A while back, a co-worker came into my office and indignantly pulled my dormant cell phone charger from the wall. What followed was a sort of dressing down by the co-worker who lectured me on the evils of leaving an un-used cell phone charger plugged into an electrical socket.
Really descriptive phrases like, "energy vampire" were tossed about. I defended myself to no avail. I even protested that I love our planet (I do love it, you know...after all...my kids live here). But really...how much waste could a dormant cell-phone charger cause? It's not like I see the lights flicker or dim when I plug the thing in!
Luckily, we have all sorts of tools and gadgets in our office to measure such things so I wandered out into the shop, procurred one and proceeded to test just how much energy I was wasting by leaving my cell phone charger plugged in when it wasn't charging anything.
6 watts. That's what it was wasting. 6 watts over a 24 hour period.
Now, to the uninitiated, 6 watts might seem like a lot and it really is if you take into account the fact that there are 1.35 billion cell phones in use world wide. Assuming that half of them charge by wall socket and not car...and if we assume that all of them are energy vampires like myself...that means that over 4 gigawatts are being wasted every 24 hours. That's enough energy to send 3 Deloreans travelling through the space-time continuum and still have a bit more to spare (once every 7 days, we get to send 4). Now, I don't care how you slice it...that's serious energy.
But still, I enjoy leaving my cell phone charger plugged in. I don't have to hunt for it and, let's face it, at my age and weight, every instance of bending down to plug something into a receptacle is a risky venture. So I wondered if I might do something else to save the carbon emissions required to generate that 6 watts of energy every day and, I must say, my research has yeilded rich fruit indeed!
Every organism on the planet with a digestive tract emits an average daily quantity of (how shall I put this?)...."miasmic eruptions" As it happens, our federal government in an endeavor that I had heretofore thought insane, has funded research into the quantity and nature of these bowel burps.
It has been established that, on an average day, an average human will emit about fourteen of these totaling about half a liter volume.
The exact chemical nature of these eruptions varies depending upon the intake of the person in question but, on average, about a fourth of these eruptions is a combustable gas called methane.
Coincidentally, methane is also a greenhouse gas.
There are 28 liters in a cubic foot and 1200 BTU/ft3 of methane. and there are 3.4 BTU/watt of energy. Assuming an efficiency rate of 80%, it takes, therefore 4.25 BTU to generate 1 watt of electricity.
Following that criteria, The average human expels enough methane to create approximately 0.6 watts of electricity...about a tenth of the energy required to power that cell phone charger for 24 hours.
Ah...but heres the wrinkle....both the quantity and, in this instance, quality of these miasmic eruptions increases substantially when humans ingest certain foods. (Broccoli, Cabbage, Beans...) In fact, ingestion of these food items can increase the volume and methane content over ten times...My wife asserts that this is a most conservative estimate.
It follows, therefore, that for every day I do not eat broccoli, I save the planet enough greenhouse emissions to create 6 watts of electricity...exactly the amount I require to leave my cell phone charger plugged into the wall guilt free. It's my own little personal "Cap and Trade"
So there it is...it's what I'm doing to save the planet...
(I am working on an invention that will allow the eating of broccoli and take those emissions and convert them to the necessary energy to power my cell phone charger but the prototype for the collection system is not quite ready for certain "Victorian prejudices" still prevalent in today's enlightened society)
I apologize for my faulty math but it seems that this is even a better deal than I had previously thought!
1/28 x 0.25 x 1200 x .80 /3.4 x 10 = 25 watts. Meaning that for every day I don't eat broccoli...three other people besides myself can leave their cell charger plugged in guilt free!. This is really exciting news. We could even market it in a sort of "friends and family" type venture!
(note to self..."Call Verizon")
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Lessons from Atticus
"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience"
- Atticus Finch -
It's the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's masterpiece, "To Kill a Mockingbird". Ms. Lee never penned another work. Why bother? Her first effort was so masterful as to assure that any further attempts would pale by comparison.
I love the book and I love the movie made from the book. I can't think of a more perfect actor to play Atticus Finch than Gregory Peck. His melodious baritone evenly dispensed wisdom in such a quiet and unassuming manner as to command respect and assent.
After viewing the movie and reading the book more times than I can count, I have come to the conclusion that the greatest lesson Atticus taught us was that there was always room for manners. Emily Post stated that manners exist to make people feel at ease with each other; and Atticus Finch was a man who, even in the most extreme circumstances, NEVER forgot his manners.
From diffusing the anger and ire of Miss Dubose to making young Walter feel at ease at the dinner table. Atticus treated all with respect and kindness. Even Bob and Mayella Ewell were treated with respect; although in Bob Ewell's case, one gets the impression that Atticus remembered his manners to preserve his own dignity rather than Mr. Ewell's
I can't think of any greater scene in the history of cinema than Atticus Finch wiping Bob Ewell's spittle from his cheek, then casting the handkerchief aside and walking around his adversary to the car where his son waited and watched. Without a word, Atticus told his son what it meant to really be a man.
After Tom Robinson's conviction, when anyone would excuse Atticus for not remembering the niceties of social convention, Sheriff Tate drove up asking for a conference with Atticus who was in mid conversation with his neighbor, Miss Maudie. Upon hearing Sheriff Tate's request, he didn't just turn from his conversation but rather asked Miss Maudie to excuse him first. I wonder how many of us, under similar pressure and disappointment, would remember such a small social convention?
But Atticus' greatest lesson came after the attack on his two children. When his only son lay unconscious in bed, his prognosis undetermined, Scout discovered Boo Radley hiding behind the door. I never fail to smile through a blur of tears when I see the shy man start suddenly and cower when his hiding place is discovered, only to calm down when Atticus' reassuring voice offered the proper words of introduction that one would expect to hear at a cotillion, "Miss Jean Louise Finch? Mr. Arthur Radley"
As the father of a child who is very reminiscent of Boo Radley, I am also grateful that Atticus never failed to grant the young man with special needs the dignity of his proper name...refusing to call him Boo like the rest of the town...hence the quote at the beginning of this post.
In reading Harper Lee describe her father, and watching Gregory Peck's portrayal on the screen, I cannot help but realize that here is a man who is as close to being like Christ as any other man I can think of.
So....a belated note of gratitude to Harper Lee for her book and for showing to us that the best things are always those that inspire us to greater levels of perfection
- Atticus Finch -
It's the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's masterpiece, "To Kill a Mockingbird". Ms. Lee never penned another work. Why bother? Her first effort was so masterful as to assure that any further attempts would pale by comparison.
I love the book and I love the movie made from the book. I can't think of a more perfect actor to play Atticus Finch than Gregory Peck. His melodious baritone evenly dispensed wisdom in such a quiet and unassuming manner as to command respect and assent.
After viewing the movie and reading the book more times than I can count, I have come to the conclusion that the greatest lesson Atticus taught us was that there was always room for manners. Emily Post stated that manners exist to make people feel at ease with each other; and Atticus Finch was a man who, even in the most extreme circumstances, NEVER forgot his manners.
From diffusing the anger and ire of Miss Dubose to making young Walter feel at ease at the dinner table. Atticus treated all with respect and kindness. Even Bob and Mayella Ewell were treated with respect; although in Bob Ewell's case, one gets the impression that Atticus remembered his manners to preserve his own dignity rather than Mr. Ewell's
I can't think of any greater scene in the history of cinema than Atticus Finch wiping Bob Ewell's spittle from his cheek, then casting the handkerchief aside and walking around his adversary to the car where his son waited and watched. Without a word, Atticus told his son what it meant to really be a man.
After Tom Robinson's conviction, when anyone would excuse Atticus for not remembering the niceties of social convention, Sheriff Tate drove up asking for a conference with Atticus who was in mid conversation with his neighbor, Miss Maudie. Upon hearing Sheriff Tate's request, he didn't just turn from his conversation but rather asked Miss Maudie to excuse him first. I wonder how many of us, under similar pressure and disappointment, would remember such a small social convention?
But Atticus' greatest lesson came after the attack on his two children. When his only son lay unconscious in bed, his prognosis undetermined, Scout discovered Boo Radley hiding behind the door. I never fail to smile through a blur of tears when I see the shy man start suddenly and cower when his hiding place is discovered, only to calm down when Atticus' reassuring voice offered the proper words of introduction that one would expect to hear at a cotillion, "Miss Jean Louise Finch? Mr. Arthur Radley"
As the father of a child who is very reminiscent of Boo Radley, I am also grateful that Atticus never failed to grant the young man with special needs the dignity of his proper name...refusing to call him Boo like the rest of the town...hence the quote at the beginning of this post.
In reading Harper Lee describe her father, and watching Gregory Peck's portrayal on the screen, I cannot help but realize that here is a man who is as close to being like Christ as any other man I can think of.
So....a belated note of gratitude to Harper Lee for her book and for showing to us that the best things are always those that inspire us to greater levels of perfection
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