GREEN GIZMOS
December 7, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Energy Gadgets
“Green” and “gadgets” are not two words that you would immediately place together. It’s fair to say that the impression that people get when they hear the word “gadget” is somehow more to do with shiny little boxes that make life easier for the owner, helping them to switch on their stereo or TV (or both at once). Convenience is a fashionable thing, and given that the latest mobile phones allow the owner to not only make calls, send texts and take photos, but now allow you to download music and get directions to a postcode in another part of the country, it’s safe to say that many people either don’t view Green issues as a major influence on their gadget purchasing, or if they do put it quite low down on their list of priorities.
There is, however, a completely natural synergy between convenience and ecology, perhaps most succinctly summed up in the phrase “saving energy”. The benefit for the user is that they can perform a task with a minimum of fuss, while the environment benefits due to the decreased demand on resources. One gadget doing an excellent job for the consumer and the planet is known as the Bye Bye Standby, a motherboard into which all household electrical equipment can be plugged and, at the touch of a remote allows you to power these items down in one go.
There is also a new generation of solar rechargers which allow you to top up the energy required to use a number of gadgets. Very often you’ll encounter someone who has their mobile phone constantly plugged into a charger running from the wall socket. Some people don’t realise just how much energy is being used by such a small piece of equipment, but given that an hour a day of charge will be more than sufficient to keep the average mobile phone running, a solar-powered recharger will cut down on senseless waste. Along with a reappraisal of the use of wind-up technology – chargers, media players, torches and digital radios among other items are all available in wind-up form – these innovations in renewable energy makes waste more avoidable every day.
Guthrum on Fri, 30th Dec 2011 10:31 am
Today, many people are worried about the US falling behind China or other countries in technology and innovation. Many think that progress can be accomplished only with government help and intervention, huge corporations, or a major university (at one time this was true). Both of these thoughts are false. These organizations actually impede and block real ingenuity and ideas:
Governments: over regulation (usually state or local government), fees, and endless “permits“
Corporations: the chain of command and meddlesome boards of directors
Universities: politics, turf battles and strings attached grants .
Also, the issue of “liability” with the inevitable threats of lawsuits and the requirement of team of lawyers on board just to build a new mousetrap is also an impediment to invention and creativity.
An example of what can be done through ingenuity and thinking outside the box is the revolutionary and promising Johnson motor/generator (or HoJo motor): a device that produces more energy than it consumes through the use of permanent magnets.. It has been patented and already in use by some home owners who are saving 75% on their electrical bills. Blueprints are available on line. Plans are now in the works to adapt and develop a prototype for cars. This is clean, cheap energy. Think of how you can push one magnet with another. Now think of a circle of magnets with a rotor inside. Now this is real progress, but you won’t see it on the news.