Here’s a design for a restaurant or patio table that is lit by a solar powered light.  The Firefly table features nicely integrated solar panels in the top of the table.   Pressing on the center lamp cover causes the lamp to pop up and begin lighting.

This design eliminates the need for temperamental (and romantic) votive candles, or overhead lighting.  There’s also a nice opportunity for branding and messaging via a stencil under the lamp whereby light passes through projecting a word or slogan onto the floor beneath the table.

via: industrial design served

Someone drained the nectar out of these Captain Morgan and Bacardi bottles and upcycled them into handy hummingbird feeders.

Safe for the birds, with labels sealed so these bird-friendly conversation pieces will withstand the elements.

If you’re handy you could probably make your own DIY version.

choice of styles – $14 ea. @ DeeLuxDesigns Etsy shop

With our concern for the ever mounting problem of e-waste, we welcome the following post contributed by Paul Nelson, one of the founders of RepairLaunch.com.

I refer to them as “DIY Repair Services” because many of the resources available today explain not only how to fix your own stuff also offer to fix the stuff for you.  Call it bait if you want, but if you apply yourself you can probably repair your item by following the steps provided by the resource you’ve chosen.

Fast growing are iPhone repair services and the iPhone as a whole has a ton of information to save your phone or Apple device.  Generally speaking, the more popular your electronic device is, the more likely you will find information on it. Something to think about before you buy.

Here are some quick DIY repair tips for the easier types of repairs if you’re in a bind:

• An iPhone screen repair is commonly needed because the glass breaks rather easily, especially at parties.  If you have learned that already the hard way, hopefully you knew that if it is just the glass that is broken, all you need is a couple tools and a replacement screen and you can fix it in under 20 minutes (in a many situations).
• Your iPhone gets wet.  First thing to do is get it out of the water.  Make sure you don’t turn it on and (more…)

• Oil dispersant chemicals may limit damage…Gulf Oil Fight Turns to Chemicals (see above) – natgeo
• Calmer weather helps…BP Struggles to Stop Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak – reuters
• I could have used this last winter…Mammoths had ‘Anti-Freeze Blood’, Gene Study Finds – bbc
• Despite Ecological Disaster, Oil Spill Has Little Impact on Human Health – livescience
• Gulf Coast Watches, Waits for Path of Oil Spill – msnbc
• Doesn’t real bird watching happen in the great outdoors? Barn Owls Molly + McGee Attract a Worldwide Internet Following – aol news
• Pictures: Ancient Egyptian Crocodile Mummies Revealed – natgeo

Have you got a desk full of crappy pens destined for the landfill?  Well, today, Newell Rubbermaid announced its Paper Mate brand is helping to make the everyday writing experience a little greener with the introduction of Paper Mate Biodegradable – the first widely available line of pens and mechanical pencils made with a majority of biodegradable components, which break down in soil, or home compost in about a year.

Paper Mate’s Biodegradable products look and feel like conventional plastic, but their compostable components are a bio-plastic made from plant-derived sugar, an annually renewable resource.  When disassembled and placed in yard soil or home compost they decompose in about a year, increasing compost and reducing waste.  Additionally, the products are packaged in 100-percent PVC-free recyclable material.

Receive 25% off these already reasonably priced adornments now @ tenthousandvillages.com … (note — discount will appear at checkout).

Thinking of buying mom or that special someone a stylish accessory?  Show your support of Fair Trade artisans around the globe by purchasing handcrafted jewelry that’s made from locally sourced materials.

(just above) Triple strand recycled glass necklace, made by El Agbe Company in Ghana.

(Top photos) Necklace & earrings made in Kathmandu, Nepal from hand-worked metal beads and Lotus seeds, which are said to provide good luck and protection from danger.

Volkswagen‘s ‘Think Blue’ sustainability campaign now includes the futuristic, folding Bik.e electric bike.  This little e-bike will fit in the trunk of one’s car – providing an additional transportation option for those occasions where a more personal, micro-mobility is required.  The bike is designed to run for about an hour when powered by the Lithium-ion battery in its frame.  Check out the UP-TV video of Bik.e performing at a Chinese auto show is below:

Related:  previously on altCon, more e-bike posts

Put your money where your mouth is…use a wallet made of recycled or vintage material.

Designer, Laura Skelton’s prix-prix line features nifty looking wallets made from the reconstructed fabrics of suits, shirts and other pieces of clothing.

$30 ea. @ prix-prix’s supermarkethq.com shop

• Stopping the leaks could take from 10 days to 3 months… Obama: Oil Spill Could be Unprecedented Disaster – msnbc
• It’s really big. (see above) Aerial Oil Slick in Pictures – natgeo
• Some good news – the tech exists today…U.S. Could Eliminate Emissions From Coal in 20 Years – sciencedaily
• Another issue…EPA Ramps  Up Air Quality Monitoring for Oil Spill – yahoo! news
• Buzz Off! Thousands of Bees Cling to Michigan SUV – myway
• Japanese whalers are the criminals- this is all backwards…Japan Issues Arrest Warrant for Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson – ecorazzi
• This is definitely a ‘bad news’ day…Flooding Kills at Least 15 in Southeast – cnn.com
  
• Beantown watermain break…Water Pipe Fixed: Drinking Water Still Not Safe - wcvbtv.com