Gummi Bear lights:
Around 7" by 4" wide and come in various colors. They have a 20-hour lithium battery, so no cord is needed. Place them anywhere in your German candy factory.
via Property Furniture.
Showing posts with label Battery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battery. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chew with your lights on...
Gummi Bear lights:
Around 7" by 4" wide and come in various colors. They have a 20-hour lithium battery, so no cord is needed. Place them anywhere in your German candy factory.
via Property Furniture.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Just chill...
I haven't seen much on the blogfront in terms of HVAC and refrigeration since the Freeaire craze of last year (now installed in Killington, VT, where they estimate they're now saving more than 86,389 kilowatt hours of electricity, while eliminating an estimated 58 tons of global-warming CO2 emissions annually!!!), so I thought I might see what's on the horizon...
My search brought me to Ice Energy's Ice Bear, an amazingly simple concept with an equally simple installation procedure (off-the-shelf easy).
Similar to Freeaire, the Ice Bear utilizes cool air conditions to reduce power consumption. Whereas the Freeaire system requires frigid conditions to operate at maximum efficiency, the Ice Bear condenses and freezes water at night when energy consumption is less costly. It then holds the frozen water in an insulated storage tank until daytime when the weather warms.
As the warmer daytime temperatures engage the air conditioning, the refrigerant is forced through the coils in the stored ice and chilled before being pushed in to the building's HVAC ducts, thus providing a cool stream of efficiently refrigerated air.
There is also a residential unit capable of eliminating up to 95% of on-peak air conditioning demand. And as an added bonus:
My search brought me to Ice Energy's Ice Bear, an amazingly simple concept with an equally simple installation procedure (off-the-shelf easy).
Similar to Freeaire, the Ice Bear utilizes cool air conditions to reduce power consumption. Whereas the Freeaire system requires frigid conditions to operate at maximum efficiency, the Ice Bear condenses and freezes water at night when energy consumption is less costly. It then holds the frozen water in an insulated storage tank until daytime when the weather warms.
As the warmer daytime temperatures engage the air conditioning, the refrigerant is forced through the coils in the stored ice and chilled before being pushed in to the building's HVAC ducts, thus providing a cool stream of efficiently refrigerated air.
The Ice Bear® 50 system has a capacity of 50 Ton hours of cooling, including 45 latent + sensible and an additional 5 sensible only. The unit provides 7.5 Tons of cooling capacity for 6 hours of continuous cooling.
Typical configurations:
-7.5 Ton for 6 hours
-5 Ton for 8 hours or more
-Offloading of 10 Ton rooftop unit, where 10 Ton unit is oversized due to high rooftop temperatures
-Offloading one stage of a 10, 15, or 20 Ton, 2-stage rooftop unit
There is also a residential unit capable of eliminating up to 95% of on-peak air conditioning demand. And as an added bonus:Assists LEED certification
-Adds 3 or more points to the Energy and Atmosphere credits
-Contributes to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) credits
-Brings Thermal Energy Storage (TES) enabling performance to refrigerant based air-conditioning projects
Now, since the Ice Bear claims to use an equal or lesser amount of energy --in addition to delivering a consistent capacity on 95+ degree days with no degradation in performance and no increase in power consumption-- I'm interested to see if this concept could be hacked to eliminate the majority of the power usage all together.
Consider a location like Kuwait that has an average January low of 45 degrees Fahrenheit and an average August high of 112 (the low for that month is a crisp 83 degrees)! With the exception of brown-outs caused by dust storms throughout June and July, I think it's safe to say that the area is drenched in sun.
So why not saturate the rooftop in solar, submerge the unit's storage containers underground to twice-insulate their exteriors from the harsh conditions,* and store the daytime energy in batteries for nightfall, using the saved energy to refreeze the cores at night?
*You're only depth-limited by accessibility...sink the parking 5-10 floors below the building and you could run the unit subterraneaously, making it even more efficient, but still accessible for repairs. 
Check some of the commercial case studies and decide for yourself. I think there are benefits that exceed the burden of peak consumption. I just don't have the book learnin' to prove it.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Leasing the undercoating?
As we continue to reinvent the wheel, we're adding new spokes to hold it all together. From the organically turned compost sprouts new (and yet to be thought of) jobs/concepts/commodities.
For instance, this excerpt from Springwise:
...Norway’s two-seat, electric-powered Think City car—set to go on sale in the coming months—will come with an owner financing package unheard of in the auto industry. Consumers will pay an estimated USD 15,000 to 17,000 for the vehicle, but the company plans to lease the Think’s battery. And for good reason: on its own, the battery would cost an estimated USD 34,000, more than the price of a low-end luxury vehicle in most countries. Moreover, the Think battery’s useful life will depend on how the vehicle is used. Meaning: if Think owners were compelled to buy the battery along with the car, they’d be assuming risks few vehicle buyers would tolerate.
The workaround Think has devised is a USD 100-200 per month bundle that will include the battery lease plus other services such as insurance and mobile internet access. The latter will enable the company to remotely monitor the battery’s remaining useful life. As the battery’s ability to recharge declines with age, the company will automatically offer owners the chance to replace it or alternately keep the battery in exchange for a lower monthly leasing fee.
Leasing a battery?
Not a bad idea, only I've always been the kind of guy that is/was/still is afraid of over-bundling, be it a cell phone contract, airline mile-purchased plane ticket, satellite radio automatic contract renewal, magazine subscription, etc.
I'm just waiting for the day when I'm pained to find out that the Think car you purchased can ONLY work with the "locked-in" batteries they lease, thus killing the chance at open market competition.
So why is this entrepenewship so special? Apparently, it runs against the grain of every established business model.
For quite some time, businesses have based their profitability on the bottom line and nothing more. Waste reduction interested businesses if, and only if, the waste could be used to make more of the end product, thus helping the bottom line. The actual work involved in counting non-profitable waste post-production took time.
And we all know that time is money.
Unfortunately for the old schooled, there will no longer be much of a choice.
In the future if you waste, waste is just as expensive (if not more) than time.
A proposal from an article in Business 3.0 from FastCompany:
A good start [in greening the market] would be reducing the income tax and augmenting it with graduated taxes on ecologically harmful activities, along with federally consistent mandates requiring companies to take greater responsibility for their own waste streams and for their products at end-of-life. These reforms would align both consumers' and businesses' understanding of a given product's total cost to the planet, and allow both to make more informed decisions.
Practicing such "true cost" economics will unlock a powerful wave of product redesign, much of it hidden from the consumer's eyes, as companies seek to lighten their own burden when they get a product back at the end of its useful life. A focus on the total life cycle will amplify an entire nascent branch of creative engineering: Design for low-cost disassembly will become as important as design for low-cost assembly, with elements such as lead-free solders, modular construction, snap-fit rather than epoxy-based joints, and biodegradable plastics becoming the norm. Consumers would benefit from products that last longer, are easier to fix when they break, and become the basic inputs to other industrial processes when they're taken out of commission.
By attaching economic value to the elimination of waste, we also increase the likelihood that innovators will seek out and discover that rarest of capitalist prizes: the twofer. Enterprising 21st-century capitalists will make a name and a fortune for themselves by getting paid twice--once for eliminating some bit of a harmful waste stream, and a second time for spinning that waste into industrially useful gold.
While the extravagantly hedge-funded might be shaking in their John Lobb Ghillies, afraid to clip some of the weighty branches from the family tree (all the while knowing full-well the tree is a danger to their Hampton estate), able-minded visionaries like Fredrick Musonda of Zambia are leading change for the benefit of their families, their country, and the environment.
Developing nation or forward thinking?
Fredrick's vision-turned reality:
Living in Lusaka, Fredrick Musonda noticed two things. Increasing demand for the most common fuel, charcoal, was supplied by native trees ‘carbonized’ in simple, but inefficient, earth kilns. And the local sawmill, using logs from eucalyptus plantations, simply burned the waste from its operations. So he started a company to manufacture charcoal from sawmill waste in more efficient kilns.
This was an important step in a country where demand for charcoal, already 900,000 tonnes a year, is rising by 4 per cent annually. This growth, together with inefficient production methods, increases deforestation – and the associated soil erosion, water pollution and biodiversity loss – leading Zambians to an unsustainable energy future.
When others continue to change the way we work / spend / design / live, what happens to those businesses/governments that continue to focus on the exhausted / squandered / antiquated / dead?
Does the future have room for the large-scale? Grandiose? Corporate conglomerate?
Looks like even WalMart gets the idea.
Welcome to the non-industrial revolution.
All aboard.
Or not.
For instance, this excerpt from Springwise:
...Norway’s two-seat, electric-powered Think City car—set to go on sale in the coming months—will come with an owner financing package unheard of in the auto industry. Consumers will pay an estimated USD 15,000 to 17,000 for the vehicle, but the company plans to lease the Think’s battery. And for good reason: on its own, the battery would cost an estimated USD 34,000, more than the price of a low-end luxury vehicle in most countries. Moreover, the Think battery’s useful life will depend on how the vehicle is used. Meaning: if Think owners were compelled to buy the battery along with the car, they’d be assuming risks few vehicle buyers would tolerate.
The workaround Think has devised is a USD 100-200 per month bundle that will include the battery lease plus other services such as insurance and mobile internet access. The latter will enable the company to remotely monitor the battery’s remaining useful life. As the battery’s ability to recharge declines with age, the company will automatically offer owners the chance to replace it or alternately keep the battery in exchange for a lower monthly leasing fee.
Leasing a battery?
Not a bad idea, only I've always been the kind of guy that is/was/still is afraid of over-bundling, be it a cell phone contract, airline mile-purchased plane ticket, satellite radio automatic contract renewal, magazine subscription, etc.
I'm just waiting for the day when I'm pained to find out that the Think car you purchased can ONLY work with the "locked-in" batteries they lease, thus killing the chance at open market competition.
So why is this entrepenewship so special? Apparently, it runs against the grain of every established business model.
For quite some time, businesses have based their profitability on the bottom line and nothing more. Waste reduction interested businesses if, and only if, the waste could be used to make more of the end product, thus helping the bottom line. The actual work involved in counting non-profitable waste post-production took time.
And we all know that time is money.
Unfortunately for the old schooled, there will no longer be much of a choice.
In the future if you waste, waste is just as expensive (if not more) than time.
A proposal from an article in Business 3.0 from FastCompany:
A good start [in greening the market] would be reducing the income tax and augmenting it with graduated taxes on ecologically harmful activities, along with federally consistent mandates requiring companies to take greater responsibility for their own waste streams and for their products at end-of-life. These reforms would align both consumers' and businesses' understanding of a given product's total cost to the planet, and allow both to make more informed decisions.
Practicing such "true cost" economics will unlock a powerful wave of product redesign, much of it hidden from the consumer's eyes, as companies seek to lighten their own burden when they get a product back at the end of its useful life. A focus on the total life cycle will amplify an entire nascent branch of creative engineering: Design for low-cost disassembly will become as important as design for low-cost assembly, with elements such as lead-free solders, modular construction, snap-fit rather than epoxy-based joints, and biodegradable plastics becoming the norm. Consumers would benefit from products that last longer, are easier to fix when they break, and become the basic inputs to other industrial processes when they're taken out of commission.
By attaching economic value to the elimination of waste, we also increase the likelihood that innovators will seek out and discover that rarest of capitalist prizes: the twofer. Enterprising 21st-century capitalists will make a name and a fortune for themselves by getting paid twice--once for eliminating some bit of a harmful waste stream, and a second time for spinning that waste into industrially useful gold.
While the extravagantly hedge-funded might be shaking in their John Lobb Ghillies, afraid to clip some of the weighty branches from the family tree (all the while knowing full-well the tree is a danger to their Hampton estate), able-minded visionaries like Fredrick Musonda of Zambia are leading change for the benefit of their families, their country, and the environment.
Developing nation or forward thinking?
Fredrick's vision-turned reality:
Living in Lusaka, Fredrick Musonda noticed two things. Increasing demand for the most common fuel, charcoal, was supplied by native trees ‘carbonized’ in simple, but inefficient, earth kilns. And the local sawmill, using logs from eucalyptus plantations, simply burned the waste from its operations. So he started a company to manufacture charcoal from sawmill waste in more efficient kilns.
This was an important step in a country where demand for charcoal, already 900,000 tonnes a year, is rising by 4 per cent annually. This growth, together with inefficient production methods, increases deforestation – and the associated soil erosion, water pollution and biodiversity loss – leading Zambians to an unsustainable energy future.
When others continue to change the way we work / spend / design / live, what happens to those businesses/governments that continue to focus on the exhausted / squandered / antiquated / dead?
Does the future have room for the large-scale? Grandiose? Corporate conglomerate?
Looks like even WalMart gets the idea.
Welcome to the non-industrial revolution.
All aboard.
Or not.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
If only they were cleaner on the inside...
While the New York Time's City Room Blog has some less-than-kind things to say about the aesthetics of New York's new hybrid turbine buses, I think they're Airstreamariffic.
From William Neuman's article:
The city’s other hybrid buses run like hybrid cars. They run off battery power some of the time and diesel or (in the case of many cars) gas engines at other times. And the braking action helps charge the batteries.
The test bus is different in that it runs on battery power all the time. It has a diesel engine, but that is used only to charge the battery, although the bus also uses the brakes for that purpose. The diesel engine is different too. It is a turbine engine.
Read more here...
From William Neuman's article:
The city’s other hybrid buses run like hybrid cars. They run off battery power some of the time and diesel or (in the case of many cars) gas engines at other times. And the braking action helps charge the batteries.
The test bus is different in that it runs on battery power all the time. It has a diesel engine, but that is used only to charge the battery, although the bus also uses the brakes for that purpose. The diesel engine is different too. It is a turbine engine.
Read more here...
Thursday, September 6, 2007
I'm addicted to crank...
While stranded in the South Pacific on a thin coral atoll, moon hidden by the clouds, walking down dirt roads with only a a three dollar flashlight in hand, I oft wished I padded my rucksack a little bit better BEFORE I left the states.
The batteries we would buy in Kiribati worked, so that wasn't necessarily the root of my lighting problem, but the lifespan of said batteries was a definite issue. Their operational efficiency depended HEAVILY on the device being used. A Kasio [sic] keyboard, for instance, blasted at full volume by a neighbor practicing for an Independence Day botaki might need to be changed out every two songs or so, unless, of course, the neighbor is practicing at 3:00am...then the batteries had uncanny staying power. There was also the case of the "inconvenient crap-out" where a low-wattage item would die when most needed, say, during an aforementioned stroll down a rock cluttered dirt road...barefoot...three miles from your home...during the rainy season.
Batteries are, and will continue to be, a MAJOR issue in developing nations as more and more technology and goods continue to be introduced without a proper means to maintain and dispose of them after life has ended. So you can imagine my elation when I stumbled upon this website (while the technology is by no means new, continue reading to see why Freeplay is nevertheless a modernistic company):
Freeplay Energy is a damn cool website devoted to all products "crank." From weather band radios to eye-blinding LED flashlights, freeplay has it all.
From their site:
At Freeplay Energy, we believe in developing environmentally-responsible products to empower the global village. As the original creators of the famous wind up radio, we now develop and manufacture a wide range of electronic products distributed throughout the world. Freeplay’s award winning self-sufficient products harness human, solar, and rechargeable energy to power durable portable devices from radios to lanterns to mobile phone chargers. Forget disposable batteries. Our self-sustainable power solutions provide energy for life, while respecting the social and environmental impact on our planet. You can rely on Freeplay Energy products to work anytime and anywhere.
Freeplay Energy’s commitment to the planet goes well beyond the environment. Our products are engineered with every nation in mind. In developing countries – which have little or no access to reliable energy – we are pioneering, durable, innovative, rechargeable products that withstand the harshest climate and use. Our products offer convenience and security to some, and to others, enable critical communication, access to education and basic lighting at night to improve their quality of life.
What's more is that they provide a great product AND a great message. Established in 1998, the Freeplay Foundation "is committed to providing innovative and practical energy solutions and to ensuring sustained access to information and education via radio." More from their site:
The Freeplay Foundation aims to:
-facilitate sustained access to information and education for the poorest of the poor, especially children, women, refugees and the disabled.
-raise awareness of the role of radio broadcasting and communication in developing countries, disaster areas and regions of conflict.
-research opportunities where appropriate and alternative sources of energy can be applied to improve the lives of people in developing communities, especially children living on their own.
-seek sponsorship to initiate and support humanitarian communication initiatives.
My time on the islands might be over, but I might still buy crankable flashlight...not because I need it, but because this company actually "gets it."
The Sustainable Times also has a really wonderful article.
The batteries we would buy in Kiribati worked, so that wasn't necessarily the root of my lighting problem, but the lifespan of said batteries was a definite issue. Their operational efficiency depended HEAVILY on the device being used. A Kasio [sic] keyboard, for instance, blasted at full volume by a neighbor practicing for an Independence Day botaki might need to be changed out every two songs or so, unless, of course, the neighbor is practicing at 3:00am...then the batteries had uncanny staying power. There was also the case of the "inconvenient crap-out" where a low-wattage item would die when most needed, say, during an aforementioned stroll down a rock cluttered dirt road...barefoot...three miles from your home...during the rainy season.
Batteries are, and will continue to be, a MAJOR issue in developing nations as more and more technology and goods continue to be introduced without a proper means to maintain and dispose of them after life has ended. So you can imagine my elation when I stumbled upon this website (while the technology is by no means new, continue reading to see why Freeplay is nevertheless a modernistic company):
Freeplay Energy is a damn cool website devoted to all products "crank." From weather band radios to eye-blinding LED flashlights, freeplay has it all.From their site:
At Freeplay Energy, we believe in developing environmentally-responsible products to empower the global village. As the original creators of the famous wind up radio, we now develop and manufacture a wide range of electronic products distributed throughout the world. Freeplay’s award winning self-sufficient products harness human, solar, and rechargeable energy to power durable portable devices from radios to lanterns to mobile phone chargers. Forget disposable batteries. Our self-sustainable power solutions provide energy for life, while respecting the social and environmental impact on our planet. You can rely on Freeplay Energy products to work anytime and anywhere.
Freeplay Energy’s commitment to the planet goes well beyond the environment. Our products are engineered with every nation in mind. In developing countries – which have little or no access to reliable energy – we are pioneering, durable, innovative, rechargeable products that withstand the harshest climate and use. Our products offer convenience and security to some, and to others, enable critical communication, access to education and basic lighting at night to improve their quality of life.
What's more is that they provide a great product AND a great message. Established in 1998, the Freeplay Foundation "is committed to providing innovative and practical energy solutions and to ensuring sustained access to information and education via radio." More from their site:The Freeplay Foundation aims to:
-facilitate sustained access to information and education for the poorest of the poor, especially children, women, refugees and the disabled.
-raise awareness of the role of radio broadcasting and communication in developing countries, disaster areas and regions of conflict.
-research opportunities where appropriate and alternative sources of energy can be applied to improve the lives of people in developing communities, especially children living on their own.
-seek sponsorship to initiate and support humanitarian communication initiatives.
My time on the islands might be over, but I might still buy crankable flashlight...not because I need it, but because this company actually "gets it."The Sustainable Times also has a really wonderful article.
Monday, August 27, 2007
10-4 on the carbon footprint, good buddy...
Ahh Seattle, why must you always be so hip?
I read an article a while back about the possible implementation of hybrid technology into big-rig, 18 wheel behemoths. What I assumed was another case of greenwashing, is in fact a reality.
Dunn Lumber of Seattle, Washington is officially the first company to test out Kenworth's new Paccar PX-6 240 hp engine. The class 7 hybrid can carry and 8 ton payload (!) and features a transmission mounted generator, with a 340-volt frame-mounted battery.
From the article:
Above 30 mph, the Kenworth hybrid operates like a standard diesel vehicle with all power coming from the engine during steady driving conditions. Below 30 mph, it uses a combination of diesel and electricity with the system automatically switching between the two modes of operation. Electricity generated through regenerative braking is stored and used for acceleration, assisting the diesel engine.
Alas, Kenworth is only giving up these green beauties in limited quantities to local municipal companies and fleets...until 2008, that is.
And if Smokey, Bandit, and the rest of the guys are going green, maybe it's time for me to start that organic chewing tobacco company I've always dreamed about.
Speaking of "tomacco," Otto will get a buzz out of knowing that California's also making their mark with this new treat: the first plug-in hybrid bus.
Bus manufacturer extraordinaire I-C Corp. is charging around $200k per bus, with most school districts off-setting the majority of the cost with grants.
From their flash-saturated website (with some damn cool pictures):
Depending on the route, fuel mpg improvement is from 20% to 50% better for Charge Sustaining and up to 70% better for Charge Depleting systems. Emission improvements vary with the pollutant being measured and has shown up to a 90% improvement at times on Particulate Matter, again, this is load and operating condition dependent.
But wouldn't ya know it...just as we start solving some problem areas, new ones fill the pores.
My search for hybrid construction equipment resulted in a surprising combination of words: Hybrid Backhoes.
But don't let the name fool you. The only thing that makes them a "hybrid" is the fact that they can perform construction detail AND do a street-legal 65 mph on the freeway.
So now that we've developed the technology to transport heavy items using clean(er) hybrid technology, said items now transport themselves...at a high rate of speed.
From the story:
In June, the HMEE (High Mobility Engineer Excavator) was officially introduced in a formal unveiling ceremony. The highly specialized equipment features a 6.7-liter diesel engine, antilock brakes, four-wheel drive, six forward speeds and two reverse speeds.
It can lift more than two tons and dig to a depth of 13 feet...
Granted, the backhoes are solely intended for military use (with armor plating...about time!), I don't doubt that the possibility that I might on day find a 2 meter dump scoop in my rear-view mirror.
I will happily merge from my lane and let that machine pass.
I read an article a while back about the possible implementation of hybrid technology into big-rig, 18 wheel behemoths. What I assumed was another case of greenwashing, is in fact a reality.
Dunn Lumber of Seattle, Washington is officially the first company to test out Kenworth's new Paccar PX-6 240 hp engine. The class 7 hybrid can carry and 8 ton payload (!) and features a transmission mounted generator, with a 340-volt frame-mounted battery.
From the article:
Above 30 mph, the Kenworth hybrid operates like a standard diesel vehicle with all power coming from the engine during steady driving conditions. Below 30 mph, it uses a combination of diesel and electricity with the system automatically switching between the two modes of operation. Electricity generated through regenerative braking is stored and used for acceleration, assisting the diesel engine.
Alas, Kenworth is only giving up these green beauties in limited quantities to local municipal companies and fleets...until 2008, that is.And if Smokey, Bandit, and the rest of the guys are going green, maybe it's time for me to start that organic chewing tobacco company I've always dreamed about.
Speaking of "tomacco," Otto will get a buzz out of knowing that California's also making their mark with this new treat: the first plug-in hybrid bus.
Bus manufacturer extraordinaire I-C Corp. is charging around $200k per bus, with most school districts off-setting the majority of the cost with grants.From their flash-saturated website (with some damn cool pictures):
Depending on the route, fuel mpg improvement is from 20% to 50% better for Charge Sustaining and up to 70% better for Charge Depleting systems. Emission improvements vary with the pollutant being measured and has shown up to a 90% improvement at times on Particulate Matter, again, this is load and operating condition dependent.
But wouldn't ya know it...just as we start solving some problem areas, new ones fill the pores.
My search for hybrid construction equipment resulted in a surprising combination of words: Hybrid Backhoes.
But don't let the name fool you. The only thing that makes them a "hybrid" is the fact that they can perform construction detail AND do a street-legal 65 mph on the freeway.
So now that we've developed the technology to transport heavy items using clean(er) hybrid technology, said items now transport themselves...at a high rate of speed.
From the story:
In June, the HMEE (High Mobility Engineer Excavator) was officially introduced in a formal unveiling ceremony. The highly specialized equipment features a 6.7-liter diesel engine, antilock brakes, four-wheel drive, six forward speeds and two reverse speeds.
It can lift more than two tons and dig to a depth of 13 feet...
Granted, the backhoes are solely intended for military use (with armor plating...about time!), I don't doubt that the possibility that I might on day find a 2 meter dump scoop in my rear-view mirror.
I will happily merge from my lane and let that machine pass.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
9Volts won't save the world, but....
While stationed as a volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati, the lack of twilight lighting was a major issue for volunteers and students alike. Given the fact that many of the houses in the surrounding government stations would have solar or generator-powered fluorescent lighting, they were still of no help to the volunteers and I-Kiribati (native Kiribati) in the outer villages who only had oil lamps in which to study, cook and work. In some areas of the world children are able to improvise. However, isolated countries like Kiribati have little to offer in terms of industrial faculty and resourcefulness (when Air Kiribati was actually running, we only had one scheduled flight to and from our island per week).
We might take efficient lighting for granted in developed countries but as you can see from the Peace Corps project donation site, power and energy are on-going projects in a large portion of under-developed countries. With the understanding that lighting facilitates a higher standard of living, I've been looking anxiously for a simple solution.
I happened across Mathmos.com and and lit up when I saw their 9Volt project:
Clean, simple, undemanding design at its best.
BUT-there's always a but...
Are they over-priced? Yes. (I love the wine glasses)
At a sale price of 5 for $100, I don't see them falling into the hands of Guinea seventh graders any time soon.
Are they renewable? Not necessarily.
As the US industrialized, our position in the global pecking order proffered us the ability to progress at any speed we felt necessary - with or without the concerns of the environment at our conscience (See: Northwest Atlantic Cod - even in the early 90's!). So while many of these countries might not have a capable means to dispose of the batteries, it is unfortunately viable that they are so readily available. Why not afford them the same opportunities we had so that we may only need to teach one generation?* So...
...are the batteries really a problem? Not necessarily.
Take this design and do what inventors have been doing for years: run with it. Replace the battery with solar cells...what about higher lumen LED's... or non-electrochemical envirofriendly cells...maybe a secondary battery with a crank chargeable attachment for a bike chain...include a hand crank to store the charge...*subsidize the distribution with the help of a battery directive...and so on and so on and so on. If a concept like OLPC is plausible, then a battery/LED project is a piece of cake!
Just some thoughts for your Thursday morning...
We might take efficient lighting for granted in developed countries but as you can see from the Peace Corps project donation site, power and energy are on-going projects in a large portion of under-developed countries. With the understanding that lighting facilitates a higher standard of living, I've been looking anxiously for a simple solution.
I happened across Mathmos.com and and lit up when I saw their 9Volt project:
Clean, simple, undemanding design at its best.BUT-there's always a but...
Are they over-priced? Yes. (I love the wine glasses)
At a sale price of 5 for $100, I don't see them falling into the hands of Guinea seventh graders any time soon.
Are they renewable? Not necessarily.
As the US industrialized, our position in the global pecking order proffered us the ability to progress at any speed we felt necessary - with or without the concerns of the environment at our conscience (See: Northwest Atlantic Cod - even in the early 90's!). So while many of these countries might not have a capable means to dispose of the batteries, it is unfortunately viable that they are so readily available. Why not afford them the same opportunities we had so that we may only need to teach one generation?* So...
...are the batteries really a problem? Not necessarily.
Take this design and do what inventors have been doing for years: run with it. Replace the battery with solar cells...what about higher lumen LED's... or non-electrochemical envirofriendly cells...maybe a secondary battery with a crank chargeable attachment for a bike chain...include a hand crank to store the charge...*subsidize the distribution with the help of a battery directive...and so on and so on and so on. If a concept like OLPC is plausible, then a battery/LED project is a piece of cake!
Just some thoughts for your Thursday morning...
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