Green theme dominates gadget show

For those who want their gadgets green, check out the world’s top consumer electronics show (CES) in Las Vegas, which has gone green this year.

For the first time it has a “sustainable TechZone” which is dedicated to the “pioneering technologies that benefit the technology and sustainability of the global economy”.

Innovations include messenger bags made form recycled plastic bottles and solar generating back packs. There are also home systems that reduce the amount of energy wasted in cooling, heating and lighting.

Australian company MTech was present with a device that can be dropped in car or truck fuel tanks to improve fuel efficiency by as much as 20% by making the fuel burn better.

“This is the year that CES is going green, so we want this to be our contribution to that goal,” says George Souris of small business MTech.

Large companies are also showcasing their green credentials. HP said today at the gadget show that it will reduce the energy consumption of its desktop and notebook PC family by 25% within three years.

HP claims to lead the industry in the number of Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tools (EPEAT) gold listed products, with the introduction of more than two dozen PCs registered at either the gold or silver rating levels.

(The EPEAT system helps shoppers evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on the products’ environmental attributes and evaluates electronic products according to three tiers of environmental performance; bronze, silver and gold.)