Links of the Day

Visualizing the Grid

This is kind of fun to play with. I am mildly entertained by the fact that if you switch it to power plants, and then coal, you can find my hometown. There was a major plant right next to my elementary school. We liked to joke, growing up, that this was why there were (quite literally) mutant insects in everyone's basements. It was undoubtedly the source of the overwhelmingly bad smells that occasionally permeated that side of town. And it was without much doubt the source of the high asthma rate in the area.

Hurray for electric.

In other news, this is kind of fun (and kitsch): The Recycled Cardboard Computer Case

Not to mention...

the other entries for Inhabit's Greener Gadgets competition.

Though in the remarks on the Cardboard Computer Case they really hit the nail on the head- yes, electronics are designed to have a short lifespan. That's how electronics companies make money. So the real question is maybe which is more important- the profits of the electronics companies or the amount of waste produced by the constant "updates" of our electronic devices? I refer you back to Last Year's Model.

Of course, it probably depends on who you're asking.