Unplugged Living

Check Out These Solar Sunglasses

Sunglasses are known to help people be protected from the rays of the sun. After all, walking around when the sun is up can be pretty irritating. If you have got sunglasses though, you get to walk around looking all cool and not that be irritated by the light from the sun.

Now, there are sunglasses which are not only going to help you face the light of the sun. These new solar sunglasses are also going to absorb the rays of the sun and then help your gadgets get more juice in case they’re running low already. This is the Self-Energy Converting Sunglasses and it’s a creation of Hyun-Joong Kim and of Kwang-Seok Jeong.

I think these sunglasses are pretty nice. See, you get to wear them as you would wear an ordinary pair of sunglasses. Then, there is this wire that you can plug your gadget into to get juiced up. So it’s pretty nice and simple. But it does work well.

Source: cnet News

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Business College Gets Solar Panels

Hawaii is a place where the sun shines all year through. So this means that it is really a good thing to invest in solar panels if you are in this area.

With that, it can be said that the Shidler College of Business which is a part of the whole Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii is going to do a good move. See, in a piece of news I came across today, it has been reported that this business college of the University of Hawaii is going to install solar panels.

The whole solar power system of the college is going to produce around 4.5 kilowatts of power. It cost $50,000 and thanks to Jay Shidler who donated the amount to the college. After all, the college has been named after him. Shidler is currently an investor in real estate and is also an entrepreneur.

I hope to hear about the whole university getting all solar as well.

Source: Pacific Business News

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Recycling at Starbucks

I went to HongKong Disneyland with my family last Halloween 2008 and while in one of the malls, we took a break at  a local Starbucks and I noticed this recycling box.

The transparent recycling container is a very nice idea.  People noticed the empty plastic bottles inside so they feel that they should do the same.

Starbucks in other countries don’t even have any recycling boxes available.  Just ordinary trash bins.  I hope all Starbucks around the world would have one of these.

Before leaving Starbucks, I asked my son to throw our empty water plastic bottles in there.  It’s nice to teach your kids about recycling and let them be a part of the process.

Incidentally, last Christmas, in my son’s pre-school,  they had a sort of recycling fund raising campaign where kids were asked to bring recyclable items like plastic bottles, and old newspapers.  They were able to sell these to a junkshop and were able to raise some money for their Christmas party.

image source:  Noel Bautista (work at home dad)

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Solar Over The Grand Canyon

Have you ever gone to the Grand Canyon? Well, many people find their way to this tourist destination every year and that is because of the wonderful view that they get to experience there. Everything is just natural and that is truly amazing.

Now people who are going to visit the Grand Canyon would be even more amazed to find not only the wonderful view but also learn of the fact that the site’s Visitors’ Center is getting its power straight from the sun. Yes. That is right. The Grand Canyon Visitors’ Center is going solar.

By the end of spring, a solar power system is going to be set up and it is going to be able to produce 18 kWs of power. Though it will not be able to provide all the energy needs of the center, it is still going to help take off around 30% of the total expenses.

Source: Kold News

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And It Is A Solar Prius

Well, in the previous blog post, it was about a solar car being the weapon that Toyota has in the auto industry. The thing now is that there are plenty of rumors going about and they are all talking about this solar car that Toyota is cooking up for the industry. And in one recent report I read, the model is a Prius and it is going to get some upgrades so much so that it runs on solar energy.

According to some of the reports over the internet, the solar powered Toyota Prius is going to have solar panels which would be found on the car’s roof. These would then convert the sun’s rays into usable energy which would then be used by the car to run the air conditioning unit that it has. Aside from that, the power would also be used by the car to go for miles.

Now, I ask you this: Do you think this is true?

Source: CNet News

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Toyota’s Weapon: A Solar Car

In recent news in the auto industry, car manufacturers are actually losing a good amount of sales because of the current financial situation. And that is why these business people are trying to create a product that the public would devour.

For Japanese car maker, Toyota, their secret weapon is actually a vehicle that is going to run using solar power. Of course, this is just a rumor and it has yet to be confirmed as of present. However, what is being said in the industry right now is that this solar car from Toyota is what the public is going to want because it does not require them to spend up on gas. All that the car would need is the sun and it is going to start working.

Creating a vehicle like this is not easy. It is going to take years of research and development. So if you believe that this is true, then you better be ready to wait because it could take some time before you really get to see this one available in the market. If it is indeed true.

Source: AP
Image source: FreeFoto.com

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Green Resolutions For The New Year

It is the first day of the New Year and this is the time of the year when people would take out pens and paper and would start jotting down things that they would like to change or achieve in the year. Now you have probably done that since you were a kid and you may have been (or not been able to) successfully follow your list. But that may be because the list was all about you.

Now, what the Florida Department of Environmental Protection says is that they are hoping that people would start doing New Year’s Resolutions that were green. After all, we all are living in this world and we do need to adopt green lifestyles. Maybe if we all did have green resolutions, we just may be able to stick with it through the whole year.

You may already have your resolutions list with you but if you would like, you can check out the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s site to get a good idea on the green resolutions that they’ve got to offer.

Happy New Year everyone!

Source: wusf

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New Things For The New Year

Setting off firecrackers is seemingly the tradition in some countries. This is what people do when welcoming in the New Year because it is said to bring in good luck as well as ward off evil spirits.

Of course, the times are changing and there are things that you can do instead of firing away those firecrackers. See, firecrackers do harm the environment and that is not something that we want.

And that is why when I came across a list of things that we can do instead of those fireworks, I thought that it would be best to share them with you. Here. Read on.

1) Blow traditional horns or torotot.
2) Make and shake homemade maracas from used tin cans.
3) Jiggle the tambourine made from flattened bottle caps.
4) Clang improvised cymbals using pot lids or pans.
5) Knock empty coconut shells.
6) Play the guitar or any available musical instruments.
7) Play your favorite music.
8) Beep the bicycle or car horns.
9) Clap your hands and stomp your feet.
10) Sing, dance, and shout “Happy New Year!”

Source: PhilStar.com
Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Gonna Be A Green New Year

As they say, what you do during the start of the year is something that you will be doing for the rest of the year. Of course, that is just a belief and that people could do new things if they wanted to.

Now what is interesting though is that in Orlando, Florida, some churches are going to start the year with a bang by going green. Yes. This is right. as I have gone through this piece of news early today, it said that some of the churches in the area are going to ask people who attend their churches to join in an activity. This is the Green Cleaning Day and it happens on the 11th of January.

What happens during this event is that people will be able to give any of the items that they do not need at home. If there are items that can still be used, these would be given to those who need them.

Source: Church Solutions

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Cooking A Solar Pancake

When I came across this piece of news today, I was thinking, “Wow!” I mean, this piece of news just shows just how much people from all walks of life are discovering the advantages and benefits that come with using solar power.

But anyway, back to the news. It was actually about a synagogue in Orange County. What they did was they cooked this huge pancake and they made use of an oven that got power straight from the sun. This synagogue is the Temple of Isaiah which you can find in Newport Beach.

The cooking of the giant pancake happened during the first night of the celebration of Hanukkah. They made this potato pancake which measured at an estimated 3 feet. On this, the rabbi of the synagogue, Marc Rubenstein, said in his sermon, “We are our brother’s keeper, and we also have to take care of the Earth.”

Nice.

Source: MercuryNews.com

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