Everyday is seems like a new piece of technology comes out, and another one of your possessions gets outdated. It’s getting harder to keep up with the “latest new thing”. Pressure on people to always be updating their electronics has led to a giant surge of E-waste. E-waste is the surplus, obsolete, or broken electronic devices that become un-discard able garbage. Although it is great for the economy that people have to update things like cell phones, computers, televisions, and especially refrigerators, the dark side of the matter is that nobody knows what to do with the rest of it.

Although there are laws and regulations in the U.S. the prevent people from irresponsibly disposing of outdated goods, there are many countries that just don’t really care about the problem. What ends of happening is there are mass amounts of E-waste that are shipped off to these developing countries and improperly disposed of. You would be surprised how many poisonous materials go into the making of these products and even more surprised at how close in contact people are coming to them.

A child sits amoungst a pile of wires and E-waste

By 2020, E-waste levels in some of the most affected countries (Including India, South Africa and China) will increase by some 500 percent. Not all countries are suffering from imported waste, in fact, China has banned imported E-waste, but is still suffering in its own toxins being the number two contributor to the problem, second to the United States. In 2010 China produced 2.3 million tons of E-waste, U.S. produced 3 million.

Toxins in computers include barium, beryllium, cadmium, hexavelent chromium, lead, mercury, phosphorus, and PCBs. In China, a popular form of disposal is burning the waste, which released deadly toxins into the air. Children actually play in the mountains of trash that has accumulated in their backyards. Some computer manufacturers such as Dell, HP, and Apple have committed to making more eco friendly computers in response to pressure from local organizations such as Greenpeace.

Maybe the UN can band together and set some international laws in stone. Awareness of the subject is increasing and hopefully we wont be seeing those predicted numbers ten years from now.

Read from:

UN: Tidal Wave of E-Waste Poisoning Developing Nations

On Technewsworld.com

Princeton University Engineers have found a way to turn silicone rubber sheets into piezoelectric materials that create electricity when flexed.  Proposed applications by the engineers who have conducted this research suggested shoes, to power your small gadgets that you carry around all day, cells phones, mp3 players, etc.

Power-generating rubber films

Now the article states that the U.S. Intelligence Community funded the research into this new silicone piezoelectric rubber that is better than quartz and I’m sure they are going to put it to good use.  But I wonder where this technology will really take off.  I can think of a few applications in the sex toy industry.  As the tittle of the original article by Popsci.com was a little misleading, my attention was grabbed just as I’m sure yours was too.

The new silicon piezoelectric rubber can produce electrical volatge when squeezed or pressured.  Do I need to go any further or shall I let your own imagination wander?

Of course this new technology has huge potential into any number of fields of use.  One suggested use is in pace makers, where using just the movement of the chest to created enough energy to run the pace maker without the need to replace a depleted battery via surgery.

Click Here for original Princeton University Article.

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy.  What a source of power!  I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”  Thomas Edison, 1931

Solar Roadways, a concept for creating solar panels in place of asphalt pavement, developed by Scott Brusaw, is an idea that can create “transportation, power, and grid infrastructure in the same place.”  Solar Roadways has received a $100,000 contract from the Department of Transportation to build a prototype.  Asphalt pavement would be replaced with solar panels that are to be traveled over in cars and trucks.  With the combined capabilities of the panels, it is an idea that is being researched and developed.

Solar power is a developed resource that has been used in many ways.  There is constant research and development to create new, improved, and less expensive ways to make homes and commercial establishments energy efficient.  President Obama has made it one of his top priorities to put in place independent alternative energy.  This is not an easy task, as the struggle to even prove that there is Global Warming can attest.  Al Gore, in his film,  “An Inconvenient Truth” argued with much data and facts that there is in fact Global Warming and it is only going to get worse.  To him, and many who believe him, the crisis against the environment is the worst crisis facing humanity today.  Many people believe that Economics, National Security, and the degradation of the environment are all because of the use and abuse of fossil fuels and not researching and using alternative energies.

The solar panels for Solar Roadways would have embedded LEDs, which stands for light-emitting diode.  They are energy-efficient lights that consume 80 percent less energy than conventional, incandescent bulbs.  These LEDs could light up beneath the road to give extra light for nighttime driving, alert drivers to upcoming traffic concerns, and would enalbe signs to be lit to divert drivers to upcoming wildlife.  In addition, the road would be heated to melt ice and snow.  Many costs would be saved in terms of plowing, accidents, and the costs associated with using fossil fuels.  It is becoming impossible to depend on fossil fuels and something on a grand scale must be done to provide alternative energy.

A monetary estimate that was quoted in this article was that Solar Roadways would take about five billion dollars to cover the current pavement in the United states.  This would allow for “three times more power than we’ve ever used as a nation.”  The extra power could be shared with the world.  Coal, nuclear power, and oil are costing not only money, but they are contributing to the deterioration of the environment.  This idea of Solar Roadways is an idea whose time has come, because it could give the United States the independence from foreign fossil fuels.

However, a project this large could potentially harm the environment while creating the roads.  The fuels necessary to implement the pavement would have to be weighed against the benefits.  The end product could create a “platform for new kinds of innovation.”  Change is always difficult.  But to not try is to stay behind and continue living in an unhealthy, unsustainable environment.  We need to give support to individuals like Brusaw and his followers to implement Solar Roadways and to continue the search for renewable and sustainable energy.

Overdependence on carbon-based fuels has created a green revolution of sorts.  Many companies are selling products that are made from recyclable materials, magazines encourage online subscriptions, and sustainable agriculture and lifestyles are the topics of many television specials and articles in the media.  The latest alternative power sources are studied in myriad places around the world.  The United States in particular would like to create their own energy sources to be independent of other nations for oil and enery resources.  The Economy, National Security, and the Environment are three major areas of concern to have the impetus for alternative energies.  Solar Roadways combines elements of many aspects of solar power benefits and instead of creating new and improved ways to use solar power, we as a nation should concentrate on one overall use of solar power and I believe Solar Roadways to be a viable constructive alternative.

Photo courtesy of:  http://www.infrastucture.com/2009/09/21/dubious-green-schemes-the-solar-roadway/

Article from:            http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-28-could-we-replace-roads-and-parking-lots-with-solar-panels