Following the “gas shortages” of the 1970’s, most of the science fair projects at my high school were aimed at new ways to power the planet using passive and active solar, hydroelectric and geothermal energy. People would have stared at you if you asked them to reduce their “carbon footprint” and any variation of words using the word “green” probably had to do with the romance between Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Times have changed.
Realizing that we won’t see the total effect of our actions today for at least 30 years, as is the case in “climate change” projects, scientists and engineers made changes to carburetors, and eventually fuel injection, in an effort to get better gas mileage. Many people now believe that we could be getting even better gas mileage, but also believe that the car companies have shifted focus from increasing gas mileage to increasing confidence in their cars, leading to more sales.
Other things have definitely changed for the better. The rusting, low-grade steel Coke cans have been replaced by aluminum, things like televisions consume much less power and terms like “green,” “recycling,” and “environmentally friendly” have come into our daily lives. If we had those words then, most of us would have thought of generating energy because of the preceding gas crisis, but how would the average person actually become involved?
In the 70’s, people read articles about solar panels and wondered when they would become available for installation on their houses. With the advent of the internet, people can become as involved as they want to. Today, searching the internet for “green technology” can reveal thousands of ways that anyone can get actively involved. That same person today can price solar panels for their house, making an impact for himself, or participate in any number of community initiatives, such as recycling, designed to make the world a little greener.
Www.green-technology.org, for example, talks about initiatives such as California’s new CalGreen initiative, new building codes and green construction laws, hopefully the first of many like this across the nation. Awards and recognition honor people, cities, counties, state and federal initiatives for any new developments that further the green campaign.
More than the words have changed as technology advances. A new vocabulary must be learned when studying into each area and deciding how to participate. Take the solar panel example and look at the differences in the way we talk today. In the 70’s, one just knew that the solar panels would plug into some type of electric storage, batteries, and somehow increase the efficiency of their house.
Today, while it is easy to learn if truly interested, one must learn things like the efficiency rating of the solar panel. If a solar panel is rated at 16% efficiency, that means that it is capturing 16% of the sunlight that hits the panel and turning it into electricity.
There are other initiatives out there, such as making cars get better gas mileage using Brown’s gas, or HHO. While the terminology seems confusing at first, there is a whole community of people out there who don’t get the recognition they deserve yet, but working together to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen efficiently and pipe that into the engine to increase detonation in the combustion chamber. The result is less fuel required (better gas mileage) and cleaner emissions. If that sounds interesting, sites such as http://hho-gas.org/ and others have kits and then feedback is welcome on many forums and blogs so that everyone can learn from the other’s mistakes.
Internet sites such as http://www.greentechnologydaily.com/ track even more initiatives, though this is by no means even the start of the information available out there. On this site, one can read about massive projects taken on by countries, down to city level green programs. Denver’s new bicycle-sharing program and Seattle’s use of LED technology for street lights are just two examples of how regular people are making a difference.
Other people are living almost entirely green. For those interesting in truly immersing themselves in green technology, go to your favorite search engine and look up “earth ship.” Sites such as http://www.greentechnolog.com/ will lead the results, where people take non-biodegradable waste, such as tires, and turn it into an incredibly efficient home. While it might seem low-tech at first glance, it makes a lot of sense on many levels and there are plenty of technologies available for zero-footprint living if someone wants to live that far off the grid.
One of the biggest advances in green technology is the availability of information on the internet, leading to the ability of the “everyday” person to get involved. One doesn’t have to be a scientist to make an impact. The entire right hand column of http://www.greentechnolog.com/ has initiatives and challenges for people, companies and communities that do not require an advanced education. With so many programs available, it seems that everyone could incorporate one or more programs into their daily routine. A direct influence can be seen today, but 40 years from now, looking back, it will have made an incredible difference.
Reference:
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/2862818/earthship_vs_average_homes.html?cat=6
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1725098/learn_more_about_hho_generator_technology.h
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1125877/new_york_utility_company_incentives.html?ca
