Okay, I’ll not attempt to surpass their own written word…go here:
http://www.laptop.org/
This is how technology can make the world a better place, for sure…
The mean and very green machine…the bicycle.
April 5, 2007 at 2:32 pm (Economy, Energy, Ethos)
Ok, everyone has gone mad in the UK about “carbon miles” and “carbon neutral”. Well, The New Green Man says he’s been using the meanest and greenest of machine for years before any of this, well, “new wave” inquistion-ism cam e about.
The bicycle is still the most efficient machine mankind has ever created for converting human energy input into a greatly amplified energy output, via the elegent means of converting our human “lever” (i.e. legs) mechanics into “rotation”. In fact, a bicycle needs only 35 calories for a “passenger mile”, while a car expends a 1,860. Bus and trains use about half the amount of calories, and walking, well that takes about 3 times as many calories as riding a bike for same distance.
So, get a bicycle, whether made in China, Britain, or America – and the miles you ride will quickly surpass any neurotic calculation by the green fascists. The New Green Man says, “Honk! Honk!” with his Bombay Bicycle horn as he pedals away from the Forester’s Hut!
Making your own energy..making your own freedom…
April 4, 2007 at 1:18 pm (Economy, Energy, Ethos)
Okay, just so you know, while I have no control over the broadband/telephone/electrical utilities/people who made my computer/software…and 1001 other things that go into bringing my musings to the world, I do have control over my own energy. So, the wee notebook here is powered by a solar panel kit, through a dc inverter with built in voltage regulation/control and has a battery de-sulfator and discharging mechanism to boot…lost you? Ok, go to www.ctsolar.com and check out their notebook/laptop power kits…get the 32w kit and laugh at the utility companies. What? You say that all the article you’ve read say that solar is expensive and will never pay back the investment? Well, huddle around children and let me explain some basic economics to ye’ all….
First, the people who make such grand statements assume that the a)commodities and b)technology will always cost the same. They won’t. As oil (i.e. our “petroleum economy”) gets scarcer and more expensive, so does everything that is made/transported from it…which of course is everything. Second, the technology is getting better all the time. Did you know that current day solar panels are able to use a wider portion of the spectrum to create electricity? Well, that’s right. Even in our green and sceptered isle in the darkest and shortest of day, The New Green Man warms himself with an ultra-efficient ceramic heater powered by energy dumped from his faithful battery “factory” as the solar cells cheerfully collect even the “grey-est” of light…and best of all, the energy is free and so am I!
And for the uber-greenies that moan on about batteries and such, well, remember the ethos of The New Green Man: you do the best that you can..and that little bit helps us all! Back to the Forester’s Hut now…
Everyone’s talking at me….
April 3, 2007 at 11:04 am (Ethos)
Ok, maybe the title of my wee epistle for the day isn’t an exact quote from the theme song from “Midnight Cowboy”, but the point is…do you feel like everyone’s talking at you about being green? Well, The New Green Man certainly does. So my point today is, do the best you can. That’s it. Don’t worry that you didn’t bring your plastic grocery bag along to re-use at the grocers today-did you ride your bicycle or walk there?-as long as you do something, but don’t let the pressure from the media or the “righteous Greens” get you down…its a long walk to the top of the Green forested mountain and the steady-paced tortoise always get there!
