An interesting post at WorldChanging concerning developments by the Swedish Interactive Institute:
that revisits the design of everyday things to increase awareness of how energy is used and to hopefully empower users by increasing their individual choices with regards to energy consumption.
Among their inventions: a “Flower Lamp” that “blooms’ when energy consumption in a household has been low for some time.” A commentor to this post says “I think projects like this perpetuate the mainstream perception that ‘environmentalists’ are goofy if-well-intentioned head-in-the-clouds space-cadet types that get very little actual credibility.” I’m not sure I agree with this self-admitted cynic — I think products like these meet multiple needs/desires for beauty and efficiency (but, then, maybe I’m one of those very “space-cadet” types the writer describes…).
Technorati tags: energy efficiency, innovation