SmartPop®, Smart Car…smart appliances? This year General Electric plans to unveil a new line of appliances that will actually talk (well, kind of) to utility companies. Technology within these new washers, dishwashers, microwaves, and refrigerators will enable them to speak to a smart electric meter, which in turn will communicate with the local utility.

Why? Partly to prevent the brownouts and blackouts that can happen during peak hours. Mostly to save on energy bills. Utilities will ask (nicely) that appliances power down a bit at peak times, or delay a wash cycle. This slight powering down or delay decreases power usage during peak times, which in turn reduces a utility’s need to generate more power and helps consumers save on energy bills. Sounds fairly intelligent.

Participants in the GE smart appliance pilot reportedly noticed little difference in using their microwave oven, range and refrigerator under the program. Some made fairly unobtrusive lifestyle switches: delaying the dishwasher cycle until 10 pm, doing laundry on weekends, fixing dinner before 6PM. Talking appliances that save money, energy, and encourage people to live more sustainably? If they make them any smarter, they’ll make us do the dishes.

To read more, check out the GE press release here or see TreeHugger’s comments here.

There’s nothing corny about this new cell phone.  Sprint and Samsung are the proud makers of the Reclaim, an eco-friendly phone, which will be available next week (August 16^th).

40% of the casing is a bio-plastic material, made from corn.  The outer packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled material and printing is done with soy-based ink.  The charger is also noteworthy; it uses 12 times less power in standby than Energy Star standards and visibly indicates when the phone is fully charged.

An additional bonus?  $2 of the proceeds will go to the Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program.  It “supports land conservation across the United States and protects some of the world’s most beautiful and important natural habitats.” (businesswire.com)

For those of us not in the market for a Prius, here’s a more affordable option for making our lives a bit more green. Give your friends a call to share this great information on a new earth-friendly phone.

Toyota’s latest marketing feat has just opened the door for a wide variety of witty titles and one-liners. The buzz around the Toyota’s sun-powered Wi-Fi daisies is taking off. Planted in a few major US cities, these flowers are not only generating public awareness of the third generation Prius, they’re generating electricity and free internet access.

The modern art-in-place flowers are 18 feet high and each provides a place for 10 people to sit, charge their gadgets, and connect to the internet. Electricity is generated via solar panels embedded in the back of the petals and at the base of the stem.

It’s a great concept to illustrate the Prius theme of “Harmony between Man, Nature and Machine;” however I wonder if the Toyota or its builders took the campaign’s concept to the fullest extent by building the sculptures out of recycled plastic. Is there a plan for their use or disposal after they’ve had their run across the US? It seems Toyota knows how to pull off an impressive publicity stunt – people appreciate the intriguing and innovative, especially when there’s an element of free for them. Yet I’m waiting to see if Toyota follows through with the message they’re promoting when these flowers reach the end of their “useful” life as marketing tools.

Image via: thedesignblog.org