I thought I would throw this "outrageous ideas" thread out there after listening to
Bill Clinton speak at his Clinton Global Initiative.
He spoke of a college student that had the idea of harvesting/transferring the
heat from a soccer ball (could be a basketball or baseball too I suppose) into usable
energy.
It may sound silly but who knew we could talk worldwide on a device small enough to
put in our pockets-say 50 years ago.
Ok, so for my "out there" idea.
Considering our massive need for bees, and their declining populations,
and our expertise with remote control vehicles (drones too)-
Why couldn't we have one or two people in a field with mini-drones with "swiffer"
type pads on the bottom that the operator could maneuver from flower to flower-
pollinating them?
Laugh, I don't mind.
But while you're chuckling, please post your ideas too. What the heck.
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2
Outrageous Green Ideas & #UseOneLess
Started by Shortpoet-GTD, Apr 01 2012 02:25 PM
49 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 01 April 2012 - 07:15 PM
Only if I get to wear a bee costume. 
How about we all use one less of EVERYTHING daily. Only less pull on toilet paper, one less gallon of gas (drive conservative), one less load of clothes (was the other load by hand), one less LED light bulb in the house, etc, etc
Come up with your own green energy/planet saving one-less ideas. :)
How about we all use one less of EVERYTHING daily. Only less pull on toilet paper, one less gallon of gas (drive conservative), one less load of clothes (was the other load by hand), one less LED light bulb in the house, etc, etc
Come up with your own green energy/planet saving one-less ideas. :)
#3
Posted 01 April 2012 - 07:21 PM
Hayden, on 01 April 2012 - 07:15 PM, said:
Only if I get to wear a bee costume.
How about we all use one less of EVERYTHING daily. Only less pull on toilet paper, one less gallon of gas (drive conservative), one less load of clothes (was the other load by hand), one less LED light bulb in the house, etc, etc
Come up with your own green energy/planet saving one-less ideas. :)
How about we all use one less of EVERYTHING daily. Only less pull on toilet paper, one less gallon of gas (drive conservative), one less load of clothes (was the other load by hand), one less LED light bulb in the house, etc, etc
Come up with your own green energy/planet saving one-less ideas. :)
I may fight you on the bee costume
I think our household could do better if my kids could grasp the concept of toilet paper use! I try, believe me I try, to get them to use less at a time. We have fluorescent bulbs (it is an apartment and only set up for the long bulbs), we don't have all the bulbs in the fixtures. 2 out of 4 in each fixture in the kitchen and the bathroom has 1 out of 2 of the U shaped bulbs.
#5
Posted 02 April 2012 - 08:19 AM
So what Shortpoet is asking for, I think, is ideas that most people would say to "that would never work." Because, they just might. Here's something interesting about the way people live, work and adapt. A year or so ago - I don't remember exactly - a major freeway was shut down here for a week. I-5 cuts right through Seattle and is a major, major commuting route. It needed repairs. They warned us for months and really stepped up the campaign in the weeks preceding. Newspaper, TV, every media. They predicted backups for miles along alternate routes and late buses and warned people to factor that in commuting times. They predicted terrible traffic and short tempers. None of it ever materialized. People planned for it and accommodated to it. No backups, buses ran (mostly) on time. People figured a way around it before it ever happened. We can do whatever is necessary when there's no choice.
So, let's put a tax on gasoline so that a gallon costs $10. People will use less and whatever tax is collected funds building alternate energy infrastructure. Solar powered electric car charging stations, etc.
Also, I'm really in love with Hayden's "one less" idea. I can visualize an entire campaign of "one less." A website. Videos. Going viral. Hmm...
So, let's put a tax on gasoline so that a gallon costs $10. People will use less and whatever tax is collected funds building alternate energy infrastructure. Solar powered electric car charging stations, etc.
Also, I'm really in love with Hayden's "one less" idea. I can visualize an entire campaign of "one less." A website. Videos. Going viral. Hmm...
(But it could happen- aka the "Jetson's")
#7
Posted 02 April 2012 - 09:43 AM
mariaandrea, on 02 April 2012 - 08:19 AM, said:
Also, I'm really in love with Hayden's "one less" idea. I can visualize an entire campaign of "one less." A website. Videos. Going viral. Hmm...
I know right! I even Google'd it afterwards to see if anyone launched a campaign like that already. So if we do see it someday you'll know it started here. haha
#10
Posted 02 April 2012 - 10:56 AM
Outrageous ideas:
--Using weeds, fallen leaves, tree branches, and cut grass as a truly green gasoline.
--Using human biowaste as fuel. This isn' t too outrageous. I read an article about this recently
--Using plastic bottles as gasoline.
--Using weeds, fallen leaves, tree branches, and cut grass as a truly green gasoline.
--Using human biowaste as fuel. This isn' t too outrageous. I read an article about this recently
--Using plastic bottles as gasoline.
#14
Posted 02 April 2012 - 04:19 PM
Wind power using a tree branch with a cable tied to it and the other end a small turbine geared to take the movement to produce power for storage. Suggested and probably up and running.
Or maybe compost heaps giving off heat.
Or how about earthworm tread mills?
Or maybe compost heaps giving off heat.
Or how about earthworm tread mills?
#16
Posted 30 April 2012 - 12:48 PM
A lot of green ideas are already "outrageous" because they're expensive and unsustainable. I don't think you need to reach that far out to get a lot of ideas that don't work yet (though I still hope really could one day).
#17
Posted 30 April 2012 - 05:45 PM
SpiroFlo, on 30 April 2012 - 12:48 PM, said:
A lot of green ideas are already "outrageous" because they're expensive and unsustainable. I don't think you need to reach that far out to get a lot of ideas that don't work yet (though I still hope really could one day).
That's true, but most technology starts out like that - expensive and experimental until people figure out a way to make it work or abandon it and move on to something else.
I see this as a "think tank" thread. There are lots of organizations that spend most of their time just thinking up stuff. I think it's a very useful endeavor because you never know where the seed of the next great idea will come from.
I remember a woman who posted about a year she spend wearing only one dress. The same dress. Dressed up and down with accessories, but still, just the one dress. Something like that is both limiting and freeing in a way. So many of our habits and likes are artificial constructs, like fashion and what we think is necessary. It wasn't all that long ago that the average person had just one pair of shoes at a time and only replaced them when they wore out. Even people who aren't all that fashion conscious still have more than one pair of shoes. On the other hand, if society decided we didn't need fashion or more than just basic clothing, it would also have secondary and tertiary effects - job loss (maybe not so much in manufacturing here, but definitely retail) and all sorts of things. But we'd use fewer resources producing less clothing. Unless only clothing made from recycled materials got popular. Then Goodwill would empty out in a hurry.
See, I'm just thinking out loud in a stream of consciousness way, and it's fun and possibly useful. Possibly not in a practical way, but our brains need "exercise" too.
#18
Posted 30 April 2012 - 06:51 PM
I just found the tread and Jeff and I were talking, it just so happens we saw the same talk on C-span by President Clinton with John Steward from the Daily Show as moderator. The soccer ball that stores energy is actually being worked on now, so ideas that sound farfetched can make a difference.
Example- is there anyone out there who has not watched an old episode of Star Trek the next generation and not seen the Pads that they did work on or read from, fully 20 years before the I-Pads we have today, they had the idea for a hand held computer, that did all the things regular computers do.
Here is our idea- a spoiler on the back of cars that would have micro-turbines inside that recycled the wind passing through them to generate electricity to recycle energy from the car to recharge Electric Car Battery as you drove, much like the braking technology recharging the batteries on EV’s now. If the car is a Fuel Cell car since it only takes 1.4 volts DC of electricity to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, you would capture the water going out the tail pipe and recycle it to recharge the hydrogen, making a closed loop system being refueled from the energy going through the spoiler’s turbines.
Second idea a system to capture shower water and pass it through a filter then back into the shower head to drastically reduce water use. Filter out the soap and dirt and reuse the water.
On the use 1 less idea, since Americans are having such a problem with obesity and heart disease today, how about using 1 less meat product a day. My reasoning is simple- meat production and consumption is the second largest generator of green house gasses and climate change. If every one used one less meat product a day then people’s heath would improve and we help the planet. I would just say go vegan but I personally am just not ready for that. I really respect vegans, but no meat at all would drive me nuts.
Lastly guys this One Less A Day idea is pure gold and I think we should seriously consider it, if Hayden approves. It could bring National attention to Alt. Energy Shift, which is something we all want and help people and our planet. Talk is great, but it is action that changes the world. If you guys decide to do it Jeff and I are in 1000% and will do anything we can to help because I honestly thank this forum could change the world if we could go viral and get national attention- just my opinion. It would also work well with the Rio conference.
Example- is there anyone out there who has not watched an old episode of Star Trek the next generation and not seen the Pads that they did work on or read from, fully 20 years before the I-Pads we have today, they had the idea for a hand held computer, that did all the things regular computers do.
Here is our idea- a spoiler on the back of cars that would have micro-turbines inside that recycled the wind passing through them to generate electricity to recycle energy from the car to recharge Electric Car Battery as you drove, much like the braking technology recharging the batteries on EV’s now. If the car is a Fuel Cell car since it only takes 1.4 volts DC of electricity to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, you would capture the water going out the tail pipe and recycle it to recharge the hydrogen, making a closed loop system being refueled from the energy going through the spoiler’s turbines.
Second idea a system to capture shower water and pass it through a filter then back into the shower head to drastically reduce water use. Filter out the soap and dirt and reuse the water.
On the use 1 less idea, since Americans are having such a problem with obesity and heart disease today, how about using 1 less meat product a day. My reasoning is simple- meat production and consumption is the second largest generator of green house gasses and climate change. If every one used one less meat product a day then people’s heath would improve and we help the planet. I would just say go vegan but I personally am just not ready for that. I really respect vegans, but no meat at all would drive me nuts.
Lastly guys this One Less A Day idea is pure gold and I think we should seriously consider it, if Hayden approves. It could bring National attention to Alt. Energy Shift, which is something we all want and help people and our planet. Talk is great, but it is action that changes the world. If you guys decide to do it Jeff and I are in 1000% and will do anything we can to help because I honestly thank this forum could change the world if we could go viral and get national attention- just my opinion. It would also work well with the Rio conference.
#19
Posted 30 April 2012 - 07:30 PM
Love the idea of the spoiler micro-turbines on cars. Also, as a Trekkie, love the Star Trek reference. Here's another example. Think about the silver communication earpiece Uhura wore and compare it to a Bluetooth today. There's a fun article on some of the "futuristic" things on the original Star Trek that made the leap to reality.
Treknobabble #50: Top 10 Star Trek Inventions in Use Today
And, I agree - I think the Use One Less campaign is a brilliant idea and I'm also on board to help in whatever way I can.
Here's another example. Think about the silver communication earpiece Uhura wore and compare it to a Bluetooth today. There's a fun article on some of the "futuristic" things on the original Star Trek that made the leap to reality.Treknobabble #50: Top 10 Star Trek Inventions in Use Today
And, I agree - I think the Use One Less campaign is a brilliant idea and I'm also on board to help in whatever way I can.
#20
Posted 30 April 2012 - 07:53 PM
Outrageous Green Ideas . . . I would like to see everyone, to do something to save energy and money,
. . . then put the actual money they saved aside each month, to be used on another project that save's energy and money,
. . . then put the actual money they saved from both projects aside each month, to be used on another project etc., etc., etc.,
Like a snowball rolling down hill, saving more energy and money each time, sharing what they did with others on a blog.
Example: I replaced all the incandescent lights in the house with fluorescents.
. . . unplugged all the high energy user's in the house and plugged them into power-strips.
. . . have a 16 year old Saturn, that gets 40 miles per gallon.
. . . replaced single pane windows, with double pane.
. . . replace the asphalt roofing with a metal roof.
. . . replaced all gasoline yard tools, with electric ones.
. . . insulated house drafts, electric outlets, hot water pipes.
Saving energy and money, is like a snowball rolling down hill, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Outrageous Green Idea . . . ?
. . . then put the actual money they saved aside each month, to be used on another project that save's energy and money,
. . . then put the actual money they saved from both projects aside each month, to be used on another project etc., etc., etc.,
Like a snowball rolling down hill, saving more energy and money each time, sharing what they did with others on a blog.
Example: I replaced all the incandescent lights in the house with fluorescents.
. . . unplugged all the high energy user's in the house and plugged them into power-strips.
. . . have a 16 year old Saturn, that gets 40 miles per gallon.
. . . replaced single pane windows, with double pane.
. . . replace the asphalt roofing with a metal roof.
. . . replaced all gasoline yard tools, with electric ones.
. . . insulated house drafts, electric outlets, hot water pipes.
Saving energy and money, is like a snowball rolling down hill, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Outrageous Green Idea . . . ?
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