...and yet I wonder if he has a clue as to how much CO2 was involved in manufacturing all those high tech toys. And apparently he's totally clueless or doesn't care about all of the energy consumed by the servers and IT infrastructure required to interconnect all this stuff for no other purpose than to advertise how much power he's saving compared to his peers. My guess is that those servers alone, running 24/7 consume more energy than all of the phones using this device will ever save.
Then he gets even sillier, because people "off the grid" who actually have a legitimate need for this kind of technology seem to be little more than an afterthought to this clod. He's only interested in demonstrating his eco-correctness to his peers instead of actually helping people. Or is it that poor sods in the 3rd world don't have the $150 bucks to spend on toys like his, so they don't really fit into the equation anyway. (Again proving my point that eco-correctness is only for the affluent) Perhaps it's a generational thing; his real world doesn't extend beyond his Facebook page.
No doubt he'll be using "peer pressure" (http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/infographic-peer-pressure-is-a-powerful-tool-for-solar/9773?tag=nl.e660) to sell this.
Berlin-based startup Changers.com is today launching its social energy marketplace. Its solar-powered gadget charging system will allow people to produce their own energy when they power up their iPhones, iPods, or Android phones.
I spoke with Changers’ co-founder Hans Raffauf at Web 2.0, where he showed me how the Changers Starter Kit works:
The system can generate up to four Watts per hour. In other words, when plugged into the solar panel, the battery can be charged in four hours.
A chip inside the battery pack sends the energy data to the Changers.com site, so the user can see how much energy was produced and how much their friends produced. The stats can be shared on Twitter. The person will acquire virtual currency as they produce more energy. For the moment, users can use the currency to buy sustainable goods on Holstee (100 credits equals $10).
“We need to find a way so everyone contributes and is aware of their own energy production,” Raffauf said, hoping that his system will help crowd source energy production to combat global warming. “Only if they get the idea that you can change behavior and we change behavior at large, this device enables everyone to produce their own energy and make it visible.”
While a portable system like this could be useful to people in developing countries or people living off-the-grid, Changers is targeting the urban demographic in America first. The mobile, social charging system costs $149.
