Environmentally friendly electronics

This comment by Alison got me thinking about environmentally friendly electronics. I had a look at some of my bookmarks on delicious and found these gems:

• Self sufficient Arduino (Solar powered)
• How to make a Joule Thief (a flash torch that will drain the last bit of juice from your “dead” batteries)
• Make your own hand crank radio

There’s definitely a good possibility of combining the first two technologies. I have heard hand cranks tend to break down fairly quickly, I don’t know if its the choice of plastics over metal or a mechanical fault, but they don’t last long.

I hope to be using one of these technologies in the not too distant future!