Imagine going blind, and having your sight restored using your own tooth – or putting on a helmet that allows other people to read your thoughts. It may sound like the most unlikely of science fiction, but these things are actually possible thanks to the many astounding scientific discoveries made in the past year or so. From medical miracles to properties of quantum mechanics that theoretically put teleportation within reach, these breakthroughs have the potential to transform our world as we know it.

Man Sees Through Eye(Tooth)

Blind for a decade, Englishman Martin Jones is finally able to see again – through a piece of tooth implanted in his eye. Appropriately, the tooth used was a canine, otherwise known as an ‘eyetooth’. Doctors took a piece of Jones’ own living tooth, placed a man-made lens into its core and implanted it under his eyelid where tissue grew over it. A flap of skin excised from inside the patient’s mouth was placed over the tooth in Jones’ eye where it acquired its own blood supply. A hole cut in the new cornea allows light to pass through. The procedure has restored sight to over 600 people worldwide.

Spray-On Solar Panels

Solar panels are typically inflexible and brittle, limiting the versatility of their application. But what if you could just spray solar cells onto any surface and collect energy from the sun? The technology is currently being produced at the University of Texas, where researchers are using nanoparticle “inks” full of tiny photovoltaics made from copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). These particles are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Currently, the photovoltaic ink only converts 1% of the sunlight that reaches it into electricity, but the researchers expect to increase the production and have the technology on the market within three to five years.

Taking Steps Toward Teleportation

From The Fly to Star Trek, teleportation has been a common theme in science fiction for decades – but scientists have actually come closer to making it a reality. A research team at Australian National University have developed a new way to generate quantum entanglement in beams of light using only two parts, linking them together so that when something affects one, it affects the other – regardless of the physical distance between them. Team leader Jiri Janousek says that their method could be used for teleportation as well, but it’ll probably be another 50 years before the technology could be used outside laboratories.

Lost World of Wonders in Volcanic Crater

Researchers discovered an entire lost world of never-before-seen species when they ventured into the incredibly remote, nearly inaccessible crater of the Mount Bosavi volcano in Papua New Guinea earlier this year.  In fact, the crater is so remote, it has never before been touched by human influence. The researchers found it remarkably easy to approach the wildlife found within, which showed no fear of the team. A fanged frog, a possum that releases a skunk-like odor when frightened, and a giant wooly rat were among the species discovered.

Solar Panel Shingles

For homeowners that can afford them, the biggest reason not to install rooftop solar panels is often aesthetics: they’re just plain ugly.  But, unobtrusive solar panels that blend in nearly effortlessly with the architecture of a home are now within reach. Dow Solar recently announced a new generation of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof shingles, and SRS Energy has created powerful solar panels that look just like standard clay roof tiles.

Telepathy Helmet

It’s a nightmare for any conspiracy theorist: a telepathy helmet that can be placed on your head so that other people can read your thoughts. But, this technology isn’t just the stuff of Hollywood films – it’s actually being developed for the U.S. military by a team of scientists from three American universities. The goal of the project isn’t to spy on citizens, however. It will be used to read and transmit soldier’s thoughts to each other so that the need for vocal communication is eliminated. Have no fear, say the scientists involved in the project: the person wearing the helmet must put forth a deliberate effort to communicate their thoughts.

T-Rex’s Tiny Ancestor

The Tyrannosaurus Rex is well known as the king of all dinosaurs, a towering menace of a predator that terrorized everything in its path. But this gigantic dino actually evolved from a pint-size predecessor that measured just 8 feet long. A recent report in the journal Science says that Raptorex kriegsteini, which existed 60 million years before the T-Rex, had nearly identical physical features aside from its much smaller size.

Insanely Tiny Laser Beam

Until recently, it was simply impossible to make lasers any smaller than they already are. A beam of light has to bounce around in a chamber in order to focus, and the chamber has to be of a certain size to allow the light to travel. But now, researchers have discovered that lasers could be smaller if they depended on a rapidly vibrating electron situated on top of a minuscule piece of metal instead of a wave of bouncing light. Using this idea, a team at Norfolk State University built the world’s tiniest laser – 1000 times smaller than the width of a hair – on a bead of gold just 44 nanometers across.

Treasure Trove of Bizarre Blind Species Found

Of all the amazing variety of flora and fauna that exist on this planet, we’ve only discovered 2%. Scientists estimate that there’s another 98 million species of plants and animals that we have yet to identify. Scientists who discovered 850 new bizarre and amazing creatures in underground caves and bodies of water barely made a dent in that figure, but what they found is awe-inspiring indeed. Many of the species are blind and lack pigment, since sight and color are unnecessary in the environments in which they live.

Powerful X-Rays Made from Sticky Tape

Sticky tape is good for more than just wrapping gifts: it can actually produce X-rays. The tape emits a faint luminescence when peeled away from its holder – a phenomenon called triboluminescence. A group of researchers at UCLA investigated a claim made by Soviet researchers in the 1950s that unrolling sticky tape also results in the release of X-rays, and found it to be valid, producing pictures of their own finger bones.

GoGoGajitz! Naturally Strange Science & Tech

Sensational scientific discoveries, great new gadgets and terrific (as well as terrifying) technologies past, present and future await at the all-new Gajitz

5 Spectacular Paradigm-Shifting New Scientific Discoveries

New scientific discoveries, like recent findings on the evolution of dinosaurs, birds, bats and man, have the unique ability to alter and rewrite history.

Radical Rodents: Facts & Stats on Rats

Rats are amazing creatures with amazing skills, abilities, intelligence, memory and traits. Learn rat stories, trivia, and unusual facts about these rodents.

(Image via: Matt McGee)

Our relationship to ultraviolet light is an environmental pickle. On the one hand, Westerners chase that perfect Californian tan (while other parts of the world pursue pastier complexions) and flirt with unsightly, permanent sun-damage – and on the other, they plaster themselves with non-biodegradable chemicals that coat the surface of the sea, blocking sunlight and causing mass extinctions. Can’t we change the way we use UV for the better? You bet – as the following two examples show.

(Images via: Josh Spear and SteriPen)

UV plays havoc with our skin because it disrupts living tissue, right down to the DNA level – making it a natural, zero-chemical method of killing viruses and bacteria in places that need to be sterile, such as hospital wards. The World Health Organisation already recommends solar water disinfection as the most effective method of scrubbing toxic organisms out of water supplies – and the makers of SteriPen have taken it further, with a battery-powered UV lightstick you poke into your waterbottle to rid it of nasty gremlins. It’s cheap and portable, and unlike using water purification tablets, SteriPen renders your bottle of mountain springwater bacteria-free without compromising the taste.

(Image via: Yanko Design)

So, UV packs a lethal punch. So how do we feel about putting a low-powered UV lamp in our mouths?

(Images via: Yanko Design)

The Shake Toothbrush, as featured at Yanko Design, powers itself up while you’re brushing your teeth by converting that kinetic energy into an electrical charge. When you’ve finished, you press a button and the energy expends itself through LEDs houses behind the bristles, drying the brush head, dousing it in UV and killing off any lurking bacteria. Perfectly hygienic! Except – it looks like you can turn that button on while you are holding it, including when the brush is in your mouth, and here is why that has us worried. Great idea…but let’s have the lightshow docking-station only, please?

Amazing Green Technologies from Young Innovators

Bleeding-edge green technologies created by high school and college students for developing countries and developed countries alike.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

Four types of solar tree, from concept to reality, turning solar paneling into works of Art.

GoGoGajitz! Naturally Strange Science & Tech

Sensational scientific discoveries, great new gadgets and terrific (as well as terrifying) technologies past, present and future await at the all-new Gajitz

OLEDs are like a new type of magical material, self-illuminating and eco-friendly. They are organic and work in a way similar to the bioluminescence that makes a firefly and certain deep sea fish glow. OLEDs can be extremely thin, flexible, varying in shapes, colors and sizes, some are even transparent while providing a lovely ambient glow. The function and creative possibilities of OLEDs in clothing, furniture, jewelry, and art are only as limited as the creator’s imagination. Here are 33 excellent OLED eco-friendly and energy efficient designs, from the super-sly spy to the interactive.

The Future of OLED Lighting

(image credits:GE,GRC blog,printed electronics,random ruckus)

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are a new type of LED where a thin film of organic compounds is used to produce electroluminescence. This means that OLEDs can produce paper-thin lights and displays — even fold-able ones. Can you imagine rolling down your blinds to brighten your room? How about wallpaper with transparent OLED lighting? These are in the early stages of development as well as illuminated outwear such as for firefighters, portable and flexible lamps, and reflectors for bicyclist. These super thin, stretchable and bendable OLEDs are in development to become a part of everyday settings.

Advancing Leaps and Bounds

(image credits:youtube,GRC blog,Gizmag)

In 2008, roll-to-roll processed OLEDs became a reality. Shortly after that, the first ever OLED Christmas tree was displayed by GE. Recently however, there has been yet another leap forward in design, new efficient OLEDs cavities. These new OLEDs are five times as efficient as standard OLEDs and use five times as much light per watt consumed. They are ready to make white light by mixing green, red and blue OLEDs. This new tech could arrive as soon as 2010.

Super Thin TVs

(image credits:OLED Display)

OLED technology delivers a more energy efficient means of utilizing light. It generates by the organic material in the OLED itself instead of a backlight that is always “on”, meaning when they are “off”, they consume no power whatsoever.  Over a year ago, Sony sold 11-inch OLED TVs. It was the first time in the world for such a feat where the super skinny TVs had OLEDs that measured 3mm at the thinnest part! The remote control from the XEL-1 was only 10mm thick. More companies continue to follow suit.

OLED in the Now

(image credits:current,TechFresh,OLED-Info)

Some cool products have recently been released that incorporate OLEDs. The Murakami chair is attached to an OLED light source that is powered by rocking back and forth. But what if you rock during the daytime when it’s light? The OLED lamp senses light or dark and will store the energy you create by rocking in the day, so you will have light at night. Another cool product is from Ennova Direct Corporation who created the world’s first USB flash drive which comes equipped with an OLED display. The retractable USB device has an integrated biometric fingerprint scanner on the interactive OLED display that changes color upon of the success or failure of each finger swipe. Lastly, Visionox has come up with wall art that has decorative OLED-lighting built into the designs.

OLED Lighting Goes Mainstream in 2011

(image credits:OLED-Display)

OLED technology has mainly been used in display applications like TVs, handset products and lighting applications. But OLEDs have a bright future, since the thickness of OLED panels are reaching less than 1mm thick and the flexibility has become more and more limitless. Now their eye-catching illumination and design elements may start to show up in more than products with tight spaces for lighting. The above photos were snapped at in Frankfurt, Germany. These are new lighting and lamp designs.

Tranparent OLEDs

(image credits:OLED-Display)

Transparent OLEDs are coming. Scientists from Philips Research are currently advancing towards the development of transparent OLEDs like the ones pictured above. Philips shared these images of see-through OLEDs as new lighting applications.

OLED Prototypes

(image credits:technabob,OLED-Display)

Philips showed off their latest efforts in OLED lighting at the “100% Design Fair” in London. The prototype hanging lights have an appealing design and OLED illumination. They are made with the consumer in mind, but also promise lower power consumption. Also in the motion-sensitive product range, they have “pebble” decorative lamps. The left bottom two images are more than prototypes and can be purchased in varying shapes and colors from their Lumiblade shop.

lumiblade glow

(image credits:slash gear)

This Reflections mirror automatically dims and brightens squares of OLED light around your refection. Philips has many interesting lighting concepts in their Lumiblade shop where you can purchase an “experience kit”, but this mirror is not yet available.

Read, Wear, Play

(image credits:electric pig,green tech media,design bloom)

E-readers are dropping in prices and incorporate OLEDs in the reading screen. Marvel promises super-fast E-readers and a substantially lower cost to the consumer, so the products in the CES shows will no doubt continue to get cooler and more energy efficient. In the middle, that is OLEDs used as jewelry, a bracelet, a watchband, and a light all-in-one. Leave it to Japan to keep coming up with new OLED uses. Philips unveiled their OLED interactive lighting experience during a Milan Design show. This cool Interactive Light reacts to simple gestures as people move in front of it.

OLED Data Glasses

(image credits:gizmag)

Ah, using OLEDs like you are a super-secret spy is not science fiction anymore. These interactive data eyeglasses are being developed by students at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. They project an image onto the retina from an OLED micro-display, making the image appear as if it’s a meter in front of the wearer. Unlike other glasses that throw up a static image, these will allow eye-tracking technology so the movement of the eyeball will scroll through information, menus, or move elements about. The glasses are designed to provide information to people wearing them who don’t have their hands free to operate a keyboard or mouse.

Coming in the near future?

(image credits:OLED Design Contest)

In a recent OLED design contest, these a but a few of the winning ideas. On the left is an interactive game for kids that provides multi-sensorial feedbacks stimulating vision, hearing and touch. The middle image is a table lighting application featuring an interesting tri-dimensional representation of the light source. That is more than art pictured on the right. It is a non-conventional solution for time measurement with a clear functional link to traditional hourglass. OLEDs will only continue to become more energy efficient, cheaper, and the usage of OLEDs is only as limited as the creator’s imagination.

Public Rental Bikes Generate Free Eco-Friendly Alternative Energy

Power from bicycles is not an entirely new energy idea but this highly creative public use could take the technology to the next level as people rent them.

Driving Force: Harvesting Kinetic Energy From Passing Cars

A UK supermarket chain is using cars to power their checkouts. Sainsbury's has installed kinetic energy plates to harness the power of passing cars.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

Four types of solar tree, from concept to reality, turning solar paneling into works of Art.

(Images via: JFE Engineering)

Cycling is a wonderfully practical, dazzlingly green answer to our urban transport problems (not to mention a fun, free way to keep us trim) – but a downside is parking. Maybe a parked bike doesn’t take up a lot of room, but in most cities you find every fence and every railing festooned with them. But what if bikes were parked under the street?

(Images via: Guardian Environment)

The invention of JFE Engineering in Tokyo, this automated bike locker system is called the Cycle Tree. For around $20 a month, cycle-commuters can have their vehicles electronically tagged. When they are ready to drop their bikes off, they swipe their details through the machine and place the bike in front of the lift doors, and in about 30 seconds, the the bike is drawn inside…

(Images via: Guardian Environment)

…and taken below street level and fitted into a series of circular racks (like the magazines of an old-style slide projector). When the customer returns and swipes in, the bike is found, lifted and fed back out the doors. Zero chance of vandalism, no unsightly scatters of bicycles at street level…and cycle sheds just became seriously cool. This system is only operating in Japan at the moment – but this undoubtedly a world-class idea.

Watch it at work here.

World's Dumbest Green Tech and Gadgets

Greenwashed eco gadgets are at once baffling and bizarre. With the rise of eco-friendly living and green awareness you can be sure companies are trying to cash in.

5 Highest (Accessible) Places on Earth

Extreme altitude, highest places in the world, highest cities and villages on the planet, and most remote high altitude geographic locations on earth.

Elemental Epics: 15 Earth and Land Formations

See incredible images and descriptions of earth as art, from mountains to caves to craters to rock formations and holes, impressions and other assorted wonders of nature.

(Image via: Planetary Gear)

Now that Winter is drawing in, we start to appreciate the things taken for granted in the balmier months – such as well-sheltered bus stops. The good news is that the latest designs are more luxurious and more eco-friendly than the soulless gappy cubicles we known so well, as these three designs show.

(Image via: Planetary Gear)

Firstly, the solar-powered Eye-Stop currently being testing in Italy. It is comprised of a dazzling array of interactive screens that let you plan your route, check your e-mail and monitor local air quality. If you want to get updates on the move, you can synchronize your cell-phone with it to receive timetables and updates. As well as the walled & ceilinged version, the Eye-Stop will also come in pole form – which will glow brighter and brighter as the next bus approaches.

(Images via: Keetsa)

For areas with less than ambient environmental conditions, the new bus shelter by Trueform offers air-con (maintained at 20 degrees Celsius whatever the weather), electronic displays and even a washroom. It can be fitted without the need for costly earthworking – and all that techno-wizardry comes courtesy of solar power.

(Images via: Christopher Fennell via EcoFriend)

But if municipalities want to go for a lower-tech green option – what could be more appropriate than recyling buses and turning them into bus stops? Sculptor Christopher Fennell has taken three decommissioned vehicles and turned them into the above shelter in Athens, Georgia, with deliciously retro results. Buses become bus stops – so we have to wonder, is there anything that bus stops can become? Upcyclers, we await your suggestions (in an orderly queue, of course).

Green Energy-Saving Tips, Tricks and Hacks

Reduce the Environmental Impact of Your Home with Green, Eco-Friendly, Energy-Saving ideas for carpet, wall, heating, appliances, energy leaks and landscaping.

Simple Green Habits to Live Eco-Friendly

Easy green living tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle at the office and work, at home, with others, volunteering, shopping, and with friends.

20 Bad Green Ideas & Failed Eco-Innovations

Being 'green' doesn't make an idea good. Here are some humorous and strange examples of where green innovation and environmental technology goes wrong.

(Image via: Inhabitat)

As world-savingly admirable as wind turbines are…well, they kinda stick out. Putting aside the question of whether the colossal wind-turbines we are growing accustomed to seeing are bad for our health or for local wildlife – they’re definitely bad for the view. In fact they’re as incongruous as lamposts in a field of corn. But maybe we don’t need acres of whirring behemoths – we should just design our homes a little differently. Here are three examples of how we might achieve this.

(Image via: Inhabitat)

Released last year, the Broadstar Aerocam (pictured above and top) is a multi-layered horizontal turbine that follows the wind around at a price translating to less than $1 per watt. Its blades continually adjust to find the optimum pitch to bite into the wind, collecting energy the same way the surface of an aircraft wing collects lift. The Aerocam units can be positioned at points between or atop buildings where the wind is strongest – but unobtrusively, never lifting above the skyline.

(Images via: Cleantechnica)

Taking the idea a step further is the Ridgeblade, a turbine that is part of your roof. The genius of this design is the unit’s length – potentially as long as a traditional sky-high turbine – and the Ridgeblade has already won its designers (the UK’s The Power Collective) a prestigious $750,000 award.

(Image via: Ecofriend)

But why stop at houses? Think of all the bridges, road-signs, walkways, billboards and lamposts out there. Think about the artificially-induced wind of road-traffic – as utilized by this design by Arizona State University – or from the passage of trains or aircraft. If we could work horizontal turbines into our existing structures in such a way that they’re out of sight and out of mind, then could we meet our energy needs while keeping our treasured natural views…and bequeath the sky to the next generation?

Crazy Animal Diversions: 5 Natural Masters of Spin

From the gecko self-amputating its tail to swimming worms dropping pretty bombs on larger predators, deception is a major aspect of surviving in the animal kingdom.

12 Films With Dystopian Depictions of Earth's Future

These 12 visionary films create dismal futures caused by present-day problems like global warming, wildlife extinctions and resource depletion.

Creative Wind Power Generators & Designs

From low-cost home wind power generators to high-energy wind turbines here are 16 particularly creative, unique and innovative wind power generators and designs.

(Images via:  YLighting)

Are we making the most of the creative possibilies of LEDs? From the fan-cooled SoL R38 to the coolant-filled 360 Degree Light, the shape of the next generation of home LED lighting is looking decidedly familiar. Maybe that is to be expected, considering the green, practical need to fit all those screw and bayonet fittings in existing lamp designs – but are we missing a chance to rethink our lighting needs and come up with something neater, energy-thriftier and much more fun? Take the Abyss table lamp – like a corkscrewing paper sculpture (or if you want to be less kind, a length of glowing intestine), it can be bent into exactly the shape you require.

(Images via:  Technabob)

Or the Fragile Future 2 wall-lamp, an ivy-like sprawl of square-edged modular “circuitry” (you can assemble it to fit your wall-space), set with lamps that shine like dandelion heads? This dazzling effect is achieved in the most obvious way possible – by surrounding LEDs with dandelion seeds!

(Images via:  3rings)

Or how about hiding your lighting away in the walls? The appropriately-named Torn Lighting pretends that your wallpaper is hiding a brightly glowing wall, by hiding an LED behind a tailored, faked rip in the fabric. (This would also work nicely with furniture). Those who had nightmares after watching Poltergeist may wish to sit this one out.

(Images via:  Pieke Bergmans)

But for sheer irreverent cheek, it is hard to beat the work of Pieke Bergmans. Her Light Blubs (that’s not a typo) poke fun at conventional lighting by being victims of the “Design Virus”, an affliction that makes them sag and drip like candlewax.

(Images via:  Pieke Bergmans)

Crafted individually to suit their surroundings, these Blubs are made from handcrafted crystal inset with LEDs, and therefore at the other end of the scale from mass-produced domestic lighting – but they crack a much-needed grin at our obsession with ‘bulb-shaped’ bulbs. Maybe it’s time we joined in the fun.

Creative Ways to Give Old Beer Cans New Life

Because used beer cans are so abundant, especially on Mondays, many people have found creative ways to give them new life after the last drop of beer is gone.

Squeaky-Green: Two Waste-free Ways To Wash Up

Trying to limit the environmental impact of your kitchen? Here are two designs from the forefront of the kitchen sink eco-revolution.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

Four types of solar tree, from concept to reality, turning solar paneling into works of Art.

Regular readers of both WebEcoist and WebUrbanist are going to get a double-dose introduction today to the newly-launched Gajitz dot com, a fresh site from the founder of Webist Media. Ecoist fans are familiar with the timeless lists on far-reaching topics that are at the heart of this site. Gajitz, like Dornob (its sibling site focused on design), takes a bit of a different approach, covering more of the latest and greatest discoveries and inventions as well as creative transportation and world-changing vintage and retro tech.

In short: Gajitz brings you most sensational, educational and inspirational content featuring the past, present and future of gadgets, science and technology – from history-shaping photo-edits of centuries gone by to a just-discovered cure for color blindness to self-driving concept cars, space elevators and teleportation devices of the not-too-distant future.

The new site will feature two familiar faces/names: Kurt (often known simply as Urbanist or Ecoist on each of the two Webist sites) and Delana (a long-term veteran author and editor on both sites as well). Like its sibling site Dornob | Design Ideas Daily, Gajitz will be updated multiple times a day with relevant targeted articles on specific subjects – you will be able to sign up for the main site feed as well as following particular topics via main categories and category feeds: Gadgets, Science, Technology, Transportation, Vintage & Retro.

Any time we have news related to new projects within or outside of Webist Media, it is always essential to note how indebted these sites are to the core authors including Angel, Chris, Delana, Mike, Stephanie and Steve, who make this weird and wacky website work Click here to check out Gajitz, and be sure to follow up on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, subscribe to the new RSS feed and spread the word around the interwebs however else you wish. Once again, thanks for reading, sharing your thoughts and lending your support all along the way – you are what keeps us going!

Surreal Science: 10 Sensational New Discoveries

Telepathy helmets, spray-on solar cells and seeing through a tooth: they may seem unlikely or even impossible, but these are real recent scientific discoveries.

Creatively Weird Green Gadgets & Technology

The green technology industry is booming, and some eco inventions - like a biodegradable coffin coffee table - are just plain weird.

Liquid Technology: 12 Wonderful Water-Powered Designs

In the race to implement clean, green renewable energy, hydro-power is becoming all the rage. Check out these 15 amazing water-powered designs.

Trying to limit the environmental impact of your kitchen? No matter how many food scraps you compost or eco-friendly detergents you use, there are your traditional old appliances, encouraging you to do things the bad old way. They need to be rethought, incorporating all that we now know about sustainably closed loops and thrifty environmentalism…and here are two designs from the forefront of that kitchen eco-revolution.

(Image via: Dezeen)

The Flow2 Kitchen doesn’t rely on fancy electronics – but it is a technological marvel. Aside from a little plumbing and wiring this unit is a free-standing sideboard complete with sink, cooker and refrigerator. The key to its success is “low-tech” physics, cycling round in an energy-conserving, resource-hoarding loop. Newly washed pots drip their excess water onto edible plants. The fridge uses evaporating water to suck heat away from it – yep, no electrical supply needed (your utility budget will sniffle with joy). Food scraps go into the built-in vermicomposter, where your very own population of worms will nibble it down into compost ideal for the garden or for those plants under your drip-tray. And if you have kids…what better demonstration of the entire point of recycling?

(Image via: Kontrastblog)

But perhaps you like hi-tech – and perhaps you have more than a little money to throw around, in which case can we interest you in the rather science-fictional delights of the Brand Aion? The work of French designer Antoine LeBrun, the Aion works in a similar way to part of the Flow2 by conserving water, diverting any excess into the plants housed in the lid.

(Image via: Kontrastblog)

However, shut the lid and things get really clever. The whole device turns into a low-energy dishwasher – using a vegetable soap created by the plants growing above it. You keep track of how far along the cleaning cycle it is via the digital readout glowing on the front. Meanwhile, all that greenery is cleaning upwards as well, by scrubbing the air in your kitchen and leaving it as pristine as your crockery. When it becomes available (yes, it’s still in the early stages of prototyping), expect this device to get everyone in a lather.

10 Simple Ways To Go Green

Being 'green' isn't about being a consumer, and trying to be more environmentally aware doesn't have to cost a cent.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

Four types of solar tree, from concept to reality, turning solar paneling into works of Art.

Green Utopian Eco-Village Saved

Learn about secret eco villages, sustainable cities, floating islands and futuristic eco housing developments and concepts you may or may not want to live in.

(Image via: Zedomax)

In our search for the best way to array our new-fangled solar paneling, we’re going back to the oldest design of all. A few years ago the solar tree was little more than a stylish concept drawing, as with the above gadget-charging proposal…

(Images via: Metaefficient)

…but now you can find solar trees lining streets. Artificial trees are making headlines for other reasons, but the variety featured above are designed to light our sidewalks, not scrub the air. With luck these are the shape of Northern European streetlights to come – by day trapping the energy from sunlight, and by night expending it downwards using directed LED lighting. For anyone having problems with the phrases “Northern Europe” and “sunlight” occupying the same sentence, the lighting allegedly stores enough during one full day of sunshine to be able to illuminate for four nights running. Efficiency? Getting street lighting off the grid will reduce European electricity demand by a whopping 10%.

(Images via: Yanko Design and EcoTech Daily)

But we can all join in the fun. If you want to charge your favorite gadgets while you hit the surf, stick the Solar-Tree in the sand, hook everything up, and away you go. The device promises to fit every conceivable gadget. Top marks for the idea – but we have questions. Exactly how much energy can you collect from a panel that size – and how much will it cost in the shops?

(Image via: Inhabitat)

Individual solar trees are all very well – but what happens when we make a forest of them? Designer Neville Mars has developed the idea of a photovoltaic “parking grove” – a place where electric vehicles can tap into a constantly renewing source of energy. The overlapping panels automatically rotate to find the sunlight. Who would believe a car-park could look like that? Stunning. There is only one thing missing, a piece of sustainable, eco-friendly technology that has served our planet well enough for the last few million years – because there is no beating the original.

5 Alternative Ways to Power your Home

Let's look at some of the more obscure forms of alternative energy that you can use to power your home.

8 Eco-Friendly Examples of Great Green Decor

Here are 8 great and eco-friendly decor choices that are sure to make any home more inviting and comfortable!

12 Eye-Poppingly Awesome Solar-Powered Concept Cars

Here are 12 eye-catching and unique solar-powered concept cars being worked on by the best and brightest minds in automotive engineering.