27 Aug 08 Victims of Technology?
Boise, Idaho-based startup M2E Power announced this week it will start selling a cell-phone charger next year that can convert six hours of everyday movement into one hour of talk time.
Here in the developed world we’re “victims” of an earlier technology – i.e the landline phone. Developing nations, and particularly rural areas of developing nations have no such millstone around their necks. The one still-limiting factor with mobile tech of any kind – from cellphones to laptops – is the battery. The technology has come a long way, but it’s still the one thing that is holding true mobility back.
A movement-generated power source is perhaps the way to escape the limitations of chemically generated power.
As an aside, and an important aside, could be much less damage to the environment, if such technology could replace batteries. It’s truly recycled power.
Tags: batteries, cellphones, developing nations, landline phone, laptops, limiting factor, millstone, mobile tech, one thing, power source, rural areas, true mobility
07 Jul 08 Biofuel Slowdown
At least the UK is seeing sense over biofuel. Much has been said, particularly in the US, about how increasing the production of biofuels will help reduce the dependence on oil imports from the OPEC countries.
However, it’s helping to push up food prices – the World Bank thinks by as much as 75% this year – and with growing demand for food by developing nations, partly spurred on by a growing population, and by poor harvests, it’s seen by many as not the best way to be using such crops.
Also, it can possibly do more harm than good to the environment as rain forests and other areas are mercilessly cut down to make room for more and more acres of bio fuel crops.
Tags: bio fuel, biofuel, dependence on oil, developing nations, food prices, fuel crops, oil imports, opec, opec countries, poor harvests, population, rain forests, seeing sense, world bank
