DigIn! Media

Ecological Rant

by Limor Schafman

We must be dumb.  I mean truly.  Have you read the NY Times article today on "Promise of Biofuel Clouded by Weather Risks"?

Here we are spending dollars proliferating adoption of an energy source that is inefficient in energy yield, costs plenty, whose processing harms the environment, and it has straight implications to our food supply and hence cost of food.

It is true that we could actually use this to get our population slimmer by not using corn syrup in all our processed foods - but that is asking for too much apparently.  Instead we just have food producers complain about the rise in cost, and buyers still buying that food even if it is no longer cheap, and getting that healthy Twinkie glow.  I don't understand that either.

And this is happening b/c we don't want to be in the hands of another outside fuel supply source in the hands of 'those dang Brazilians' - how dare they have sugar cane fields that yield 8:1 more energy than corn.  It's not our fault we don't grow corn in the mid West.  We don't want our energy to come from foreign sources that force us to go to war with them and overtake their countries.  We're tired of war.  Truly.

Is there no one, no one, thinking about an overall alternative energy strategy for this country [and for the world] that envisions and employs multiple energy sources which together will solve our issues?  Why do we continue to put the majority of our energy source eggs into one basket?  And have we not learned what it costs us to be in the hands of powerful lobbyists who lead us down energy reliance paths that only benefit them and their clients, and not the people of the United States, let alone the World. 

We, all of us humans,  breath the same air and are inextricably connected in the energy and environmental ecosystem.  We need to think beyond the typical human reaction of controlling energy resources [if you weren't calling me naive before hand, you can certainly do so now] and find a global solution. If we are to continue as thriving economies and livable environments, we all have a stake in finding a solution - dare I say it - together and which benefits us all.   

Green Consumer Electronics at CES 2008 and on the Hill

Green consumer electronics has taken a new turn.  It's no longer just about how to recycle your CE devices [which is still a big issue].  It's about CE companies competing in the green space for how much they are doing to diminish their carbon footprint, buy carbon credits, diminish energy demands in their operations and in what their consumer goods will require, use recyclable materials,  and produce products that support green living.    At CES this year in the keynotes and on the floor, companies competed with one another showing consumers how much greener they are compared to their competitor.

Some green products and services that you can buy today:
MyBoneYard.com has a fun and rewarding approach to recycling electronic goods.  Created as a collaborative effort by The Wireless Source, eco|International and Young America, at the site you choose from one of 4 categories of what you want to recycle[mobile phone, laptop, monitor, PC systems], fill in the specs and they will tell you what kind of reward you will get.  This is an instant process.  I registered an LG monitor I want to recycle and immediately got its value of $16. [I won't even tell you what I paid for it all those years ago.]  You get this money in the form of a Visa prepaid card that you can use anywhere.  MyBoneYard.com takes care of everything including paying for your shipment. And the company promises not to look at your data and to destroy all elements of the product in a green and secure way.  And they have a $2500 sweepstakes giveaway taking place until July 16, 2008 for anyone who uses their system.

HydroPak is a water-activated power system produced by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies and Millennium Cell that uses a hydrogen fuel cell system to produce a portable generator usable to recharge or run your lower energy devices.  Just pour in some H20 and you're good to go.  This nicely designed device puts out 25 Watts of continuous 110 Volts power for 10 hours, is 8x8z3 inches in size and 6 lbs with water inside it.  The system generates hydrogen energy by chemical reaction, generating more energy than produced by batteries.   Apparently this all began when just for fun some engineers at the company decided to create minutarized fuel cells the company was producing for industry in order to power a toy.  Launched in 2006, their hydrogen powered palm-sized car is apparently the best selling hydro fuel cell product in the world, selling in 28 countries.  The Hydropak will start selling later in 2008 at SRP is $400.

Voltaic Systems Inc. makes backpacks that will recharge your laptop, cell phone,  DSlite, just about any electronic device just by walking around or lounging in the sun.

And on the Hill this week there was a Technology Policy Exhibition put on by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus.  Green was most prevalent with Lenovo which is not only putting out cool looking laptops with its IdeaPads [watch out HP Pavillion], but also meeting green requirements by producing monitors which use recycled water bottles for 28% of the plastic casing.  Now that's taking a plastic product we use up quickly and often and turning it into green profit.