Remember the good old days, when you went out on an adventure and took along extra batteries (if you were thinking ahead) just so you wouldn’t run out of lighting. Well, not only did those batteries cost money and added bulk, they also ended up in a landfill, creating pollution.

But today you will find that a wind up flashlight in place of a battery powered light makes great sense… and the technology just keeps getting better. In fact, getting 30 minutes or more of illumination after only 1 minute of winding is almost commonplace. You could hardly hunt down the batteries and change them in that time.

So, let’s take a quick look at 10 of our favorite eco-friendly wind up lights. If the want hits, you can find these lights at Nigel’s Eco Store and other green retailers.

1. Woodpecker Shake Light

While technically not a wind up flashlight (you shake it), the concept is so close that we wanted to include it in our collection. The Woodpecker incorporates a double generator to grab all the power it can from a repeated simple up and down gesture. An ultra bright LED provides the illumination.

The light weighs in at 183g, and shaking for 1 minute gives 20 minutes of constant light or optionally 30 minutes of flashing operation. The woodpecker is waterproof down to 2 meters, so you can use it pratically anywhere outdoors, camping, or at the beach. It will even survive a rainstorm in case you get caught out in it – and you won’t have a dead battery.

2. Puma Windup Light

The Puma wind up flashlight is small in size but tough in performance. One minute of winding will give you 20 minutes at standard brightness (1 LED) and 10 minutes at maximum brightness (3 LED). There is also a three LED flashing mode so you can use the light as a signal. With a measurement of 47 x 35 x 76 mm you will find that the Puma fits in most pockets without a problem.

3. Dolphin Caribina Light

The Dolphin wind up light sports a unique design in that it can be clipped onto almost anything thanks to its integrated Caribina clip. Not only is the Dolphin a handy light, but it it can even power your phone thanks to a built in charger outlet and included cable. One minute of cranking gives you 30 minutes of light or up to eight minutes of phone time.

The Dolphin weighs 250gm and is 15cm in overall length. The included cable is for Nokia phones, but other adapters are available. The illumination is provided by three ultra bright LEDs, assuring that you will not be out of battery, bulb, or even a dead phone when you need it.

4. Owl Wind Up Lantern

Sometimes it’s just handy to have a lantern instead of a flashlight, and that is where the Powerplus Owl comes into play. The Owl is a rugged camping lantern (just like you remember), but it winds up. Six LEDs provide the light, and one minute of charging gives 25 minutes. You can fully charge the unit and have 100 minutes of steady illumination.

The Owl is encased in a tough rubber outer shell, which makes it a perfect camping companion on those less than perfect excursions. You know, the ones we all tend to have at some point in our camping experiences.

5. Barracuda Wind Up And Solar Light

The Powerplus Barracuda combines two forms of green power to keep you illuminated – wind up and solar. The tough rubber protected light is waterproof down to five meters, making it durable enough to handle the outdoors as well as the vehicle’s trunk. 3 LEDs provide the light, and you can select one, three, or flashing LEDs as needed

How well does it charge up? One minute of winding gives an impressive 80 minutes on 1 LED, 60 minutes on 3. As for the solar side of things, an hour basking in the sun gives you light for 120 minutes on 1 LED, 90 minutes on 3. This would make the Barracuda a great device to have soaking up the rays during the day and working at night.

6. Bat Wind Up Head Lamp

When you are working and have both hands in the mix, then it is nice to have a light that is head mounted. The Powerplus Bat is exactly that, a head mounted wind up light that leaves your hands free for uses other than holding a flashlight. The Bat allows you to change the angle of shine, and a comfortable headband keeps the light firmly yet comfortably in place.

The Bat gives up to 90 minutes of light for 1 minute of crank time (40 minutes on all three LEDS), and if needed the unit can even be mounted on a bicycle thanks to the included bicycle clip.

7. Freeplay Indigo Wind Up Lantern

Similar to the OWL above, the Freeplay lantern is great for camp outs and table usage. The Freeplay boasts a great three hours of light (at the lowest setting) for a single one minute winding charge. Better yet, fully charge it for three hours of continuous light at the brightest setting. There is also a small directional light, great for reading, that will last 40 hours on a fully winded charge.

8. Penguin Wind Up and Shake Light

Don’t forget about the little campers when you go on your next adventure. The delightful Penguin wind up light is perfect for the 5 and up adventurer, and it gives a lot of fun while remaining eco friendly. In fact, the LED light works with either a quick wind up or they can just shake it for more light.

9. Blue X-Ray Wind Up Light

The Blue X-Ray wind up light is a great light to have with you in the dark. A quick 30 second wind gives you about 20 minutes of light, and you can choose between ultra-bright and normal light mode. The colorful Blue X-Ray weighs in at 370g, and measures 55 x 60 x 160 mm.

10. Shark Wind Up Light

We wanted to end our look at eco friendly wind up lights on a powerful note, and so the choice is obvious – the Shark. The Shark is a waterproof wind up light that has two light settings – 5mm LEDs for normal use, and a powerful 1W LED for those times you really need something bright. The 1W LED is rated to be visible for up to 10 km.

What time you are not blinding your enemies with the Shark, you can also use it to charge your phone – a Nokia cable is included, but other adapters are available. You won’t spend all your time winding it either, since a one minute wind up gives 60 minutes of shine in regular mode or 20 minutes on full brightness.

With any of these 10 eco friendly lights I am sure you would find them welcome tools on your next outing (or emergency). The good news is that you will never be out of battery power, and the LEDs are going to continue to shine, well after you need the light.

In the first part of the book, Tracey explains all about the history of rubbish, how rubbish effects the planet and evil consumerist stuff like planned obsolescence.

The second part is the bit with the lists. Lots and lots of tips on how to be a pro-active waste reducer in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, study, utility room, entrance, garage and even in the garden. Have you ever considered taking yourself off the Yellow Pages mailing list, using an old tin can as a cookie cutter, or using ripped bike inner tubes as draught-proofing? No? Then you need this book, because for the newly green, this book offers insights aplenty into reducing your waste. If you are already living a pretty green life and looking for bigger ways to go green, you aren’t going to find anything new here.

Part three of the book offers case studies and the obligatory celebrity tips on going green.

I enjoyed Tracey Smith’s engaging tone throughout the Book of Rubbish Ideas. This is a lady that walks the walk and is enthusiastic to spread the word about green living.

I would buy this book for someone who has just got interested in green living.

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I went to work on my mirrors and my car windows this weekend, and after a minor mishap with spraying soap all over my windows, the TerraCycle Window Cleaner wiped it all up streak-free and clan as ever, without the ammonia smell. As quoted on their website, the cleaners leave no residue and are thus hypo-allergenic!

At $3.99 per bottle (except for the draincleaner), this product is not only environmentally responsible but is affordable. I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the products.

This is a guest post by Carolyn Algar, our correspondent in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I was asked to review some products from TerraCycle, and to my joy found it to be stationery. I’m a Gemini, I love stationery. I collected stickers, paper, erasers, pens, in fact any type of stationery as a child, and still do have those tendencies, but I digress.

Item #1 is an Eco-Binder, made out of 100% recycled paper and 90% recycled steel. An attractive and sturdy binder. And once you have finished using your binder, Terracycle takes them back for further recycling.

Item #2 is Banana Paper. Yes, you guessed it… paper made out of recycled banana peels. There is none of that classic banana smell or to us scientific folk, no isoamyl acetate odour. The paper is compatible with ink jet and laser printers and copy machines. Save the rain forests, eat bananas!

Item #3 is a newspaper pencil. A whole sheet of newspaper is rolled around good quality graphite to form a trunk as hard as wood. Approximately 4 pencils can be made form each sheet of newspaper. I think the fun part of these pencils is that over time the oils from your hand will highlight the newsprint visible on the pencil surface.

Item #4 is definitely the coolest item of the bunch: A corn pen. Everything, but the ink refill, is made from material derived from corn starch, and will degrade within 12 months of being discarded.

And last but not least, item #5, the paper pen. Like the corn pen, everything but the ink refill is made from 100% biodegradable materials. In this case, the materials are used newspapers and 100% recycled paper.

Such fun items, and all can be used with a clean conscience.

This is a guest post by Carolyn Algar, our correspondent in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For the past few weeks, I have been taking an ECOBag along with me on my shopping sprees (unfortunately these days shopping sprees involve a lot more window shopping). I have their standard wide natural canvas tote, but they do carry a wide range of other bags, from book totes to beach totes, made from organic canvas, recycled canvas, hemp blends and recycled plastic bottles.

All bags have double stitched seams and stress points for durability and are strong enough to hold 30 pounds (about 13kg). My tote is not at all bulky, so folds up easily to fit into my handbag or car glovebox for convenient storage. The standard wide tote has 22 inch handles, so it is easy to slip over your shoulder and is comfortable to carry. And since it is manufactured from natural cotton canvas, it can be slipped in with your laundry with no specialized cleaning instructions.

This particular bag is good to take along for walking around a mall, slipping in small items as you go, but I didn’t find it large enough for my grocery shopping. The base of the bag is not wide enough to layer items properly, and I was afraid of crushing fragile items. Their grocery totes or totes with larger bottom gussets would be more suitable.

The “fun” girl in me did find this bag a bit boring, but they have introduced a line of bags called “Totes with Quotes”, a fun alternative to the plain tote. Their colourful prints and quotes look fun on the sides of the natural canvas. Another fun product is their classic string bag. They carry them is so many fantastic colours – classic colours, jewel tones, pastels, earth tones. My favourite product from ECOBag is definitely their Milano style string bag. It has a 2 inch strap for added carrying comfort, but it is a really stylish looking bag. I’ve got to have one!

As we see massive changes rocking our planet, James Bruges takes us step by step through how we got here. In what is surely going to be considered the layman’s environmental reference book on the state of the planet, Bruges breaks the subject matter of The Big Earth Book down into four main sections: The Elements, Money, Power and Life, explaining and illustrating in easy to understand chunks how we got to be where we are today. Bruges documents the “exploitation of the weak by the strong” in our society and draws attention to “thinkers who define profound changes”. He considers real change essential, the sort of change that is considered impractical by realists, for us to save our planet and continue as a species.

Bruges explains how the earth’s atmosphere works, and how we’ve gone into an Anthropocene Age, where human activity is impacting significantly on the ecosphere to the extent that the planet is warming far faster than scientists expected. He also points out that the success that we had back in the 80′s of healing the hole in the ozone layer could be replicated with the fight against global warming if society will stand together to avert this major disaster.

The book goes on to look at climate denial and how governments aren’t acting on scientific research, as well as a brief history of climate change, including how good intentions like Rio and Kyoto just haven’t gone far enough. Bruges summarises the solutions that have been put forward to cut emissions and discusses their pros and cons. What really stands out for me here is the point made that while governments are trying to cut carbon emissions, they are still mining coal, gas and oil in ever increasing quantities. Bruges points out that it’s easier to “limit the supply of fossil fuels that to control demand for them”, an approach that has not yet been adopted anywhere. We will only survive in this changing world by changing our expectations of how we live.

So what are our options going forward? Bruges details how planting trees to usuage our guilty consciences and carbon offsetting is just making the problem worse, how natural gas isn’t the solution having only a 40 year future until that’s all gone, how hydrogen technology is still very uncertain, how biofuels have the potential for creating famine and how oil and nuclear energy are both limited fossil fuels. In light of this, it seems renewables are the only way to go?

Bruges looks at how as our natural world is impacted by climate change, drinking water is disappearing, forests are disappearing and glaciers are retreating. And in the world of man, the economy still maintains priority over environment. He makes an interesting point here that the charging of interest is destroying the planet’s ability to support life, with additional interesting points about religion and usury/green and how the modern banking system creates money out of nothing.

Bruges puts forward the case for a global eco-currency with the aim of eradicating poverty, adding “… could anyone have seriously imagined, or wanted, the world we have created today? It is a world in which just 220 people own more that the joint income of half the world’s population.” And all the while huge numbers of people live with crime, desperation and the threat of starvation. It’s interesting to note that Bhutan, a country where the inhabitants live very simple lives, is the world’s happiest country, while in places where money, religion and power are considered priorities, our lives become complicated and we become increasingly insular.

Reading this book from cover to cover will change the way you view mankind, our lifestyle, and how we treat this planet and our fellow man.

We’re giving away 3 copies of The Big Earth Book by James Bruges to EcoStreet readers. If you’d like a copy, please leave a comment below telling us why you’d like it. On the 1st December 2008, we’ll choose our favourite 3 reasons and send the book to those readers.

Using TerraCycle‘s products made out of recycled drink pouches took me right back to my childhood days. Back then I loved the idea of using drink and food packets for other things, little did I know that it would be one of the most important principles to live by – RECYCLING!

The TerraCycle pencil case and homework folder that I have are both made out of recycled Kool-Aid drink pouches. The drink pouches are sewn together very well, and are very hardy.

TerraCycle has a program called “The Drink Pouch Brigade”, where you receive an express pack with prepaid UPS postage. Collect drink pouches, fill each express pack with 100 pouches and drop it off at any UPS store. Once received TerraCycle will send you a new express pack to fill. Not only will you be recycling, but for each drink pouch received, Honest Kids and CapriSun contribute 2c(US) to a nonprofit organization of your choice.

As well as the drink pouch collecting program, TerraCycle also but have a “Cookie Wrapper Brigade” and “Energy Bar Brigade”. Out of this consumer waste, they make tote bags, messenger bags, and backpacks in lots of fun colours. It’s amazing.

TerraCycle products are a great gift buy for children and the young at heart. A great program, a good product and excellent value!

Even though I’m not a bloke, I really like Bulldog‘s original shower gel and the tingly, wakey-wakey feeling that it gives your skin in the shower in the morning. But what I like most about Bulldog is that none of their products contain high risk synthetic ingredients (like parabens, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colours and synthetic fragrances), they’re very reasonably priced and they’re readily available on supermarket shelves. In fact, I’m green with envy that Bulldog have made this amazing range of grooming products for men, when there’s no comparable range for women. Integrity usually comes with a higher price tag.

There’s only one problem that I’ve experienced with Bulldog‘s shower gel, and that is that it is quite difficult to squeeze out of the bottle. Perhaps it’s all part of the evil plan to keep Bulldog to the men, who generally have more muscular forearms.

Eco-agony uncle Bob’s irreverent wit and humour makes the book an easy read and puts the fun back into finding everyday solutions to the environmental problems that we face. Being a Sierra Club publication, it is written with a US slant, especially as far as the recommendation of certain brands, but on the whole most of the advice offered is good all round counsel.

Between the letters to Bob, and his replies to them are articles on related subjects, including checklists, recipes and tips for living a greener life. The advice given is back up by extensive notes at the back of the book, so you can be sure that the solutions here are well researched.

This book will certainly help making to live a greener life just that little bit more lighthearted, and you’d be hard pressed to find a question about green living that Bob hasn’t answered.

Anna comes from a family of frugal women, and so took to eco-living like a duck to water. In her own words, she “finds living green to be more life-enhancing than difficult or expensive”. Anna dishes out advice that she’s tested thoroughly herself, as well as frugal (and eco-friendly) nuggets passed down to her by her mother and grandmother.

In How Green Are My Wellies?, Anna tackles one lifestyle change per month. She explores different methods for greening her life, discarding those that don’t work, and recommending those that do. As you read along, month-by-month, you’ll be encouraged to join Anna to achieve a seasonal green target, and learn, as Anna has, how to green your life without having to compromise on style.

This book will make a great gift for aspiring environmentalists, especially at Christmas time to encourage green New Year’s resolutions. From slimming your waste in January to stepping off the seasonal treadmill in December, following Anna’s lead with make the world of difference to your environmental impact by taking your life in a new and greener direction.