Top Green Electronics and Tech at 2011 CES

The Consumer Electronics Show of 2011, held in Las Vegas, garnered over 30,000 visitors and had over 2,700 different companies showing off their latest tech products. Many of these included green and environmentally-friendly, energy efficient items for consumers to check out. Here are some of the top green tech trends from 2011 CES!

Electric vehicles from major manufacturers made headline news at this year's CES. The Nissan Leaf in particular, a fully 100% electric car, garnered much attention. It can travel 100 miles on a full charge, seats 4 people, and has a very nice hatchback design. After ten years, the battery life is expected to be less than it was when it started, but only at around 70-80%. Other vehicles at the show included the cool Chevy Volt, a hybrid electric/gasoline car with a hatchback design. It also seats 4, but drives around 40-50 miles on a fully electric charge, then switches over to an internal combustion engine that actually recharges the electric battery, giving more possible miles. Interesting concept, and one that is thought to alleviate fears of "running out of charge" for consumers. Also on show was the Ford Focus Electric car, another contender in the electric vehicle spectrum.

Smart grid technology was heavily focused on at the 2011 CES. Such tech is supposed to be quite environmentally friendly as it helps manage electric grids more efficiently, shutting down possible waste areas and helping lower energy bills overall. Think of it as a way to know when the least and most expensive times are to run your washer or dryer, based on grid usage. You could monitor such things even by receiving text messages from the devices. This would be applicable to all sorts of high-electricity use electronics in your home, including laundry machines, dishwashers, and refrigerators. It's great to see such as focus on energy efficiency!

Sustainable packaging was also a selling point many companies are making for their tech products at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. While some, including the popular blog eco Treehugger, have expressed doubts about the actual mindset behind such promotions, it's a good thing to see. Sure, it might be the latest and greatest to be hip and trendy by selling your products as "sustainably packaged" and having a company that heavily promotes recycling, but be alert for those that truly are not sustainable. That being said, it is nice to see major companies like Apple and Nokia promoting the use of recyclable material, even if their motives may not be the "greenest."
This is just a small sample of the green tech that was shown off at this year's CES. Look out for 2012's CES in Las Vegas for more exciting green tech!