and when checking in I was happy to see a section on their website explaining what they’re doing to be more green! I hope to see this from more airlines. I know it is also a marketing thing but whatever! Every little bit counts so I’m happy to know I’m flying an airline that is trying.
They have a link to carbon-offset your trip through carbonfund.org which is handy.
Here’s what else they say…
Aircraft
While we operate a new, fuel-efficient fleet, we continue to look for ways to safely reduce fuel burn and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Solutions include:
Using one engine to taxi to and from runways
Connecting the aircraft to ground power at the gate rather than using the engines to power air-conditioning, etc.
Deploying state-of-the-art technology to develop efficient routings and reduce flying times
Equipping our aircraft with winglets to increase fuel efficiency
Installing lighter aircraft seats and LED lighting
Onboard
JetBlue’s onboard experience is designed to give customers everything they need – such as friendly service and innovative amenities – and nothing they don’t. That means:
Eliminating disposable headsets (starting June 2008) and encouraging customers to bring their own to enjoy our free inflight entertainment.
Saving paper by not offering an inflight magazine
Airport
At our hometown airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), we strive to reduce and recycle waste generated both inside our terminal (T6) and on the tarmac, including:
Recycling spent jet fuel and oil and oil/fuel filters. This allows us to recycle approximately 1,500 gallons of fuel and oil and some 600 pounds of steel, each month. We hope to expand this program to all our maintenance bases in the near future.
Working with our concession providers to recycle or re-use cooking oils (not for human consumption)
Using de-icing chemical reduction techniques to minimize the environmental impact. (We are approved to use state-of-the-art infra-red technology in de-icing to reduce de-icing fluid usage.)
Reducing paper by eliminating paper tickets, ticket holders and large boarding documents and offering small, simple boarding passes.
Later this year, we’ll open Terminal 5, our brand new, environmentally friendly terminal at JFK.
These are pretty cool – I’m excited for them to arrive in dealer lots. Not sure how they could work for a city dweller like myself without a garage to charge it in though. I doubt people would be too happy if I ran an extension cord out my front door and across the sidewalk to the car which would have to be parked in the bus stop!
My absolute favorite shopping tote is from Resuable Bags. The Reisenthel – Modern Grocery Tote is fabulous because it has 6 exterior pockets to hold things such as wine bottles, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc – they’re great for holding anything breakable. It also has a removable zippered pouch attached to the inside. This is a must have!
