thegreenguy - Adam Vaughan

Amazon Green launches... but only in the US

Amazon's just launched an eco products store dubbed Amazon Green, Lifehacker reports. A quick look suggests it's mostly a portal to Amazon's existing products, such as bicycles and reusable bottles including the one pictured here. Right now, there's no UK version, which is probably good news for established UK indy ecotailers such as Natural Collection, Ethical Superstore and Ecotopia. I'll keep you posted if I hear whispers of a launch this side of the Atlantic.

Electrisave gets reborn as... wait for it... Owl

Ah, you gotta love branding exercises. Some clever people have decided the Electrisave - a nice, literal, fairly memorable product name - should now be called the Owl. Check out its new site here. There is one thing to celebrate, and that's improved distribution - you can now buy it at B&Q.

Top 10 green gadgets

Head over to the Guardian to read a list of my favourite energy-saving and eco gizmos. If the prospect of a solar beach bag, energy-saving kettle and bamboo laptop pushes your buttons, there should be something for you. I have to say (I would, of course) that the new widescreen design's looking mighty fine on the GU Environment section.

Solar backpack for £60

I know, I know - I said I wouldn't do eco product news. But a solar backpack for £60? You know green goods are going commodity when a sun-powered bag comes in at less than half the price of rivals such as Voltaic System's backpack. And has a battery built-in. Of course, you get what you pay for: the bag's not as handsome as its pricier cousins, and I'm guessing the charge times are slower than the Voltaic due to the much smaller solar panel (there are no specs on the bag shop's site).

Eco kettle deathmatch (AKA reviews of Tefal Quick Cup, Eco Kettle & Plunger Kettle)

Some quick kettle facts for you: modern ones use 3,000 watts (about 300 energy saving bulbs), 28 per cent of us overfill them and the average Brit drinks 27 cups of tea or coffee every week. In other words, our crap tea-making skills are emitting a lot of pointless carbon. I've been guilty of overfilling in the past, which is why I've recently been living with three different 'green kettles' that stop you from wasting water and electricity: (from l-r in the picture)the £64 Tefal Quick Cup, £35 Eco Kettle, and £60 Plunger Kettle. Click through to see how they square up.

New energy efficient gadget guide

Following yesterday's headline-grabbing report that our love of monster plasmas and gadgets are threatening government goals to cut CO2, the Energy Saving Trust has launched a guide to lower energy consumer electronics. It's live now, here.

The big offset hole in Dell's green plan

A press release just landed in my inbox lauding Dell's new Zero Carbon Initiative. It's brilliant to see Dell putting climate change at the top of its agenda and its plan has good stuff - building 'the greenest PC', asking its suppliers to report their CO2 output and more. The company also has a great recycling record, with free worldwide schemes in place already. Now for the rant. I've got to knock the company's emphasis on carbon offsetting, which Friends of the Earth dismisses as a smokescreen and is pretty much the verdict I've come round to (I've changed my tune on that). Dell's Plant a Tree scheme, which just went live in the UK, is particularly lame. Why? Because the onus is on the punter - you and me - to pay for the offsetting. Besides, how far will £1 for a notebook and £3 for a desktop actually go on tree-planting? Yes, it's better than nowt, but it's also a distraction from energy efficiency improvements and serious carbon-cutting. It's cheap PR, not serious change.

Off to make Hay with green gadgets

This weekend I'll be popping my Hay cherry with my first visit to the festival. I'm there for work and pleasure as I'll be giving four talks tomorrow on energy-saving, green gadgets and eco tech: if you're at the festival, please pop along, be gentle and say hi. For anyone reading this after hearing me blather at the festival, please find a list of products and further reading after the click-through. [Photo: nedrichards]

Greenpeace's Greener Apple campaign shoots, scores!

Greenpeace's hammering of Apple's eco record has paid off, resulting in Steve Jobs unveiling several green pledges yesterday. Take a look. The plans include expanding its iPod recycling scheme to worldwide Apple stores, removing brominate flame retardants by the end of 2008, plus recycling 28 per cent of the weight of its Macs, Pods and other kit by 2010. Jobs' manifesto is an OK modest move, but there's room here for Greenpeace to do more lobbying soon (as the charity says here).

Test-driving the NICE Mega City ('I am the electric-powered law!')

Yesterday I drove an electric car I've had my eye on for a while: the G-Wiz-rivalling NICE Mega City. It's not as fast or maneuverable as Judge Dredd's steed in Mega City One, but I like it. The good stuff: it has better interior fittings than the G-Wiz (seats, dash, everything!), more head space (I'm only 5ft 9in but hit my head on the G-Wiz's roof) and loads of boot space (almost enough for two extra seats). Most importantly, it's fun to drive. Think golf buggy, milk float or go-kart.