It looks like the newest thing in technology is getting back to nature. Mother Earth would be proud of these recently debuted gadgets that are seeking an earthier look. I guess we could have seen this coming, with the rising level of environmental concern, but there’s no denying that we were pretty surprised when we found not one, but several wooden cell phones. Here’s a peek at some of the newest, most natural gadgets around.

The Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop is “Dell’s greenest, most power-efficient consumer desktop” and if you choose the Bamboo external for the computer (for an extra $130), everyone will know you, too, are pretty green. This diminutive desktop also comes in six jewel-tone colors, but I think the natural vibe you get with this bamboo option makes more of a statement. Still not green enough for you? Dell also offers your choice of either free recycling of your old PC, or for an additional $6 you can purchase the planting of a tree to “offset the carbon dioxide emissions generated to power your new system.”

This one really caught us off guard. While I’ve been searching for cell phones that use environmentally-friendly methods of manufacture and preserve energy life, wooden cell phones have entered the market. This Maple Wooden Phone looks like a block of wood until you touch it, and offers a camera and an mP3 player, along with typical texting and calling functions. Surprisingly enough, this phone is not alone in the wooden phone market - we also found the LG Shine Wood - which, while not made of wood, sports a wood-like exterior. This only-released-in-Korea phone features top-of-the-line features in an eco-chic package.

Compared with the bulky, land-line phones our parents were used to, we are lucky to have the small, portable, ultra-productive and convenient cell phones that we use today. However, this shift creates a concern for any environmentally-conscious consumer. As technology improves, the life of a telephone has decreased. According to The Environmental Literacy Council, we replace our phones on average every year and a half, which creates a great deal of waste. The ELC also estimates that “forty percent of the lead in [the municipal waste] stream” can be attributed to consumer electronics. This holds obvious dangers to our health and to our environment. The big question here - how do we stay up-to-date with our technology and simultaneously keep a clean social conscience?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Okay, so maybe reducing won’t be the most appealing option here, as many will be resistant to the idea of less frequently updating their cell. If you’re up to the task, however, and you can handle replacing only every two to three years, you can greatly reduce your impact - that’s half as many cell phones as the average user consumes.Cell Phone Recycling is available in most areas, and is a great, multi-faceted service. Cell phone recycling systems provides cell service to abused adults and children as an emergency-only line and to people awaiting organ transplants as a means of notification of a life saving donation. The reuse doesn’t stop here - cell phone recycling also provides cell phones to people in areas of the world where landlines are unavailable, or are too expensive to be practical.For phones that cannot be refurbished, cell phone recycling centers also use environmentally safe ways to recycle and dispose of these devices.

Buy Green

Apple recently received a solar power patent - could this mean sun-powered Apple products are on the way? Let’s hope so! Solar-powered electronics are a wonderful way to reduce your energy usage, and techies and tree-huggers alike would be satisfied by a green iPhone. While this might stay a fantasy for a while (many claim the design of the iPhone makes it unlikely candidate for solar-powered technology to be practical) other cell phone manufacturers already have environmentally-friendly products on the market. Chinese electronics manufacturer HTW have released their “Light-Energy Mobile Phone” that allows twenty-five minutes of talk time from just forty minutes of solar charging. LG has released the Cyon, which is made of materials not including lead or mercury, in accordance with Europe’s hazardous-waste-eliminating initiative, RoHS. Motorola appears to be joining the party, as well, with a recently passed patent for a screen that doubles as a solar panel. I suspect environmentally-responsible technology will be the next big trend, which means we should see more and more green options, resulting in competitive mainstream-market-level productivity.
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