The USB Greenhouse makes Al Gore cry

The USB Greenhouse grows plants which is good for the environment right? Oh sure, 'cept you have to keep your PC running 24/7 in order to provide the fake USB sunlight to the artificial soil. It's what life will be like when robots farm, only with Marigolds not the wee babies harvested of their electrical properties. $43 for you without a soul.

[narix @ Sep 14th 2007 7:17AM]

what happens when its getting to big?

[Ratchet the Lombax @ Sep 14th 2007 7:32AM]

That's when you upgrade to the firewire version.

[Ken @ Sep 14th 2007 7:51AM]

Care Glory is an anagram of Al Gore Cry...

[cpetterborg @ Sep 14th 2007 11:19AM]

Al Gore has one of the most energy hogging homes in America. His power bill is $2000 PER MONTH! He's not crying. He's just looking as stupid as ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Thomas @ Sep 14th 2007 7:32AM]

HA>>> you could grow gangaaa :)

or cool your beer with this:

http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1378

USB Gadgets are cool, but this Green House takes the prize..

[BennyB @ Sep 14th 2007 7:39AM]

I'm not sure many plants require sunlight 24/7

[Taylor @ Sep 14th 2007 8:15AM]

It would be a bit difficult to get 24 hours of sunlight, unless you were in the Antarctic or Arctic circles.

[_antitrance @ Sep 14th 2007 7:59AM]

This is probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen. ¬_¬

[Saffy @ Sep 14th 2007 8:01AM]

My PC's been on about 99% of the time since sometime around 1997. That being said, plants are actually used to times without light. See, in the old days, there was this thing called "the sun." It would "rise" in the morning, and "set" at night, leaving the world, or at least the parts of it where it was night time, in total darkness. The wise ones say that this "sun" was the source of most energy on the planet, and that plants actually used the light from it to grow, and somehow managed to survive even in those times when the sun was illuminating some other part of the planet.

This was, of course, before the great catastrophe when we destroyed the earth's natural environment and had to use the Dark Crystal to harvest the life essence of Al Gore to power all our gadgets, make our plants grow and generally get on with our polluting lives.

[hp540 @ Sep 14th 2007 9:10AM]

that was comedy gold. one of the more entertaining replies in a while.

[johnzilla @ Sep 14th 2007 12:28PM]

Come on, it was a wee bit clever, but not that funny.

[Saffy @ Sep 14th 2007 12:40PM]

Hey 'zilla. I'll take that as a compliment. I'm not usually funny or clever at 8 am. Either way, it's an accomplishment for me.

[Jarrad @ Sep 14th 2007 8:51AM]

saffy...that is one of the funniest comments I have ever seen, anyone who references something like the Dark Crystal and Al Gore at the same time is fine by me.

[dillhole @ Sep 14th 2007 8:57AM]

It makes Al Gore cry? I'll take 100. That guy's an idiot.

[Ratchet the Lombax @ Sep 14th 2007 9:18AM]

Ah but Al Gore is a robot and as we all know robots can't cry.

[Jeff @ Sep 14th 2007 11:41AM]

"Ah but Al Gore is a robot"

I, for one, welcome .... yadda yadda yadda

[Ryan P @ Sep 14th 2007 12:03PM]

At least robots cannot harm a human or through inaction allow a human to come to harm. I'd take R. Gore over W any day.

[Loban @ Sep 14th 2007 9:54AM]

I agree Al Gore's an idiot. Anyone who wants to save the planet and keep it at least inhabitable or possibly even improve it for future generations is obviously an idiot. I say screw em, they can find a new planet for all I care, as long as I can continue to throw trash on the ground and flush my sewage into the waterways, I'm happy. Hooray Mankind!!! Boo Nature!!!

[oshean @ Sep 14th 2007 11:17AM]

I dub thee: omnimodus vices porta ovum plantarium

[Samurai Jack @ Sep 14th 2007 11:49AM]

"Take care of the forest, Dewey..."

[Ryan P @ Sep 14th 2007 12:02PM]

Man you guys are way behind. Didn't you know you can buy your way out of pollution now?

[Sean @ Sep 14th 2007 12:28PM]

Oooo...you could grow some pot in that.

[Joey Geraci @ Sep 14th 2007 12:53PM]

Yes, this is very very silly, but I thought I'd just point out that if you have a powered usb hub, you could run this thing off that without your computer having to be on.

[Kai @ Sep 14th 2007 2:50PM]

Actually, during the vegetative stage of growth, most plants benefit from 24/7 sunlight. It's not until the flowering stage that the light cycles are really important. Therefor it would be possible to use a chamber like this until you were ready to fruit, bud, flower, etc the plant. Granted I don't know why in the world anyone would want something like this.

[maruawe @ Sep 14th 2007 2:53PM]

aNYTHING THAT WILL MAKE al Gore cry I WANT ONE or two at least

[Matthew Hilario @ Sep 14th 2007 6:21PM]

al gore wins the internet.

[Paul @ Sep 14th 2007 7:02PM]

I'm buying one for every port on my computer... Muhaaha

[kw @ Sep 14th 2007 9:46PM]

In response to the distorted truths about Al Gore's house, please note that 1) Al and Tipper both use their house as their offices, which includes some staff, etc. (which cuts down on energy wasted for commuting, and makes comparing their energy usage to that of an "average house" like comparing "apples and oranges" 2) In June, the Gore's installed the latest solar panels across their roof (they would have done so sooner, but they could not, until the local building laws were changed) 3) in any case, they purchased ALL their energy from green sources (wind, solar, methane, etc.), paying more to do so (which is why their energy bill is higher) 4) please see this link for more information http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/al_gore_gets_a.php

which states the following

"Al Gore's home, which has been undergoing renovations for months, now boasts a solar roof. When his neighborhood in Tennessee changed zoning laws earlier this year, Gore was able to go ahead with the solar panel installation. You can read about the details of the battle to get the solar panels installed here. Gore is now preparing to install a geothermal system that will drastically reduce the cost of heating in his home. Other renovations on the house are aimed at meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. He is upgrading windows and ductwork, installing more energy-efficient light bulbs and creating a rainwater collection system for irrigation and water management."

This was an OLD house, that had to be re-furbished to meet better environmental standards (which is still MUCH better than building a new house from scratch). It would be nice if Americans could start using their brains, and doing a little independent fact checking, rather than blindly believing everything that they hear on FAUX News and the like. For the rest of us, who are desperate for a change, please consider joining the draftgore movement !!

[pulsart @ Sep 23rd 2007 11:34AM]

You could just put a plant in the small pot, you know to grow naturally.

[John B @ Sep 14th 2007 10:57AM]

AND ... you can use this thing called a "full spectrum light bulb" to simulate a mid-day sun ... AND ... put it on a timer switch to more accurately simulate these "day" and "night" things that I keep hearing about.

This would be far more interesting if the device yelled "Nanoo nanoo!" when it needs water.

[JT Max @ Jan 30th 2008 2:49AM]

Al Gore sux!!!! I used to actually like him, but now he's a little whiner baby.

if you don't care to go buy the USB Greenhouse you can make one for under $5 or $10 depending where you get your supplies. There a neat video that shows you how to make one. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/795228/cool_usb_greenhouse_for_less_than_10/#

Also like Joey Geraci "if you have a powered usb hub, you could run this thing off that without your computer having to be on."

Plus LED don't take that much power AND if you set a timer you can cut down on the amount of time the LIGHT stays on.