"This is what i said re clocks... Take a walk through...."
Yes -- I can see you never came close to advocating wind-up clocks.
I agree with your general point that even small changes (making electric clocks not *constantly* report the time to an empty room) would help -- especially if you apply that reasoning to every sort of device.
My point is there is a difference between every new clock being more energy efficient (they way you describe) which is good, and REPLACING all existing clocks (with your more efficient electric clock -or- my windup) which is less clearly good. Creating new products also has an energy cost, and unless they're dramatically more efficient the energy to create the replacment may not be justified for a long time.
The math for these things seems elusive. Does anyone know, or could anyone know?
Consider recycling plastic bottles -- which need to be washed in hot water, transported, sorted, shredded, melted. Is there a net oil savings? Or something as stupid as wind-up watches verses an electric watch that is simpler to manufacture, but needs battery replaced about once a year. After 5 years, which uses less oil?
Maybe the real answer is once energy starts to decline at 2% (or 5% or 8% a year) (Alaska is declining at 6% a year now, but I don't know if that's representative) such subtle questions will be irrelevant. Well be back soon enough to no watch, no bottle, which means back to picking up our beer in a bucket (the 1920's way).
Sorry, rambling...
Time to go back to my propeller-beanie invention, so the propeller spins in the self-created breeze as you walk, storing the energy in micro-flywheels and ultracapacitors. These will be supplemented by solar-fingernail polish using Tesla waves to beam micro-volts in a direct through-the-earth transmission system.
Oh darn, I just gave away one of my big secret plans to save the world...
- Tilyou1@yahoo.com |
