Your design superpowers are a force for good
what if a cell phone had super powers to match? What would yours do?
Our cell phones do everything these days...Our communication enablers, alarm clocks, calendars, they host our photos, music, videos, allow us to go on the net, download applications, use gps...
They are our superhero sidekick...
But if our cell phones are really "smart phones".. then why are not cerain features and abilities included?
Here is a Wish list....
Powered Efficiently and Entirely by Renewable Energy
Be it solar, talking, bouncing or anything else...
Our smart phones could collect the energy needed to run them by utilizing the energy resources around them. While we can somewhat accomplish this, such as charging up with a solar or wind charger, it isn’t yet integrated into phones.
Effortless Carbon Emissions Tracking
While ever-improving carbon emissions trackers are being created as we speak, there still isn’t an entirely effortless way to track our impact. Most of the time, apps require our (admit it) flawed input for things like trips. We might forget short excursions, fudge on distances, or make other calculation errors in our input and get inaccurate emissions data back. Having a way to get our daily carbon emissions from each action we take, without thinking about it at all, would be pretty great.....
Eco-Mapping of Everything All the Way Back to the Source
Sure, we can find nearly anything on our smart phones. We can get maps, directions, and even travel itineraries with just a few button clicks. But what if it could really map out information? What if we could put in a destination, such as a restaurant, and our phone could give us the whole picture of emissions for that restaurant, for the methods of travel to get there, and so on. It might end up being TMI (too much information) but it would give us a cold, hard look at the actual magnitude of the trip to that restaurant.
Greenwash Detector and Alert System
While it is pretty easy to catch greenwashing, sometimes those marketers are very clever. How great would it be if our phones could send us alerts when we’re near greenwashing? Perhaps we’re planning a trip and like a certain hotel for its eco claims. Before booking, we could check with our phone and it could alert us any greenwashing taking place with that hotel's advertising. This one is really off the wall, but it’d still be great - what if it could alert us just as we approach a store or item with greenwashing? Then again, our phones would probably just go nuts with text alerts as we walk through a store.
Be Manufactured Responsibly and Made to Last
Phones are practically disposable. They have an average use length of 18 months before they’re replaced with the latest and greatest. We want our smart phones to be made with eco-friendly materials in a plant that ensures it has the lowest possible carbon footprint. We want it to be made to last longer than 10 years, and be upgradable so that as new technologies are unleashed, we can make small changes to our existing phones to keep up. And we want them to be 100% recyclable at the end of their very long lives.
Okay, let loose with your eco-imagination. What do you wish your smart phone could do? What apps would you have on it, and what super powers would it hold under its casing?
They are our superhero sidekick...
But if our cell phones are really "smart phones".. then why are not cerain features and abilities included?
Here is a Wish list....
Powered Efficiently and Entirely by Renewable Energy
Be it solar, talking, bouncing or anything else...
Our smart phones could collect the energy needed to run them by utilizing the energy resources around them. While we can somewhat accomplish this, such as charging up with a solar or wind charger, it isn’t yet integrated into phones.
Effortless Carbon Emissions Tracking
While ever-improving carbon emissions trackers are being created as we speak, there still isn’t an entirely effortless way to track our impact. Most of the time, apps require our (admit it) flawed input for things like trips. We might forget short excursions, fudge on distances, or make other calculation errors in our input and get inaccurate emissions data back. Having a way to get our daily carbon emissions from each action we take, without thinking about it at all, would be pretty great.....
Eco-Mapping of Everything All the Way Back to the Source
Sure, we can find nearly anything on our smart phones. We can get maps, directions, and even travel itineraries with just a few button clicks. But what if it could really map out information? What if we could put in a destination, such as a restaurant, and our phone could give us the whole picture of emissions for that restaurant, for the methods of travel to get there, and so on. It might end up being TMI (too much information) but it would give us a cold, hard look at the actual magnitude of the trip to that restaurant.
Greenwash Detector and Alert System
While it is pretty easy to catch greenwashing, sometimes those marketers are very clever. How great would it be if our phones could send us alerts when we’re near greenwashing? Perhaps we’re planning a trip and like a certain hotel for its eco claims. Before booking, we could check with our phone and it could alert us any greenwashing taking place with that hotel's advertising. This one is really off the wall, but it’d still be great - what if it could alert us just as we approach a store or item with greenwashing? Then again, our phones would probably just go nuts with text alerts as we walk through a store.
Be Manufactured Responsibly and Made to Last
Phones are practically disposable. They have an average use length of 18 months before they’re replaced with the latest and greatest. We want our smart phones to be made with eco-friendly materials in a plant that ensures it has the lowest possible carbon footprint. We want it to be made to last longer than 10 years, and be upgradable so that as new technologies are unleashed, we can make small changes to our existing phones to keep up. And we want them to be 100% recyclable at the end of their very long lives.
Okay, let loose with your eco-imagination. What do you wish your smart phone could do? What apps would you have on it, and what super powers would it hold under its casing?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Adam King on -
Sounds like someone stumbled across http://www.pomegranatephone.com/ ;)
-
Permalink Reply by Michelle Davey on -
Whahaha!!! Hilarious! I could use a phone that makes coffee and translates in any language lol classic! Strange end on it though- pitching Nova Scotia... as a place that has everything... weird spin. Thanks for Sharing Adam!
About
© 2009 Created by Len Senater on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
