Mac mini

Remember the days when computers were clunky, big and ugly? Well, times have changed and Apple continues to push their stylish lifestyle designs to new limits. The lastest Mac mini redesign looks great while lowering its environmental impact.

Sporting a new single piece enclosure machined from highly recyclable aluminum enclosure, the new Mac mini uses 68 percent less plastics than previous generations. It is one of the most material-efficient desktop computers available, according to Apple.

It doesn’t stop with just the design of the computer itself. Apple is committed to the environment and in their own words, “Apple takes a complete product life-cycle approach to determining our environmental impact.” Many people and companies forget that we need to look at the entire eco-system and product life-cycle from materials, production, distribution, use and recycling. We applaud Apple in their commitment and approach.

Here are some highlights:

Highly efficient, built-in power supply.
The power supply for Mac mini has been reduced from 110W to 85W and is now up to 90 percent efficient.

Advanced power management.
Mac mini is a great example of Apple’s energy-efficient design philosophy. It uses less than 10 watts of power when idle — a 25 percent reduction from the previous generation.

Fewer toxins.
One of the greatest environmental challenges facing the computer industry today is the presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in products.

More efficient transportation.
The new Mac mini retail packaging is 35 percent smaller than the previous version. In addition, the mass of the shipping box has decreased by 15 percent.

Recyclable materials.
Mac mini uses highly recyclable aluminum to create its incredibly compact enclosure. Just 7.7 by 7.7 by 1.4 inches, Mac mini is a fraction of the size of a typical desktop tower. And it uses 68 percent less plastic than the previous generation.

Recycle the old, in with the new.
If you live in the U.S., Apple offers a free recycling program for old computers and displays with the purchase of any new Mac.

Images and data courtesy of Apple

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SIGG Bottle Demon Shield

SIGG designer bottles are a good way to save money and help the environment. These bottles are produced from recycled aluminum scrap and are themselves recyclable once your done with them. The materials are BPA free and phthalate free so you don’t have to worry about that.

Best of all, they come in a variety of stylish designs and colors. You can look good carrying the SIGG bottles around and be eco-friendly at the same time. Also, know that you are being smart as you save money on expensive overhyped water marketed in plastic bottles.

SIGG has even partnered with CafePress to allow you to customize your own SIGG bottle.

It may seem simple, but for some reason people continue to drink mass amounts of off the shelf bottled water out of the home. There are just so many things wrong with that picture. Here are just a couple.

1) Plastic water bottles end up in the garbage and waste natural resources

Producing plastic bottles requires the consumption of oil. Then the bottles themselves are thrown in the trash. While the bottles are desirable to recyclers, statistics estimate that over 80% of all water bottles end up in the garbage and are not recycled. Do yourself and the environment a favor, use a reusable bottle.

2) Bottled water is no healthier for you than tap water

There is no scientific data that shows the majority of regular bottled water is any healthier for you than most tap water. In many cases, bottlers are filtering the same tap water you would normally get out of your tap. If you want, you can always purchase a water filtration product with replacable filters. It would be much more cost effective and better for the environment.

Images courtesy of SIGG

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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 01

Welcome to Sublime Green.

We are an eco-friendly blog focused on the idea that “being green and eco-friendly doesn’t have to be dull.” By looking at cool and stylish products that introduces green and eco-friendly concepts to the masses, we hope to make being green and eco-friendly more palatable to consumers.

In our debut post to kick-off the site, what better way than to take a look at the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. This car is not a consumer product, but the idea is to develop new automotive technologies, race test them and trickle down into cars that you and I can buy off the lot.

Style is subjective, but one must agree that the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid package is neither dull nor subdued. It is a beautiful high performance race car with a hybrid drive system. It is cars like this that help develop new technologies for consumer cars and improve upon the current offerings.

Not only is the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid stylish, it is also introducing new concepts to the automotive industry. The car sports an electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW each. These electric motors supplement the 480-bhp four-litre flat-six at the rear of the vehicle. However, this is where Porsche stands out, instead of the usual batteries Porsche has an electrical flywheel power generator.

From Porsche:

The flywheel generator itself is an electric motor with its rotor spinning at speeds of up to 40,000 rpm, storing energy mechanically as rotation energy. The flywheel generator is charged whenever the driver applies the brakes, with the two electric motors reversing their function on the front axle and acting themselves as generators. Then, whenever necessary, that is when accelerating out of a bend or when overtaking, the driver is able to call up extra energy from the charged flywheel generator, the flywheel being slowed down electromagnetically in the generator mode and thus supplying up to 120 kW to the two electric motors at the front from its kinetic energy. This additional power is available to the driver after each charge process for approximately 6 – 8 seconds.

While flywheel technology is not new, Porsche engineers have found a new way to apply it to hybrid race cars. This new hybrid system is able to provide additional power and also save fuel while eliminating the use of environmentally unfriendly batteries. Though, it is currently unknown how the flywheel generator compares to current battery systems from an environmental standpoint.

We’ll see if this new implementation ever makes it’s way into showroom floors as green and eco-friendly features.

Photos courtesy of Porsche

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