Walmart's DRM Fail = Environmental Win

Ah, I remember the first time I listened to MP3s while bombing down a ski slope on my Burton snowboard. Years later, I can't run without an iPod Shuffle stuck in my ears. MP3 players and sports seem to just go hand-in-hand.

Following other leaders, Walmart announced that it is turning off the DRM that keeps you from moving the files you might have bought from them from computer to computer. DRM is stupid as it is, but you might not have considered how wasteful it can be.

First, there's the servers required to monitor your music. Then, there's the fact that it could take up to 25% more juice to run your player when it has to check with those servers. All this for something customers never wanted in the first place.

Goodbye, DRM. We won't miss you.

More on this at EcoGeek.

Bula Action Beanie

Half bamboo, half wool, all winner!

All hail the under appreciated beanie. You lose so much heat through your head, every winter athlete should keep one nearby to stay toasty. Here at GreenDella, I keep one shoved in my back pocket for when the temps drop at night. No jacket, no problem.

Bamboo is just starting to hit the scene as a technical fiber. Anti-microbial and sweat-wicking, it joins wool as simply great stuff for athletes.

Outside Magazine just featured the Bula Action Beanie in its annual Winter Gear review. Not only is the bamboo blend cool, it uses no artificial dyes for coloring. They stated that if they gave a green award, this would be the champ.

Not everything bamboo is green, though. Many bamboo fibers go through extensive chemical processing, polluting the heck out of the environment during production. Do your research before you buy and check to see how your fibers are made.

There does not seem to be a website for Bula, but the beanie can be found at various shops. Here is a link to just one of them.

E-Bikes Save the USA?

Schwinn and Toshiba are teaming up to make a huge impact in bike commuting. Toshiba has made huge leaps in battery charging times and Schwinn is putting them on their E-bikes. "Electric bikes are a dramatically growing phenomenon within the U.S., and we intend to be a serious contender within the eBike category," stated Schwinn executive Bruno Maier.

E-bikes are an interesting option to take the edge off of a bike commute. People are more likely to hit the bike lane when the ride won't get them sweaty or the hills aren't too hard.

Here's a link to more on the story with the technical details.

E-bikes do cause a bit of controversy. Some die-hards say you should just ride a regular bike in the first place. What do you think?

Belt Drive Bikes about to Hit the Mainstream?

Interbike (the yearly big bang bike show in Vegas) has some great examples of belt driven bikes floating around.  The real question is, will people adopt them and make bike commuting more popular?

Belt driven bikes are lighter and have no grease, so you would think the idea is a shoe-in for commuting.  So what's the problem?  Not enough gears?  Internal geared hubs take care of that, at least for commuting.  Looks like the culprit might be slippage.  Does the new equipment have it solved?

Photo above from the article at Wired.com.

Other links about the technology -

• On Bikehugger
• Lots of great comments on the concept and history at Bicycledesign

Let's Get Started

Can we have a Green perspective on the active lifestyle?  Trends, new products, and lots more. 

This blog is the first step in creating something bigger and better.  We'll move to a domain with a name change in a short while.