Check out that tiled OLED light wall. When it’s not in use, it’s a mirror. It’s cutting-edge green technology but I’m just in love with it because it’s a super-cool, fun, smart thing that would be neat to have in your home. Of course, it costs close to $7000 so I don’t think I’ll be getting it. Ah well.

Read more about it at Inhabitat.

Way back in the mid 1980’s, the city of Lima was about to do something progressive with green transportation. They were going to build an electric train. Unfortunately, the project never really took of. For all of these years, the ruins of the project have just been sitting there. They’ve basically just been an eyesore for the area, a reminder of how this great project failed.

The project may not have worked out but the eyesore is no longer there. That’s because it’s been replaced with a free park for children. And it’s not just any park. It’s a park that used recycled materials to create the rides and playground structures for its young visitors. In fact, it is made from the old ruins of the electric train that was here for so long.

The park is called the Ghost Train Park. It includes swings, climbing structures and even canopy lines. It is one of the many great green projects launched by the group Basurama, an organization that discusses the waste and re-use of trash in many different formats. What’s really cool about this organization is that they don’t limit themselves to just one approach to diminishing waste but instead look at many different options through annual festivals and competitions.

Innovative soccer balls seem to be the hottest thing right now in the world of green news. They’re popping up everywhere and making headlines. Of course, these aren’t just any old soccer balls. These are soccer balls that serve a dual purpose.

For example, there’s the Swirl which isn’t just a soccer balls but also a way to do your laundry. tI’s being used in developing nations as a great green way to get your clothes washed while also having some fun. You fill it up with dirty clothes, soap and water and then close it up and play your game. It’s hard to say if this is as effective as a true washing machine (or as solid as a real soccer ball) but it’s a great green idea isn’t it?

And then there’s the Soccket ball which stores the kinetic energy that is created while playing soccer and then allows people to use that energy for power. It’s also being used in developing nations where steady electricity for charging mobile phones and other small items is hard to come by. Just send the kids out with the ball and have them bring it back fully charged!

Who would have thought soccer balls were a key to being green?!

One of the blogs I like is Retro to Go, a blog that covers all things retro that are being released right now. They’ve got an interesting little post up today about a retro-style car that’s being recreated for the modern era. It’s the old-fashioned Bubble Car and it’s been made in a new eco-friendly design for modern drivers to adore.

The cute little car, marketed under the clunky name Vehiconmics Smite, has a great strange design. The design is based on the classic Mid-twentieth century vehicle called Messerschmitt KR200. It’s kind of like a cross between a modern VW bug and an old school 1950’s Chevy with some futuristic touches added here and there.

In terms of being a green car, there are a few different things going on. For one thing, it’s a small light car so it doesn’t use up a lot of resources in terms of construction. As far as the gas issue, there are a couple different versions of the vehicle being made - one that uses very minimal amounts of gas and one that uses electric energy.

In a bit of fun marketing, the Smite website describes the car as:

Smite is…
eco-friendly, efficient, light, strong, bright, smooth, economical, non-offensive, easy, free, user friendly, street smart, rational and very caring

Right now this car is just a concept car being talked about in Sweden. Will it ever come to the market either in Europe or over in the US?

One of the trends that I’ve been following lately is the development of solar power technology for cell phones. I recently wrote an article about this for DialAPhone which reviews all of the different solar cell phone options that I’m aware of. It covers the following ten options:

1. Solar cell phones. These are handsets themselves that are solar-powered.
2. Solar cell phone sleeves. These chargers go around the cell phone.
3. Solar backpacks. These gather energy to power many small devices including cell phones.
4. Solar USB panels. This is one of the newer options out there.
5. Solar clothing. Swimsuits are particularly popular although I don’t know how practical this is.
6. Solar straps. These wrap around your wrist and gather the sun’s energy for your phone.
7. Solar cell phone accessories. Solar-powered phone speakers are an example.
8. Solar panels for buildings. This offers power for phones indoors.
9. Solar cell towers. This is a big-scale project for solar cell phone power.

If this topic interests you then I hope you’ll read the full article that I did on each of these options by followign the DialAPhone link above. If you know of any other solar cell phone options that I’ve missed then please let me know in the comments here!

One of the topics that interests me as a SmartChick is the topic of being green. I’ve researched and written about numerous green topics including green interior design, green technology issues and green money-saving habits. However, the topics that interest me most in the world of being green are those topics that don’t get touched on much by the mainstream writing world.

For example, I’ve written a lot about green creativity, including green writing. And recently, I started to take an interest in what it means to be green in industries that aren’t focused on being green. What I’ve learned is that it’s fairly easy to be green in industries that have already gotten on the green bandwagon. Farmers have a lot of options for going green as do real estate professionals and home builders. However, it’s not nearly as easy to go about being green in industries that haven’t adopted an emphasis on this topic yet.

For example, I recently did some research into the business of construction and demolition. There is definitely attention to being green in the area of construction. However, the emphasis on being green is a lot less visible when it comes to demolition. The green efforts of this industry seemed to be limited to proper recycling of waste from demolition jobs.

So what do you do if you’re a green business that wants to contribute to the world around you in a healthy way but the industry that you’re in doesn’t make that easy? The answer to this can be explored at least in part by taking a look at Maverick Hammers. This is a company that manufactures hydraulic hammers. That’s not an industry that’s particularly green but the business tries to do its part anyway.

The key ways that the business does this are by using durable materials to decrease continued waste, reducing the amount of shipping they do to limit transportation waste and staying informed about green issues and options. These are things that any business could work on doing even if the industry that the business is a part of isn’t quite at the top of the green supporters list.

Have you discovered industries that are tougher to be green in? What are the best ways to make it easier for those businesses within these industries to be green?

T-mobile is working the green angle with a set of products and services called Mobilize Initiative. This is a way for the company to put all of its green efforts under one umbrella. This might make it easier for mobile customers to go green.

3 of the features of the Mobilize Initiative program so far are:

• Green phones. T-mobile is trying to make its mark with offering eco-friendly handsets. This is probably going to be increasingly popular as time goes on.
• Green perks. There’s a new program called Green Perks which allows T-mobile customers to shop from their phones using coupons for green products.
• Green accounts. You can choose to go green with paperless billing and other eco-friendly features by selecting a green account from the company.

Green is popular right now so this could be something that helps set T-mobile apart from other cell phone carriers. What do you think - would you switch to T-mobile if it meant you were being greener?

I recently had the opportunity to do some research into birds. Specifically, I was learning about how to attract birds to your garden. What I learned was that there are a lot of little things that you can do to make your garden more appealing to the birds in your area but that there are only three major things that birds want.

The three things all birds want (or need) are:

1. Food
2. Water
3. Shelter

If you provide these three things then birds are going to want to come spend time in your garden. They’ll be fed, clean and safe from harm. That’s basically what all creatures want and birds are no exception.

What I find interesting is that the garden serves the same purpose for the bird as it does for the person. The person who has planted a garden with edible plants is using it as a food source. And even the person who has planted flowers is probably using the garden to sustain himself or herself in a more emotional way. We go to our gardens to find safety and peace. If we make it safe and peaceful for the birds, too, then they’ll come.

I recently took a trip back to Tucson. I drove there from San Francisco. That’s a long drive (fourteen or so hours depending on the route that you take) but I had a sibling with me for at least part of the drive each way so it wasn’t so bad.

To be honest, I was kind of excited about driving. I gave up my car when I moved to San Francisco. Since I don’t drive daily anymore, driving has now become fun. The rental car was brand new, it was equipped with satellite radio and I got really lucky with low traffic both ways.

What I didn’t like was the driving that I had to actually do while I was back home. It feels like it takes forever to get anywhere in Tucson. The truth is that it takes me just as long to get places here but that’s because I’m walking here. I’m active and surrounded by interesting sights so it doesn’t feel as time-consuming as just sitting in traffic does.

I still drive. I’m not opposed to cars. However, I’m really glad that I don’t own one anymore!

Check out my top ten reasons to give up your car.

One of the easiest ways to start being green is to re-use items instead of trashing them or even recycling them. This is great not only because it reduces waste but it also encourages you to start thinking more creatively about the stuff that you already have in your home. If you’re looking to revamp your rooms then turning your eyes towards the bohemian chic style of decorating could be a great way to start re-using some of the old stuff that you’ve got.

The basic idea behind bohemian chic decorating is that you have the ability to combine the eclectic old stuff that you already have with some modern touches to create a space that is lovely and fascinating. If you have several pieces of old furniture then you are ready to get started. If you also happen to have plush fabrics and curtains to add to the mix then you’re well on your way to redecorating without spending a dime.

Most of us just aren’t sure how to incorporate our old pieces of furniture into a room without it looking like junk. The trick seems to be to layer up with textures - fabric throws, scarves draped about, colorful pillows, wallpaper. Try to stick to a similar color scheme with these things and you can bring the look of the room together even though it’s filled with disparate old pieces.