Being a reader of Time, I was nerdishly delighted to receive the latest issue featuring ‘The 50 Best Inventions of 2010’. Flying cars. Sarcasm detection. (No, really.) The first synthetic cell. A road-straddling bus. The list goes on, and every mind-blowing item beckons that age-old question, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Especially exciting to me were all the advancements that have been made in energy savings, so indulge me as I describe a few things I’ll be adding to my holiday wish list. Deep Green’s Underwater Kites have the ‘power’ (sorry) to generate energy by tethering kites affixed with small turbines to the ocean floor. Seawater is denser than air, so the ocean’s currents have the ability to generate even more power than wind. The (almost) waterless washing machine largely utilizes reusable, stain-absorbing nylon beads in lieu of water and uses 90% less water in all compared to your average washer. Electric-car charging stations may not be too far off here in Arlington. Coulomb Technologies is 
developing a system of utility-connected charging stations in public places. Lastly, my personal favorite is the power-aware cord. Wires are imbedded around cords to produce light relative to how much electricity is being drawn off the grid by a given device. The more power is being used, the brighter and faster the blue spirals. The idea here is that if your home looks like the interior of a Techno club, you might be inclined to unplug a few devices not is use.
Those are just a few developments that are catching my attention, but what about you? Are there any energy-saving inventions of 2010 that you’re excited about?
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