In our own homes, we might have already made an investment in standard insulation to conserve energy in the home, but standard varieties of the home-hugging padding still take a toll on the environment. Most of them are manufactured  from petroleum-based Styrofoam or fibreglass, both of which are non-biodegradable and expensive to produce.

So when students Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer began to explore eco-friendly alternatives made of biodegradable materials, they knew they were on to something. With the main ingredient as mushrooms, you can also use leftovers for your stir-fry after outfitting your home. (Just kidding.)

Greensulate™ is an organic solution to previous insulation alternatives. Requiring almost no energy, it is more efficient than the costly counterparts. Composed of rice hulls, recycled papers, and mushroom fibres, it is water-repellent and flame-retardant, and has the ability to resist temperature change.

It was Bayer’s idea to develop a, now patented, insulation from oyster mushrooms. The fungi’s mycelia – thousands of tough, tiny threads – is what makes its strength superior. The secret is in the colonizing nature of these spores, and when combined with other natural sources, they bind together to create a foam-like insulation. After the insulation is developed, they use hydrogen peroxide to slow down the process, otherwise it would keep growing, and eventually, actual mushrooms would be produced.

Ecovative Design, their company, aims to explore this idea (and others) to build sustainable building products to hit the market as early as 2010.

The company also offers Acorn™, a compostable packaging material.

Visit their website for more information: ecovativedesign.com

Their performance quality is highlighted by Sony’s Motionflow™ 120Hz technology for improved sharpness and detail in fast-moving images. Their Presence Sensor automatically turns off the picture when no one is present in the area after a set time frame, so if you leave the TV on accidentally leaving the house, hopping in the shower, or leaving the room to chat on the phone, energy is preserved. If motion is detected, it flips back on.

The three largest models (52, 46 and 40 inches, respectively), also are the first to make use of Sony’s micro-tubular Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL), which uses about 40% less power than their other LCD HDTV models, without a difference in picture quality.

The models also offer a USB input for playing audio files from a USB storage device or connecting to other devices, such as cameras.

The models are compatible with Sony’s BRAVIA Link modules including the BRAVIA Wireless Link, BRAVIA Input Link and BRAVIA DVD Link.

All of the BRAVIA™ LCD television range exceed Energy Star 3.0 requirements. Consuming an average of 20-30% less power than last year’s BRAVIA™ range, this new step forward in eco-friendly electronics will be available this summer of 2009.

Source: sony.ca/view/press_763.htm

The tracking tool also allows you to compare it with the ratings that are found in the EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide, as well as with other drivers, both in general and specific to your vehicle.

You can log-in as a guest for a one-time calculation, or register with a username to keep track for the long-term.

Once you log in, enter your vehicle information, and then plug in the amounts: the date, odometer reading, litres consumed, fuel cost, and driving conditions.

For those who tend to make an assumption about their consumption, you might

find this a handy tracking device to keep up-to-speed with the gallons you guzzle.

To try the program yourself, click here.

To explore fuel consumption ratings, click here.

Image courtesy of Toyota.ca and Office of Energy Efficiency