I have been interested for years with the OLPC $100 laptop. Primarily for the role it will play in reshaping the socio-economics of developing countries, secondly for its technological accomplishments in low power draw. My only remaining question is….why can’t I get one? Well there have been hints that I can buy one for $100 bucks as long as I buy one for someone else in the developing world.
Its not the most powerfull laptop, but the cost and low wattage (4 watts browsing the internet, 1 watt reading a document) make the OLPC a gadget intriging. Especially since you charge it by pulling a string (exersice anyone?).
Tag: Environment
BBC Climate Change Challenge
The BBC has a neat game where you get to be the president of Europe (!) and guide Europe to environmental success.
“A game where you are president of the European Nations. You must tackle climate change and stay popular enough with the voters to remain in office.”
It’s fun to play!
The Mystery of the Northern Lights
Next month, in a joint Canadian / American project, five satellites will be launched to help figure out the mystery behind aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. This project, called THEMIS, includes recording interaction between charged particles expelled by the sun and the Earth’s magnetic field.Â
When these particles interact with the magnetic field, they sometimes release energy near the polar regions, resulting in aurora substorms. The electron release interacts with molecules in the atmosphere and appears as the northern lights.
The scientists involved are from Canada and the United States, including NASA. In addition to the satellites, twenty observatories will take digital images and monitor magnetic signatures from substorms. Most of the observatories will be located in northern Canada, including Whitehorse, Inuvik, and Gillam, Man.
Switch’n It Up!
The World Wildlife Fund started a great new campaign in 2006 called ‘Powerswitch’. The initiative has been working to eventually help the world’s power sector become completely CO2-free. The goals achieved thus far include more than 600,000 actions taken by individual PowerSwitch! supporters. They’ve even stopped the construction of new coal power plants and have pushed legislation that puts tough caps on CO2 emissions and boosts clean and efficient renewable energies.
How do I switch to clean energy from where I live?? It’s actually not as hard as you might think! In many countries, including Canada, you can choose to buy energy from green resources at a very comparable cost. There are many other ways you can work to decrease your global footprint as well.
In only one year the WWF’s campaign has effectively established networks and initiatives on different continents, which are longlasting and are continuing to grow even further. The more people learn about how they can help, the more alternatives to dirty, non-renewable energy sources will become popular and readily available. It all starts with us!
Cute Environmental Protection Ads
The Environmental Defense Fund has produced a series of awareness-raising ads that show animals doing everyday tasks that humans can do to protect the environment.
The ads ask the simple question: if you don’t preserve nature, who will?