Who: EnergyHub – New York, NY

What: The Smart Thermostat

Where: EnergyHub – coming soon!

Why We Love ‘Em: Not sure if any of you have ridden in a Prius, but we got to take a tour of Oregon in a Prius through wine country to the coastal sand dunes and along the Columbia River.  Along the way, it was hard not to get caught up in the game of how high the miles per/gallon was particularly the amount of energy we were gaining on the downhill from Mount Hood. Felt like we were able to get better mileage because we were more aware of the amount of energy we were using at any point in time. So imagine if you could monitor your household energy consumption in the same way… Click to continue »

Who: Home Depot/Arnell Group

What: Home Hero Fire Extinguisher

Where: Home Depot, in stores only, $29.97 (call ahead to make sure it is in stock)

Why: Out of an unexpected partnership with the Home Depot and the ever dynamic Arnell Group, comes a revolutionary new (okay, new as of 2007) fire extinguisher, the HomeHero. No longer is the life saving device an eyesore to be hidden in the dark recesses of a closet, now it is truly display worthy! Click to continue »

Who: Stilic Force, FRANCE

What: Bagboy purse holder

Where: Up to You in Toronto, $20; La Boutique du Futur, 10 euros; also available at select Black Ink stores in the states

Why: I just gave this handy little guy to a friend for her birthday, so now I can finally post his picture up on the site! I’ve been out with her a few times when she’s propped him up on the bar, and I must say, men and women alike cannot keep their eyes off of him, everyone loves him! He gleefully hangs on to tables and bars keeping your purse free from the crud and grunge lingering below. A man of recycled steel who is helpful and cute and never complains about holding on to his gal’s purse! Who could resist? But hands off mine! Get your own.

Who: Bluelounge Design; Pasadena, CA

What: Cool Feet

Where: Bluelounge, $12.95

Why: True to the name, most laptop users place their laptops on their laps, unknowingly blocking the air vents located on the bottom of the computer. This results not only in an overheating of your lap, but more critically, an overheating of the computer.

This forces the less powerful side and back vents to work in overdrive and use more energy in order to cool the computer down. If you notice that your laptop frequently powers down or freezes while the laptop is perched in your lap, overheating is likely the cause. Most of us, myself included, try to instantly power our laptop back up without letting it cool-this could ultimately lead to damage to the hardware or worse, the motherboard. Click to continue »

Who: Vers Audio; Wayland, MA

What: Bamboo iPod Docking Station

Where: Vers Audio, $179.99-$199.99, free shipping & get $30 off if you recycle your old docking station

Why: Not all i-pod docking stations are created equal. Vers Audio offers a unique and sleek solution to the i-pod docking station. With sustainability in mind, they avoided plastics, glues and non-recyclable components to create a high performing audio system. Using all natural woods from sustainable managed forests, using screws instead of glues and using recyclable packaging along with an 80% more efficient amplifier, the result is an eco-friendly system that looks great! Will keep you posted on the sound quality-it would make sense that the tones resonating from woods would be far superior to those from plastics………

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Update: July 28, 2008 – Thanks for the votes of confidence–I am now the proud owner of a Vers!! And I have to agree the sound quality is great and the design is impeccable.  Note to buyer’s, word is that Vers most recent order from the manufacturer got lost in the mail so there is limited supply right now and the Vers site only has cherry availabe.  Also, have heard the complaint that if you use your i-phone with the Vers, the i-phone automatically switches to ‘airplane’ mode meaning that you will not be able to receive incoming calls.