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CNET News : Green Tech
Updated: 1 hour 3 min ago

Gadget trade-in services that pay off

8 hours 3 min ago

Web sites that promise to pay for your old gadgets look bright around the holidays, when every extra dollar can count toward new gifts or even utility bills. But are the services worthwhile? How much can you earn?

We examined nine services that pay for your unwanted digital wares. These are among the newest options to help keep electronics waste out of landfills, while uncluttering your closets.

Click on this image to see what seven services quoted to pay for 11 used electronics.

(Credit: Elsa Wenzel/CBS Interactive)

We looked up what each service said it would pay for working iPods, PDAs, laptops, gaming consoles, and more, with cables but lacking their original boxes. For dead devices, some offer a pittance, or will connect you with willing recyclers and charity recipients. Our chart (at right) shows what each site claims it pays for specific equipment. Keep reading for highlights of the trade-in services.

We can't yet vouch for the start-to-finish experience of mailing in products to these companies. Those that find your equipment in worse shape than you estimated will downgrade the trade-in value.

If you only need to offload an old phone, look out for our upcoming comparison of sites that specialize in refurbishing and recycling handsets, including Cell for Cash, Simply Sellular, and ReCellular.

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Originally posted at Webware

Categories: Industry News

Hawaii unveils plans for Better Place

9 hours 11 min ago

The Better Place Rogue is an all-electric version of the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.

(Credit: Better Place)

Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday.

Better Place stations, similar in concept to ...

Originally posted at Planetary Gear

Categories: Industry News

Ford accelerates electric-vehicle plans

Tue, 12/02/2008 - 11:31

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/environment/Ford_Acclerates_Electric_Vehicle_Plans'; Ford Motor made electric vehicles a centerpiece of a turnaround plan presented to Congress on Tuesday, saying that it will introduce an all-electric van for fleet use in 2010 and a sedan in 2011.

The Big Three U.S. automakers are scheduled to return ...

Categories: Industry News

Green news harvest: Utility installs solar panels

Tue, 12/02/2008 - 10:39
Categories: Industry News

Obama's security adviser calls for energy action

Mon, 12/01/2008 - 16:00

President-elect Barack Obama's choice of James Jones as national security adviser brings a retired Marine general who advocates a comprehensive overhaul to U.S. energy policy in the name of national defense.

Jones was announced on Monday as part of the Obama administration's national security team. He has ...

Categories: Industry News

Ta ta, Tesla

Mon, 12/01/2008 - 12:20
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Ta_ta_Tesla';

Tesla Motors, a start-up focused on high-performance electric cars, appears to be in a bit of trouble.

Although Tesla just raised an additional $40 million, it is asking for $400 million in low-interest loans from the federal government as part of the $25 billion ...

Categories: Industry News

Eyes turn to auto start-ups' funding, aid requests

Mon, 12/01/2008 - 11:31

While millions of Americans watch the saga of the Big Three automakers pleading the federal government for a bailout, the finances of tiny electric car start-ups are coming under the microscope.

The Irish Independent newspaper on Sunday reported--incorrectly--that Irish utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB) invested in all-electric luxury car ...

Categories: Industry News

'Buy Nothing Day' a sign of the times?

Fri, 11/28/2008 - 15:00

Retailers anticipate a bleak Black Friday. Yet, despite the economic downturn, many Americans are still cramming into malls in hopes of snagging the best and earliest holiday buys.

Some consumers, on the other hand, will shun shopping and observe "Buy Nothing Day," a loosely organized protest against conspicuous consumption. The idea comes from Adbusters, an artsy glossy that counts a circulation of 100,000, plus 80,000 online members of its "culture-jamming" network of social pranksters.

Participants in a wiki for the event have planned demonstrations at shopping centers around the country, including the mammoth Mall of America in Minnesota. Some San Franciscans are opting to swap used stuff at the Really Really Free Market outside in Dolores Park. Wikipedia entries track activities in 65 countries.

Followers of Buy Nothing Day blame unchecked consumerism for ecological woes, psychological depression, and the economic crisis.

(Credit: Adbusters Media Foundation)

The Adbusters Web site suggests repeating pranks performed by tens of thousands of people at malls in recent years, like wandering around in zombie gear. Some might stage a "Whirl Mart," roaming in packs at Wal-Mart stores with packed shopping carts, yet declining to buy anything. Armed with scissors, other participants may offer strangers the free "service" of a credit card cut-up.

Millions of people have heard of Buy Nothing Day by now and it grows each year, although there's no official count of the faithful, according to Kalle Lasn, Adbusters editor in chief and co-founder.

As lists of corporate collapses and layoffs lengthen, the notion of buying less or nothing is becoming less an option and more of a necessity for many people. That's an "I told you so" moment for activists such as those at Adbusters.

"If people had heeded the buy-nothing message, then we wouldn't be in this mess," Lasn said. "This glorified spending and borrowing of the past 10 years is really the root cause of this financial and economic meltdown we're in now."

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Originally posted at Crave

Categories: Industry News

Retailers adopting renewable energy

Wed, 11/26/2008 - 19:19

Big-box retailers are increasingly adding solar panels and wind turbines to sprawling stores to offset rising electricity costs and groom a "green" image.

Last week, Wal-Mart Stores announced it will add wind power to 360 Texas outlets. The company aims to power all stores with renewables eventually. So far, the ...

Categories: Industry News

Green news harvest: Ethanol shake-out looms

Wed, 11/26/2008 - 11:53

Here's a sampling of green-tech news, with quick commentary.

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Categories: Industry News

IBM snags smart-grid pilot deals

Wed, 11/26/2008 - 10:29

IBM has won two deals to supply IT gear and services for utilities' smart-grid energy-efficiency programs.

Ohio-based American Electric Power on Tuesday said that it has chosen IBM to be the systems integrator for its gridSmart initiative, which is designed to upgrade the distribution grid to better handle distributed power ...

Categories: Industry News

Tesla 1.5 test drive

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 18:32

The Tesla Roadster is simple to drive, but very fast, with smoothly delivered torque.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Every automotive journalist who drives a Tesla comes away impressed with the car's power, and I can say the same after taking the car out on a quick drive near the company's Menlo Park, Calif., Tesla store (they don't call it a showroom or dealership).

In Performance mode, the car exhibits powerful and smooth torque, even at speed. I had this little open top roadster at 65 mph on the freeway, then mashed the accelerator (don't call it a gas pedal) and got another powerful push in the back that sent the car quickly up to 90. The Tesla's push is unique among sports cars though. Where a high-stepper such as the BMW M3 makes you feel a kick in the back with every gear shift, the Tesla delivers a strong, steady push when you put your foot down on the pedal.

The Tesla I drove featured "Powertrain 1.5," eliminating the two-speed gearbox from the previous model. Yes, Tesla patterns itself after tech companies, so the power train gets a version designation, although the cars themselves still go by a model year.

In this Tesla, as in other electric cars I've driven, the operation is dead simple: Move the shifter from Neutral to Drive, and you're moving forward. Push the accelerator if you want to go faster and hit the brakes if you want to stop. The only real difference, besides the fact that the Tesla goes a lot faster than other electric cars, is that taking your foot off the accelerator at speeds less than 40 mph makes the car slow down as if you were applying light pressure on the brakes. That is the regenerative power train in operation, using the car's momentum to generate electricity for the battery pack. The Tesla also has regenerative brakes, but you don't need to use them much, adding the side-benefit of very infrequent brake maintenance.

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Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

Categories: Industry News

Taking a Tesla for a spin

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 14:42

So much has been written about Tesla Motors and its Roadster electric sports car that I fully expected a letdown.

Tell you the truth, if I were personally shelling out $109,000 for one of these babies, I might be pickier about leg room or noise levels or any of ...

Originally posted at Coop's Corner

Categories: Industry News

Greenpeace rates electronics makers' green claims

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 14:16

Greenpeace said that electronics manufacturers are making progress on reducing toxic materials and waste, but not making bold enough moves to cut energy usage.

The environmental watchdog on Monday published its 10th Guide to Greener Electronics, which it releases every three months. This edition adds five new criteria for energy, ...

Categories: Industry News

Video: Detroit, watch out for this Karma

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 11:55

On a test track in Southern California, a radical new car is getting its first workout.

The zebra stripes camouflage it from competitors, but you still get a good sense of the Fisker Automotive Karma, the brainchild of designer Henrik Fisker, who's trying to succeed where Detroit so far ...

Categories: Industry News

Photos: Greenbuild Expo flashes through Boston

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 10:40

The U.S. Green Building Council held its annual Greenbuild Expo in Boston last week, exposing close to 30,000 people to the latest green-building technologies and materials.

People who attended the conference were impressed at the high number of attendees, a sign that what was once a fringe movement ...

Categories: Industry News

'Green' gadgets need better labeling, report says

Tue, 11/25/2008 - 03:33

Unclear product labeling prevents many consumers from buying affordable, energy-efficient electronics, and companies making "greener" goods aren't getting proper credit, according to a report released Monday.

High-definition televisions, desktop computers, laptops, and printers are among the electronics that online-survey respondents seek the most for green qualities. Green cred is ...

Categories: Industry News

Hacking down on video game energy use

Sun, 11/23/2008 - 12:27
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Hacking_down_on_video_game_energy_use';

Individual gamers and console makers could significantly reduce energy use from video games, according to study that identified the Nintendo Wii as the industry's most efficient "juice sipper."

Gamers waste a lot of energy simply because they don't turn their machines off ...

Categories: Industry News

Google crunches numbers on clean-energy policy

Fri, 11/21/2008 - 11:23

In just over 20 years, the U.S. could wean itself from coal and oil for electricity generation and nearly halve its gasoline consumption, according to an analysis done by energy experts at Google.

The search giant's Google.org philanthropy on Thursday released updated numbers and policy recommendations on ...

Categories: Industry News

Green news harvest: Tracking Congress' signals

Fri, 11/21/2008 - 09:52

Here's a sampling of green-tech news, with quick commentary.

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Categories: Industry News