PLN 28

What matters in the world today is that we are trying a little too hard to go green and save the environment. Yes, saving energy and fuel is important, but some of the new "green" inventions are ridiculous. Take for example the "Solar Powered Drink Coasters" (currently on sale for $14.00). This invention collects solar power all day, and then at night it will light up your glass and make your drink look radio active. This invention is completely pointless, how much energy or carbon emissions can a coaster give off. This invention along with some others, have made Yahoo.com's Tech Ticker Dumbest, Green Inventions List. Also on this list is the "Eton Solar Link Radio" this radio is an emergency crank radio, which can also run for a few hours on a full day of direct sunlight. It is equipped with a USB port, a cell phone charger and a clock. But if you were to need it in an emergency, there better not be water involved, because the Eton Radio is not water proof. Another invention on this list is the "Bedol Water-Powered Clock." This device is a digital clock, about the size of a tennis ball, which runs on a mix of water and lemon juice. This clock uses only a fraction less energy than a normal clock, and it doesn't even have an alarm. But, the most outrageous green invention in my opinion is the "Energy Curtain." This is a window blind that collects the energy from the sun all day, weather it is rolled up or down, and then at night it glows blue so you don't need to use the electric light. This sounds like a good idea, until you find out that to keep it from glowing at night; you have to completely cover it with a cloth during the day. This would be a hassle, because if you were to forget the cover, your blinds would be glowing all night and keep you awake. This curtain might keep you from using the lights, but what is the point. All of the inventions on the list either take the place of items that use no energy (the solar powered coasters) or barely use less energy than the supposedly non-energy efficient things they replace. I'm not saying that we should stop trying to be green, I just think that there are more effective and efficient ways of gong about it, than with water powered clocks and glow blinds.