Well, that was quick. Just weeks after hearing that Tesla would be nixing Roadster production prior to the world ending, it looks as if those planning to blow their life savings in the next 18 or so months took issue with the intentions. So much so, in fact, that Tesla has now “negotiated agreements with key suppliers that will increase total Roadster production by 40 percent and extend sales into 2012.” Better still, the iconic electric supercar will soon be hitting Australia and Asia, so even if you hit the relocate button in the next little while, you should still be covered should you choose to buy (or lease ) in. Tesla switches gears, plans to keep Roadster till 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Just over a year ago, Dell pushed out its latest and greatest 24-incher, the energy-sipping G2410 . Today, the Round Rock powerhouse has introduced that very unit’s successor (complete with a height adjustable stand), the G2410H. Still sized at 24-inches, this 1080p LCD monitor sports a variety of eco-modes, 5 millisecond response time, 160-degree (horizontal) / 170-degree (vertical) viewing angles, a native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, ambient light sensor, 250 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and DVI / VGA inputs. We’ve had one in-house for around a week now, and for $339, it’s not a bad replacement to that 21-inch CRT that’s still weighing heavily on your desk.

Earlier this week, IBM researchers announced a discovery that could lead to plastics made from plants instead of petroleum. The new plastics will be more energy efficient, more versatile, and infinitely recyclable (until we move to our space colony). More

As energy prices increase, so does our desire to understand and actively manage household power use. Joining the fight alongside Google’s PowerMeter and NEC’s “dung beetle” game , PowerHouse Dynamic’s eMonitor interfaces with your circuit box to tell you how much energy each individual circuit is using, and the management software seems particularly robust: users can look forward to real-time stats, customized energy saving recommendations based on your home’s energy usage, and a handy read-out of your “carbon footprint” and what it would take to offset it. In addition to all that, alerts can be configured for everything from overloaded circuits to left-on appliances, individual outlets and thermostats can be controlled remotely (optional), and an iPhone app is slated to be released later this year. Packages start at $800. PR, video after the break.

Feeling shame in the shower can arrive for many reasons, but here’s a new one that centers on water conservation. It’s called the Waterpebble, and the LED illuminates red, yellow or green depending on the amount of water used. Simple! So simple, in fact, that even a crying, shame-ridden man in the shower could use it to accurately gauge whether or not he’s using just enough, or too much water. Hey, it’s better than wrinkly gingers telling you that you’ve been in there too long. [ Waterpebble via Design Blog ]

It was only a matter of time before some compulsive texter found a way to get text messaging and driving together again. Called the Road Train , it’s mean to save fuel, but we know it’s true purpose, don’t we? [ BBC ] The Road Train is based on drafting, that age-old technique that NASCAR drivers use to make passing easier and that those suicidal Mythbusters proved was legit when they coasted 10 feet behind a big rig at constant velocity. In this case, however, the system is automated. Cars opt in and opt out at the driver’s convenience, forming a moving, amorphous “train” of vehicles that maintain constant speed and distance form one another thanks to software

After what feels like years of concept renders and photos of the hairy David de Rothschild accompanying gushing magazine pieces about his plastic bottle boat, the Plastiki will set sail this month across the Pacific Ocean . If you’ll remember , the boat was constructed using 12,000 plastic 2-liter bottles, which have been pressurized using dry ice powder, making it buoyant enough to carry four people on the 11,000 miles from San Francisco to Sydney. It’ll take 100 days they think, with the electricity coming from solar panels, wind turbines and exercise bikes that the four crewmembers will be using. It’s the ultimate eco-warrior ship, with even a small garden growing herbs and veggies included on the 60-foot boat.

Well, that didn’t take long. Already analysts are crawling out of the woodwork to put the seemingly miraculous Bloom Box fuel cell in its place as yet another energy saving technology that won’t perform as advertised. This week it was IDC Energy Insights analyst Sam Jaffe, who said that while the fuel cell developed by Bloom Energy CEO K.R Sridhar and his team was definitely “not bogus,” it just doesn’t differentiate itself well enough from already available fuel cell technologies—especially as it pertains to price. And the device’s supposedly unique “fuel-switching” ability? Not unique at all, Jaffe claimed on his Energy Insight blog, in a post titled “Four Things Bloom Energy Forgot to Tell the World”: “Any high-temperature fuel cell should be able to do that. The fact that it’s solid oxide and it’s primarily ceramic opens up the possibility of making it much more cheaply, but every start-up in the energy field has an expensive product that they claim one day will be cheap.

The TrickleStar line of products does a good job of killing vampire power drain already, but all of those still require you to lift a finger and flip a toggle switch to “off” in order to stop the flow of energy when nothing is there to be charged. Conor Klein’s Leech Plug, however, does the dirty work for you. Thanks to an integrated timer circuit and a mysterious array of “electromechanics” within, his AC outlet physically ejects the charging cord when the device on the other end is done charging; granted, that leaves you with quite a mess in your dining room floor, but hey, at least you’re doing your small part to keep this fragile planet from imploding on itself, right? Peek the video after the break. [Thanks, Kevin ] Continue reading Leech Plug disconnects when your gadget is charged, does Ma Earth a favor Leech Plug disconnects when your gadget is charged, does Ma Earth a favor originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Those two blocks can power the average high-consumption American home — one block can power the average European home. At least that’s the claim being made by K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, on 60 Minutes last night. The original technology comes from an oxygen generator meant for a scrapped NASA Mars program that’s been converted, with the help of an estimated $400 million in private funding, into a fuel cell. Bloom’s design feeds oxygen into one side of a cell while fuel (natural gas, bio gas from landfill waste, solar, etc) is supplied to the other side to provide the chemical reaction required for power. The cells themselves are inexpensive ceramic disks painted with a secret green “ink” on one side and a black “ink” on the other.