"Greening" the company line is standard practice in the electronics industry, and we've been getting plenty of it here at CES 2009. After all, if washing machine A uses half as much energy as machine B, it must be better for the environment.

Right?

If only power consumption was the sole culprit, then corporations really would be as green as they claim to be. The industry has plenty of massive hurdles to clear in non-recyclable components, phantom/standby energy, harmful byproducts caused by manufacturing processes and -- the worst -- electronic waste.

So what makes a company come off as having nothing more than a green tongue, and who's actually walking the walk?

Read the rest of Trevor's blog at DVICE.com

At first blush, the ecobutton looks like another USB toy to distract you from your real work, but click it when you walk away from your desk, and you get to see just how much energy -- and money -- you can save by slashing standby power use.

Let's be honest. We all hate our PC's "hibernate" mode. It takes forever to warm back up and we're busy. But plug in the $20 glowing ecobutton (relax, the light itself uses practically no power), give it a push when you walk away, and your computer goes into rest mode that cuts its power usage up to 90%.

Grab a coffee, come back and click it again, and you first get a screen showing you how much energy, carbon and cash you've saved by using the ecobutton. Click it again and you are right where you left off, ready to go. If you like to double-click because you don't care how much money you're saving your boss, you can do that, too -- it still gets you back to ready mode ASAP.

Phantom power hunting -- a new sport at this year's CES -- can have a remarkable impact on the user's bottom line, especially if you're, say, a company with a few hundred desktop PCs. Ecobutton estimates it could help save $1.3 billion in wasted energy and 5 million tons of carbon coughed up by 165 million idling American PCs.

By Trevor Curwin, DVICE.com

New York eco-boutique Areaware trotted out their line of sustainably harvested Magno wooden radios at this year's CES. Everything except the electronics themselves is made entirely of new growth wood by artisans in a small fishing village in Java.



The Magno comes in small and medium sizes, and features a cool mix of retro and Fisher Price-y styling. They do recommend oiling the uncoated surfaces of the radio "to encourage a deeper connection between user and object."

The multi-band radio -- AM, FM and shortwave -- includes wood-wrapped jacks to connect your iPod or other MP3 player in the back. A small one retails for $200, a medium for $250.

By Trevor Curwin, DVICE.com

Kinesis Industries debuted its 2-in-1 handheld recharger here at CES, putting solar and wind power generation together in one rugged package.

It has the largest battery capacity of its competitors, with one fully charged K2 able to rejuice a typical cell phone 5 times over; just one hour of wind or sun will give you 30 minutes on the phone. LED lights on the side let you know just how much charge you have left.

You can stand up the K2 or leave it on its side for optimal sun exposure, and a clip in the bottom allows it to hang from your car, bike or ATV an recharge with wind. It comes with a built-in USB port, and a convenient screwcap on the bottom hides all the additional adaptors you need.

The K2 will retail for around $100.

By Trevor Curwin, DVICE.com

With the new mCube90G power adapter from Innergie and Green Plug, road warriors now have a lighter, greener option to toting around all those different power supplies and cables.

The adapter is green in two ways: It cuts your devices' phantom -- or standby -- power usage and it allows manufacturers to standardize one universal power connector, meaning fewer device-specific power sources get made. These power supplies tend to have longer lives than the gadgets they juice up, but get thrown out with the obsolete tech.

Stringent rules in some states force electronics manufacturers to keep phantom power usage in devices to 0.5 watts. But plug two of those 0.5-watt devices into a single mCube90G adapter instead of a typical power strip, and it will save that extra 0.5 watt. Four-plug -- and larger -- versions are planned.

By Trevor Curwin, DVICE.com

Power-adaptor-maker iGo debuted an 8-outlet surge protector that cuts standby power consumption -- the minimal power your tech uses while plugged in but not turned on -- by 80%. And it looks pretty slick for something you're used to kicking out of the way under your desk.



The firm's proprietary "Green Technology" allows the surge protector -- available this summer at just under $70 -- to communicate with the attached devices, using technology already found in most electronics, and effectively ending any powering up once they're fully charged.

And if you're using it in your home office, it also has a couple of "dumb outlets" that lets certain devices stay plugged in like normal, perfect for a clock or that coffee maker you've got on a timer in the morning.

It's one of three greener power options the firm rolled out today using their "Green Technology"; they also have a dedicated laptop charger and a wall socket that's essentially a one-plug version of the surge protector.

By Trevor Curwin, DVICE.com