The Next Big Thing … Solar Powered Cellphones
Posted by Wayne X. Young
A few of my friends asked what will be “the next big thing” to hit the public. Something that would generate a buzz or be a “must have” item. I mentioned solar-powered cellphones.
In Kenya, national telecommunications company Safaricom recently released a solar-powered mobile phone that costs no more than $40. This is especially beneficial in the country because electricity is so scarce. The country is under strict power rationing and their main source of energy is hydro-power. The demand is high for power and it is expensive for citizens to go to a third-party vendor to charge their cellphones. It is also difficult to find these vendors in rural areas of Kenya. “Initially, one had to use one’s phone and then the phone would go off and then you could not sell one’s vegetables and do your transactions,” said a Kenyan phone user. “But now with the new solar phone one can talk talk talk and deal with your business. It is much easier now.”
The phone does appear to be the first of its kind to be available commercially in Africa. Who knows when it’s coming to the US.
Some in the mobile phone industry have suggested accessory solar-powered phone chargers are the best avenue to address the phone charging issue in developing regions of the world. Such chargers have been available for a while but have been limited in their reach by a lack of uniformity. The solar-powered cellphone was created by ZTE Corporation from China. A similar phone was also released in June by Samsung in India.
Can you just imagine the impact a phone like that would have in the US? Studies have shown appliances on standby (such as TVs, computers, DVD players, cellphone chargers, game systems like XBOX and Wii) can account for 10% of a home’s total energy consumption. The International Energy Agency even estimated that standby power consumption accounts for 1% of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Some may say that the power use is negligible, but over time and multiplied by the millions of cellphone users, it could have a major impact. A solar powered phone for the “green” energy-conscious community would go over BIG across the globe.
– Wayne X. Young
Getting back to living in season
Posted by Lisa Gilbride
When I was growing up in North Carolina, we ALWAYS opened the windows as soon as the weather would break in the spring. We did not have central air, only window units in the bedrooms and one on the main floor that was large enough to cool the dining room, living room and kitchen. The den was below the foundation and that area was always cool and where we spent most of our time when not outside.
Anyone who lives in the south can tell you it can get pretty hot during the summer months. However, my parents were into keeping the electric bill down and we only ran the air conditioning after the sun went down.
Then later in life I moved to Buffalo, NY where most houses have no air conditioning because heating is more important. Heck, up there you are really lucky to see two 90-degree days in a row. Summer does not last long if it comes at all.
When the lights go out…
Posted by Lisa Gilbride
Have you ever lost electricity and walked into a room only to turn on the switch when you KNOW the power is out? Welcome to my world. I live in Mexico where power outages are quite frequent.
So, with no T.V., no computer, no radio, I have nothing left to do but just think. I keep asking myself one question: What did people do before there was electricity? Then I look to where we are now. Could our answer to today’s environmental issues be found in the past?
People in the past were self-sustaining. They figured out how to get light and water and food. We can figure it out too! We harness the sun with solar energy. We can harness the wind and the rain as well. I am certain before the convenience of electricity and water came along, they were putting nature to work for them. The earth needs a rest from all the mining of coal and oil.
I think instead of being self-absorbed and lost in the land of computers, cell phones, bad T.V., video games, texting etc, we need to look at being self-sustaining and bring communities closer again. I am positive the people that actually lived without electricity relied on other people around them. I believe they were happy with life. After all, they were most likely our kin.
Everything we have now we take for granted. We are so conditioned to flipping a switch and expecting that light to come on. When it doesn’t, we become lost as to what we can do without it.
No idea should go unnoticed. Ask yourself the question when you have a power outage. Let me know what comes to mind. The answers are out there and I think they are in the past.
– Lisa Gilbride
Atlanta Light Swap 2009
Posted by Sonja Ebron
We gave away 700 bulbs last Sunday and expanded the event to serve three Black churches in metro Atlanta. See the press release below:
Saving Money One Light Bulb At A Time
2nd Annual Light Bulb Swap Helps Consumers Save Money Through Energy Conservation
April 26, 2009 (ATLANTA) – On Sunday, April 26, 2009, the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, in partnership with blackEnergy and Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, distributed 700 compact fluorescent light bulbs in Metro Atlanta with a message of sustainable living during the 2nd Annual Light Bulb Swap. This free event was designed to introduce a cost effective way of “Going Green” to the African American community and in turn encourage them to be proactive in conserving energy and saving money.
After Service at True Light Baptist Church
The Pickens Kool-Aid
Posted by Sonja Ebron
T. Boone Pickens is a legendary oilman, energy market speculator and hedge fund manager. I applaud him as one of the first industry insiders to acknowledge, almost four years ago, the permanent end of cheap oil. The Pickens Plan to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil is to build windmills and put natural gas-fired power plants out of commission. He wants the U.S. to break its oil addiction by replacing diesel as an auto fuel with the natural gas no longer needed to make electricity. But what’s in the Plan for T. Boone?
Jim Powell for Georgia PSC
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Georgians heading to the polls on December 2nd should be sure to vote in the race for Georgia Public Service Commission. Since we lost David Burgess in 2006, there have been no progressive or pro-consumer voices on the PSC, save for Angela Spier, a Republican who chose not to run for reelection this year. Her seat is sought by Jim Powell, a career U.S. Department of Energy executive and Democrat, and Bubba McDonald, a former commissioner who paid far too little attention to consumer rights during his tenure. Angela Spier crossed party lines to endorse Powell because of his commitment to fight for both consumers and for renewable energy sources. “I think it’s time to move Georgia out of the dark ages and into the 21st century,” Powell recently told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “We need to have a long-term plan, take a hard look at how we generate electricity 20 to 30 years out.” For an energy regulator in a coal-hungry southern state, you can’t get more progressive than that. Vote Jim Powell on December 2nd!
Save Energy At Home And Get A Higher Bill?
Posted by Sonja Ebron
We’re about to get ripped off again by our electric utility companies. Regulated utilities have sought repeated rate increases from state regulators as the costs of oil and natural gas rose the last few years. Deregulated firms have collectively raised their rates with impunity. With rare exceptions, few have lowered those rates now that prices have declined for both fuels.
The Wall Street Journal reports that consumers are using much less electricity this fall and winter than in past years. Just as we limited our driving when gasoline prices rose, it appears we’ve also lowered our use of electricity as electric rates have climbed. Perhaps the milder weather this winter reduced the need for electricity to heat homes and businesses. Or perhaps the slow economy shuttered businesses and forced people from their homes, reducing the demand on power plants. But some utilities report residential use down as much as 9%, a much greater reduction than could be caused by abnormal weather and economics combined. “Something fundamental is going on,” says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy. Perhaps the real reason is that people are finally getting serious about energy efficiency and conservation and simply eliminating wasteful practices in their homes.
A Windmill In Malawi
Posted by Sonja Ebron
I often wonder how much faster the world’s problems could be solved if resources were allocated fairly, if the natural genius in people weren’t stifled by hunger or lack of education or violence or other ills. William Kamkwamba is that rare genius who shows us that human talent can thrive regardless. Using a bicycle, chunks of wood and plastic pipe, this young man built a huge windmill to provide electricity to his small village in Malawi.