Now that Earth Day is behind us, there’s no reason to stop the green efforts you’ve been making the past week! This year’s Earth Day was the biggest ever, with an estimated 1 billion people worldwide participating in various Earth Day events and efforts. The 2008 theme, Call for Climate, focuses on a global warming action theme.

Even if you’re not necessarily an eco-activist (InventHelp’s Gadget Girl makes an effort, but I admit that I’m addicted to long, hot showers), here are a few ways that you can make an everyday effort to reduce global warming:

1. Change Your Light Bulbs (Difficultly Level: Easy) – The invention of compact fluorescent light bulbs makes it easier than ever to give your home the “green” light. Replacing just three frequently used bulbs in your home can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and $60 a year.
2. Buy Local and Organic (Difficulty Level: Medium) – By shopping for local products, you eliminate carbon emissions resulting from extensive transports across state and country lines. Plus, you support the local economy. Also, be sure to check out the latest organic clothing inventions in your favorite department store. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is addicted to soft, organic cotton T-shirts!
3. Go Hybrid (Difficultly Level: Challenging) – One of the most exciting automotive inventions of the last 10 years is the hybrid. If you’re in the market for a new car, try test-driving a hybrid. There are plenty of styles, from compact sedans to SUVs, from a variety of automotive companies. Although hybrids are a little more costly, most drivers find that saving an average of 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year (in addition to thousands of dollars in gas) offsets the higher sticker price. Even if you don’t go hybrid, make MPG a factor in your buying decisions.

Just because Earth Day is over doesn’t mean you should give up the effort. Even the smallest changes add up over time. InventHelp and Gadget Girl say “Thanks!” for choosing Earth-friendly inventions!

There’s really no worse feeling than coming up with a new idea, then forgetting it before you get a chance to pursue it. While InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is less of an inventor and more of an invention lover, I’d hate for a neat idea to strike me only to have it slip away later!

Luckily, InventHelp has created a solution: The InventHelp Inventor’s Diary™. This diary is an easy-to-use journal that helps creative, innovative people to record developments in their intellectual property as they occur. And thanks to scribd.com, an online publishing service, you can get one for free.

From my experience in the invention industry, I know it is wise to document your progress. Included in InventHelp’s diary is a confidentiality and non-use agreement that can be used between the inventor and a potential reviewer. All in all, this handy little booklet is nice to have around when you feel that light bulb in your head lighting up.

If note-taking and documentation are not your strong point, you’ll find helpful tips, notes about record-keeping, and even an example entry to help get you started.

It’s become clear to InventHelp’s Gadget Girl that the popularity upsurge in environmentally friendly products is more than just a trend – it’s becoming the norm. As people worldwide work to protect natural resources, more products that focus on conservation emerge.

The latest example was unveiled at a high-tech fair in Tokyo this week: The Quick Response Liquid Powder Display. In laymen’s terms, it’s “electronic paper.” The e-paper invention is embedded with an electronic grid reacts when an electric charge is received. Tiny black and white particles respond to the charge by creating text and images. The paper invention is flexible enough to be bent, and even retains the images after the electrical charge is turned off.

As the demand for paper grows in developing countries, researchers hope that this alternative will woo consumers away from pulp paper. Since the costs of fuel and raw materials are likely going to continue to increase, manufacturers hope that electronic paper will become as commonplace as the cell phone in a business professional’s briefcase.

With Earth Day just around the corner, there’s never been a better time for InventHelp and Gadget Girl to bring you the latest on green inventions!

Spring has finally sprung, although you wouldn’t know it with all this dismal East Coast weather. It’s true that InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has little patience for wintry conditions (and here at InventHelp headquarters in Pittsburgh, we know something about winter weather!), but knowing that those first Spring buds are about to bloom at any moment really puts a bounce in my step.

In honor of all things Spring, here are InventHelp and Gadget Girl’s three favorite springtime inventions:

1. The Hammock – It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who invented the hammock. Some say that the word “hammock” is derived from the Spanish hamaca or hamac, which would suggest its modern use can be credited to Latin America. Part of the reason that hammocks became so popular in the New World is safety. Because you are suspended above ground while sleeping, people were better protected from snakes and other harmful creatures. For InventHelp’s Gadget Girl, there’s nothing better than a lazy afternoon spent in a hammock with a great book.
2. The Cooler – On a warm day, nothing beats a cold drink. Originally invented in Australia (where it is called an “esky”), the cooler’s insulating capabilities make for better picnics and parties. For more on the cooler, check out this article from our InventHelp Newsletter archives.
3. The Ice Cream Cone – Eating ice cream from the bowl pales in comparison to the mobile freedom allowed by the ice cream cone! Italo Marchino, an Italian immigrant, produced the first ice cream cone in 1896 and was granted a patent in December of 1903. A similar idea popped up at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, when an entrepreneurial ice cream vendor began dishing ice cream into a wafer-like Middle Eastern pastry called a Zalabia. Luckily for InventHelp’s Gadget Girl, the idea caught on!

InventHelp and Gadget Girl can’t say “thanks” enough to these innovators because without them Spring just wouldn’t be the same!

Outside of Gadget Girl’s office in Pittsburgh, where InventHelp is headquartered, winter is still going full blast. We’ll be lucky if we see 40-degree temperatures this week. So this kind of story about sunny Arizona is the kind that makes me want to pack my bags and head for the Southwest!

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano recently said that there’s no reason why Arizona can’t be “Persian Gulf of solar energy,” and a Spanish solar-power company agrees. Abengoa Solar will operate a $1 billion solar-energy plant covering 3 square miles of desert southwest of Phoenix. Abengoa Solar, which has plants in Spain, northern Africa and other parts of the U.S., could begin construction as early as next year on the 280-megawatt plant.

Regulators are requiring that 15 percent of electricity must come from renewable sources by 2025, and this plant will harness enough power to supply electricity to 70,000 homes in the area.

Unlike most solar energy, Abengoa will collect power through the sun’s heat rather than its light. It can reach up to 120 degrees in the summer, and heat can still be collected at night when the sun is down. The plant will use thousands of giant mirrors to harness the energy, in turn heating liquids which will spin turbines, creating pollution-free power.

Now, given the choice between 120-degree summer heat and sub-zero winter cold, I think I’ll stay put here in Pittsburgh. Would someone kindly hand me my InventHelp Gadget Girl snowsuit, please? It’s time for my morning coffee.

While I try to post as many blogs as I can, unfortunately my gig as InventHelp’s Gadget Girl keeps me away from the computer sometimes! And, I’ll admit, sometimes I get so involved with my gadgets that I forget to write about them.

If you’re looking for more of the latest news on innovation between blogs, check out this new feature on the InventHelp website: Invention and Technology News.

This site was developed by InventHelp to provide everyday people with interesting and enlightening news from the world of innovation. The site’s team of writers has plenty of experience in the invention industry (the roster includes yours truly - InventHelp’s Gadget Girl!), and we’re committed to keeping you up on the latest gadgets, green technology and more.

If you’re wondering what kind of stories to find on the Invention and Technology News website, there’s something to strike any fancy.

“While our site is still pretty new, several of our stories have already created some Internet buzz,” said Executive Editor Shad Connelly. “We had a story about an invention called the Rumbler, a device that makes police-car sirens actually shake the ground, which attracted a lot of readers. A story about the Smartpen, which records audio as you write, has become our biggest hit to date.”

With all of InventHelp’s inventor-friendly sites, you may have to make extra time in your day just to keep up!

Be honest – how do you feel about drinking water that may have been in your toilet a short time ago? InventHelp’s Gadget Girl admits that her first reaction was not very positive, but after some research, the idea has become a bit more palatable.

Over the next 20 years, scientists predict that dry areas will become even drier, leading many to wonder how to ensure that water supplies meet demand.

Take California, for example. Famed for its sunny climate, California is also the most populous state by a longshot. The demands of a large population living in an arid climate have scientists concerned about a future water shortage.

Some believe that recycling sewage water through an extensive purification process is a solution. The technology to accomplish this task already exists.

The Groundwater Replenishment System takes water from the toilet, treats it and releases it through a $490 million system of purification tanks, filters and pipes. Then, the water flows in lakes, through sand and clay, and back into the groundwater supply. A few months later, it travels back through your home faucet.

Sound futuristic? It’s not – in fact, the system is already well on its way to becoming the norm in Orange County, Calif.

According to the project Web site, the system reduces the amount of wastewater dispersed into the ocean, prevents drought-related shortages, and cleans the water so well that it’s beyond the current standard.

Proponents of these treatments systems hope that educating the public about the benefits of recycling wastewater will help people to get over the “yuck” factor.

Even if the toilet-to-tap system doesn’t catch on, it’s clear to all of us at InventHelp that we’ll have to find new ways to get water to the places it’s needed.

Forget hot cocoa — even in the dead of winter, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl still craves one of her favorite deserts: ice cream.

As an ice cream enthusiast, imagine my surprise when I heard that a new type of antifreeze might be the new secret ingredient in the ice cream carton!

As we all know, one disadvantage of ice cream is that it often forms unappetizing ice crystals, which can ruin the ice cream’s rich, creamy texture.

The non-toxic antifreeze, made from a gelatin protein, could be added to any frozen food to prevent ice crystals from forming without otherwise affecting the food itself.

Previous attempts to make antifreeze for frozen foods relied on genetically modified ingredients, and have not been very effective. This is the first antifreeze made from natural ingredients, one researcher said.

Researchers extracted gelatin protein from cow hide and used it to make a compound called gelatin hydrolysate. When they prepared batches of ice cream made with and without the compound, those with the antifreeze developed significantly smaller and fewer ice crystals.

The question that researchers can’t answer at this point is how the antifreeze targets the ice crystals and not the ice cream itself, calling it the “million-dollar,” long-term research question.

It sounds like a pretty good deal…delicious ice cream with no ice crystals. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl will be happy as soon as they start making it in Vanilla Fudge!

The holiday season is in full swing, and that means holiday decorations and Christmas trees are alight and twinkling.

Most of us just plug our lights into the regular old outlet, but a Japanese inventor had a different idea. Inventor Kazuhiko Minawa has found a way to light an aquarium’s Christmas tree using an electric eel.

Two aluminum panels inside the eel’s tank function as electrodes to harness the eel’s electricity. Cables attached to the panels then deliver the power to the nearby tree, illuminating it.

Minawa said it took him more than a month to figure out how to light the tree using the eel’s power. The tree is proving to be a very popular attraction, drawing tourists from all over the country.

If we could gather all electric eels from all round the world, we would be able to light up an unimaginably giant Christmas tree,” Minawa told Reuters Television.

It’s not clear whether the system actually cuts down on electrical costs or energy usage, but I’d be curious to find out. I don’t think I have space in my living room for an eel tank, but if it saves me a few bucks I might just give it a try!

One way to make Time magazine’s list of Inventions of the Year is to make your invention disappear. It sounds strange, but two of Time’s choices this year do just that.

The first disappearing act was invented to cut down on paper waste. If your office is like my office, there is a lot of printing going on all the time. Many documents that we print are needed only for a single viewing. Xerox estimates that as many as two out of every five pages printed in the office are for what it calls “daily” use, like e-mails or meeting notes.

For documents that are needed only for a short time, scientist Paul Smith at Xerox Research Centre of Canada has invented Erasable Paper.Erasable Paper contains a chemical that changes color when it is exposed to light. The image lasts about 16-24 hours, and then returns to a blank slate. Xerox is working with an industrial printing company to develop a device to write the images on the specialized paper. The paper is still in the prototyping stage.

Not only is this a great idea but Gadget Girl thinks this can save millions of trees! Good Job Xerox!

Our next disappearing act could be construed as office-related – if you’ve ever been rejected by a company for having too many tattoos. Statistics say that every one out of five people who got a tattoo regrets it, leading one company to develop an easier way to get rid of them.

Freedom-2 ink is produced from biodegradable dyes coated in plastic, unlike the heavy metal dyes used most commonly for tattoos. The Freedom-2 ink tattoos can be removed in a single treatment because the capsules burst upon contact with a laser, and your body can absorb the dye safely.

Unfortunately for those who already have a Mickey Mouse tattoo or “HATE” across the knuckles, this invention only works if you’re tattooed with the Freedom-2 ink in the first place. The dye won’t be available until December, so you may want to hold off on inking that hip tribal design onto your arm for a little while.

Hundreds of new innovations in technology are invented every year, but only a few make Time magazine’s cut. You never know – with persistence, hard work and a little luck, maybe your invention could make the list someday.