Have you got a laptop or printer that needs to be recycled? Here's a cool idea for making them capable of disassembling themselves when required:

“Active Disassembly is a promising technique for recycling electronics that relies on shape-memory connectors inside devices to pop apart under heat, separating valuable components without any manual labor required. Screws have been prototyped that lose their threads, as well as screen housings for laptops that pop apart to separate glass from LCD substrate. A typical cell phone can be broken down in seconds without any need to handle the toxic components”
 

Courtesy of Trends.

It just so happens that you can get the novel, Green Power by Charles Vrooman, for half price during the week we celebrate Earth Day. Check it out at: http://www.publishamerica.com.

This new action filled thriller addresses a solution to environmental problems with the use of an alternate source of energy. However, this tactic appears to be a disaster when an epidemic breaks out pointing to the methane digesters as the cause.

The notion of peak oil is like the notion of peak horse manure - it becomes irrelevant before it actually occurs. I say this for two reasons; one, we haven't yet discovered the undiscovered oil fields and technologies that vastly increase the known reserves of oil; two, new technologies will emerge faster than we think to remove our reliance on oil as the primary driver of the energy economy.

The latest news about oil discoveries off Brazil support this argument. As so eloquently put by the Economist:

The discoveries do suggest that the gloomiest pundits are wrong to predict that the world will soon run out of oil. It is not that there are still lots of huge oil fields out there: the number of mammoth discoveries is declining, Tupi (and perhaps Carioca-Sugar Loaf and Jupiter) notwithstanding.

Why is cost the #1 focus?  There was a time when quality was worth a few cents more.  Isn't paying a little more for something that lasts twice as long worth it?

And what about the fight between form and function.  Remember when a coffee pot may not have looked so great but it didn't wind up all over your kitchen counter.  Isn't all the coffee winding up in the cup more important than a new design?

It might be beneficial to look at how we've gotten into this extreme cost and form conscious mode and take a few steps back.  I was recently talking to a CFO of a large manufacturer and the ONLY point he wanted to talk about was cost.  Not something better, more innovative or superior in any way, shape or form.  Something cheaper that looks cool will sell ! What's happened to our country?

If your immediate response is "What crisis?" then you haven't been watching CNN or reading the Economist. We think they could and we've written a MindBullet to explore this scenario. Problem is, if you convert China's medieval farming practices into high-tech low-labor agricultural industry you end up with about half-a-billion unemployed rural workers. Or do you? Maybe China could just become the low-cost exporter of staples to Asia and Africa, like they are with manufactured goods. The Philippines are certainly crying out for more rice at a lower price.

Read the full analysis online if you're a subscriber or click here for the graphic display.

We recently explored this topic in a MindBullet with a dateline of 2009:

Back in 2007, Dr Brian Cox, a member of the High Energy Physics Group at the University of Manchester, started a ripple that has now turned into a political and social tsunami.
"Our responsibility is not merely to look after the Earth, but also to be custodians of our civilization. We need to harness the same power that fuels the sun, and use more, not less, energy", he wrote.
"The human brain is the most complex, precious and beautiful natural structure in the universe" pleads Brian Cox, "let's give it the freedom to explore all possibilities and realize all innovations".
Today, Cox's thoughts have polarized world leaders, environmentalists and the general public.
"So what do you actually want us to do? Save energy or grow the economy?

Back in the day, I remember Mr. Nadar being an advocate for the consumer. 

When did he become an advocate for himself?

As we all vividly recall in the infamous 2000 election, Nadar garnered enough votes to keep Al Gore out of the White House.  Just think of the difference the past 7 years would have been.

Subsequent to Mr. Nadar's actions, the focus for our "security" was directed over seas, where 100's of billions of dollars have been spent.

To pay for this, almost every other program in the government has been slashed including inspectors for our food and public safety.  The result is that our citizens are more endangered from our food supply and dangerous products than a terrorist attack. 

Why would Nadar risk another opportunity to further entrench those who prefer to support

In the not-too-distant future we may have a scenario of serious price shocks as the energy crisis deepens.

Get the full story and comments from subscribers at MindBullets online.