For many of us, eco-consciousness has become simply, “consciousness,” and with good reason. Average consumers are now more aware than ever that their existence exacts a toll on the planet’s finite natural resources, which mustn’t be squandered.

The truth is, though, being Mac tech geeks, we aren’t necessarily part of the solution, unless we make an effort to shrink our impact. To be sure, Apple is trying to do its part--most recently in the form of the much-ballyhooed line of eco-friendly MacBooks, for example, with their recyclable aluminum unibody frames and glass screens, LED backlighting, longer-lasting batteries, and reduced quotient of toxins. But there are a lot of other ways you can help turn the tide of global warming and resource depletion, and that’s where the idea for this article took root.

In the following, we present a veritable garden of green, Apple-friendly products, hand-picked tips for reducing your Mac’s reliance on grid-supplied power, and--best of all--inspired ideas for reusing older Macs rather than just tossing them aside. Because we’re all in this together. And it’s our job to make sure you can do your part in the green movement without having to give up your dedication to your Apple technologies of choice.

How Green Are Your Gadgets?

Macs and iPods work best when accessorized properly. Lucky for you, third-party accessory makers are seeing green these days.

By now we all know the three tenets of eco-consciousness: reduce, reuse, and recycle. This holy trinity is also the basis upon which to green up your tech life. And for those of you who confuse the three R’s of ecogeekdom with the three R’s of elementary school, we have distilled these principles into a single letter for you: S. “S” is for “save,” which may be easier to remember and sounds like a lot less work. Save resources, save power, save money…save the earth.
And because we lay our green hopes at the doors of the scientists and engineers, we’ve complied a list of our favorite green gadgets and accessories that not only serve a function, but embrace an ethos.

>>Alt-Energy Power Sources

The most immediate positive impact we can have on the environment is to use our limited resources wisely. The tech industry is spitting out eco-friendly gadgets like mad to keep you working, while helping you stay off the grid.


Apple Juicz’s 55W solar charger keeps your ‘Book ready a roll.

The sun is the only power source you need for the QuickerTek Apple Juicz ($1,100 for the 55-watt model, www.quickertek.com), a lightweight solar panel designed to charge your MacBook in 5 hours. You can also power up your MacBook with Voltaic Systems’ messenger-style Generator bag ($499, www
.voltaicsystems.com), whose 15-watt model needs 5 hours to charge the bag’s battery, from which you can juice up your ’Book.

Slip the power of the sun in your pocket with this compact solar-powered gadget charger.

For handheld gadgets there are more affordable options: Voltaic makes a Backpack Solar Charger ($249) that offers 4 watts of power and 11 adapters for charging a huge variety of handheld devices. The Powertraveller powermonkey-eXplorer ($129, powertraveller.com) is a solar-powered charger that’s small enough to fit in your pocket, but strong enough to give you the juice necessary to play 40 hours of music on your iPod. The Solio Magnesium Edition ($169.95, www.solio.com) soaks up sun with its delicate “leaves,” but is strong enough to charge virtually all of your handhelds. The MiniWiz HYmini ($49.99; www.hymini.com), billed as a “mini green power station that fits in the palm of your hand,” leverages the power of wind or the sun to charge most 5V gadgets. The Medis 24-7 Power Pack ($40, www
.medistechnologies.com), utilizes fuel-cell technology, keeping you off the grid and in no need of an AC outlet. Once activated, the Power Pack lasts up to three months, and can give your devices six to eight charges, depending on how much power it requires per charge. Once the Power Pack is out of juice, you’ll need to send it back for a refill, which Medis makes easier by supplying you with the necessary return packaging. The Freeplay Energy FreeCharge ($32, www
.freeplayenergy.com), a portable charger that has no internal batteries, creates power with a hand crank. Because the FreeCharge harnesses human energy and doesn’t need the sun or wind, it would make a great addition to an emergency kit. Just make sure to pack some energy bars so you’ll have enough stamina to wind the crank long enough to recharge your gear.


>> Reuse, Reclaim, and Refurbish

The principles of refurbishing and reuse spring from the same well as those of recycling. Taking things that already exist and giving them a new life keeps them out of landfills, saves resources, and gives creatives a new purpose. It’s a win-win.

Freitag bags are made from used tarps, seat belts, and bicycle inner tubes--and they’re stylin’ to boot.

Made of rubber rescued from the tires of South American trucks, Tread cases (starting at $24.95 for an iPod nano, www.tread.com) are water-, heat-, acid-, and UV-resistant, and, as such, will surely protect your precious digital cargo. Also available from Tread are MacBook bags made out of the old tires, such as the Coco 15-inch Mac Bag ($199.95). Freitag makes computer bags (among other things) out of the old tarps once used to cover trucks, coupled with used seat belts, air bags, and bicycle inner tubes. The bags, such as the Top Cat ($253.75, www.freitag.ch), were conceived 
by Swiss messengers, whose aim was to make durable, waterproof, sustainable products. And Rickshaw Bagworks’s Zero Messenger bag ($40 to $60, www
.rickshawbags.com), made from domestically sourced, recyclable nylon, and designed to minimize manufacturing waste, prove that eco-friendly design can go beyond hemp necklaces and those Guatemalan pants we loved so much in college.

Green innovation doesn’t stop with bags, however. Contexture Design reclaims old cassettes and fashions its 45 nano Cases ($45, 45ipodcases.com) for 4th-gen nanos. And Swedish company INF Import utilizes old newspaper and wood chips to make 512MB and 16GB Recycled USB Drives (www
.infimport.com).



>> REDUCE

Aside from alternative power, reducing your use of energy and raw materials when purchasing Mac and iPod accessories can greatly impact your environmental footprint.

When you’re pumping up your Mac’s storage capacity, consider using components with built-in power-saving and other eco-friendly features. Western Digital’s Caviar Green internal SATA hard drives ($99.99/500 GB-$139.99/1TB, westerndigital.com) consume less power than other internal SATA drives, helping you save money and energy at the same time.

Reclaim your vinyl: turn your records into digital grooves with the Newmark TTi.

For music freaks, the iPod and iTunes Store combo is an incredibly green way to pump up your music collection. Even without the cardboard “long boxes” common in the early 1990s, physical CDs are still tremendously wasteful. By downloading your tracks instead of purchasing hunks of plastic and paper, you’re saving a lot of raw materials, not to mention the fuel associated with moving discs around the planet. And now that iTunes has gone DRM-free--and with a higher bit-rate to boot--it’s rekindled our love of the iTunes Store. For anyone with huge collections of records or cassette tapes, there are plenty of options for digitizing that old-school media, so it’s playable on your iPod. Numark’s TTi turntable ($449; www
.numark.com) turns your old Tower of Power LPs into the ones and zeroes your iPod can play. And if tapes are more your thing, the Alesis TapeLink USB ($299, www.alesis.com) can bring all your old Skid Row and Prince cassingles into the digital age.