There have been many interesting and promising inventions that have come out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) over this past week. No matter what you feel about electronics, they are here in our lives and only gaining in numbers. Smart phones, iPods, gameboys, laptops, microwaves, TVs, DVD players, yadda yadda yadda... The graph below is a clear depiction of the increasing number of electronics in our lives and the increasing speed of adoption. This is a graph I find very fascinating and have posted at my desk.
While I don't think that electronics are the only answer, I do think they could be part of the solution for many Arlingtonians. Often if something isn't easy, fun or saves money -- people won't adopt it. Electric bicycles, smart grid technologies, eBooks, OLED TVs and portable solar chargers are not only easy but cool.
We commented earlier about the imperfect decision between a real Christmas Trees vs. a fake Christmas tree in this post. I feel a similarly about technology that is supposed to help us leave a lighter footprint on the environment. Theoretically these devices offer us the opportunity to use less power, but at what cost? It is a nearly impossible equation for the average consumer to figure out. Is it better to keep the TV you have even if it uses more power rather than switch to an OLED TV that sips energy but requires the extraction, processing, manufacturing, and transportation of an entirely new product?!
What do you think? Is "green technology" as much of an oxymoron as jumbo shrimp? Is technology part of the solution or part of the problem? Or is there something else that strikes you about our everyday conundrums?
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