TECHNOLOGY got us into this ecological mess, but can it get us out again?

You're going to die. Don't panic, it's not going to happen right this minute - unless you've just swallowed a hand grenade - but your death is definitely on the cards. Indeed, everyone who was ever born, before 1880 at least, has popped their clogs at some time or another. It's an inarguable fact and it's marginally depressing.

Or is it? No it isn't! Because while your death may be tediously inevitable, the manner in which you are due to expire is still very much up in the air. And there's a lot fun to be had guessing at just what it might be. Brutally mauled by tigers? Eaten alive by jungle tribesmen? Blown heroically to bits on a battlefield? Choking to death on your own semen? It could be any one of these, or all of them if you're particularly unlucky.

Working out how we're going to die is so interesting that some people have turned it into a full time hobby. To make things easy for themselves - predicting six billion individual fatalities is rather heavy on the paperwork - these pessimistic soothsayers like to envisage a turn of events which will snuff out the entire human race in one go. And while the smart money is on zombie dogs, the current hot potato of doom seems to be climate change. Man's pollution of planet Earth, so the argument goes, has reached such terrible heights that the ice of the Arctic and Antarctic is melting. Eventually it will all be gone, and that means one thing: millions of angry polar bears, swimming directly for the mainland to kill us all. It won't be pretty.

Can it be stopped, you ask? Well, legend has it that a polar bear can only be killed by decapitation or exposure to Holy Water, so we'd suggest befriending a vicar and buying a very large machete. But there may be another way. If we tackle the root cause, pollution, we may be able to avert the crisis in the first place. Or, more likely, helplessly gurgle "it wasn't my fault" as the bears tear our throats out.

Technology, the exact pastime which has landed us all in this sorry mess, has been vaguely attempting to make amends for some years. Its efforts are now solidly making their way into the consciousness of the home consumer, with a large range of eco-friendly gadgets which combine the thrill of invention with the warm glow of futile attempts at self-preservation.

The Hymini is one such device. It's a pocket-sized reverse fan which sucks in wind and converts it to portable power. Available before the end of the year, it also comes with a solar panel. Which means you could probably power it with an LED Eco Lantern, one of the latest wind-up torches on the market. One minute winding this bulbous oddity creates 30 whole minutes of light, and it comes with "three phase hand generator technology" which either means it's easier to wind or, more likely, means absolutely nothing at all. And once you've saved the world with your wind-powered iPod and eco-lit tent, you might like to celebrate with a refreshing drink of lager. When you've finished, throw the empty can into the Ecopod, a stylish can and plastic bottle crusher made by BMW Designworks. It's a posh bin, basically, with lots of fancy compartments for different bits. It looks very nice. Unlike your face after the polar bears find you.