Greener Gadgets 2009 Delivers Buffet of Awesome Green Tech

Greener Gadgets 2009 kicked off yesterday in New York City, letting forth a deluge of brilliant green technology and gadgets that address the issues of energy, carbon footprint, health and toxicity, new materials, product lifestyle and social development. The Greener Gadgets Design Conference, a collaboration between Greener Gadgets and Core 77, included the debut of fascinating advancements in green consumer tech and the live-judging of the Greener Gadgets Design Competition.

Inhabitat live-blogged the whole thing, giving us virtual front-row seats that almost make up for being unable to attend in person. Inhabitat’s Jill Fehrenbacher is co-founder of Greener Gadgets, along with Marc Alt.

The keynote speech – delivered by inventor, entrepreneur and tech guru Saul Griffith – was lively and fun. From Inhabitat:

He gave a broad overarching talk that visualized our out-of-control energy consumption in a series of easily understandable graphs and charts, focusing upon the ways that climate change and energy problems are design issues.

Beginning with an easy-to-understand explanation of energy using simple measurements, Saul went on to characterize his own energy usage in terms of travel by air and car, the requirements of his household and work, the food he consumes, the physical stuff he owns, and the society he lives in. By tallying up all of these, Saul found that his personal energy footprint amounts to 18,000 watts. Next, he took a broader look at the energy use of the rest of the world, quipping “I’m a planet fucker – all of you are too”.

And then, of course, there was the moment we were all waiting for: when the design competition winner was announced. There were a lot of amazing creations among the top 50, but ultimately, it was… drumroll please… the Tweet-a-Watt! The Power Hog came in second place, with the Indoor Drying Rack snagging third and the Laundry Pod making fourth.

Check out Inhabitat and the Greener Gadgets website for more details and to see the designs of all 50 finalists.

Link [Greener Gadgets] + [Inhabitat]

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