Alternative energy gift guide - Solar, wind, fuel cell, biodiesel and more…
Next year is going to be a big year folks, we'll see more investment and emphasis on alternative energy than ever before, this will be our "space race" and our "moon landing". The children of today will be the ones who will shape the next decade and the next century. As a parent, a friend, a mentor or just someone who is giving a gift this holiday season - instead of a plastic toy or nik-nak I'm going to ask the you consider giving something that might just spark the attention of a young mind that will be called to solve our energy needs.
We all know we will not be able to sustain a future on a fuel (oil) that's going to eventually go away and/or become more expensive. No one really likes dealing with the Middle East for the most part and other nations like China and India are going to drive demand through the roof, we're going to need to diversify our energy needs. It's not going to be a lot of us reading MAKE right now, it's going to be the children of folks reading MAKE.
Solar, wind, biodiesel, nuclear - these are all things we explore in the pages of MAKE, online, in our videos and with the kits we carefully select for our Maker Shed. We're not going to get out this current crisis with the same thinking that got us here, we need to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, it's going to take decades - 8 to 12 year olds today will be the ones who will need to rise to the challenge. Will our education system do enough? No - we'll all need to do something. It's a daunting task and a seemingly impossible challenge, and that's why I know we'll do it - if it was easy, it wouldn't be interesting.
Entrepreneurs will see this as a wonderful opportunity to start new and amazing companies, I'm positive there are going to be more incentives to do so starting next year. We're talking jobs, new industries, tax breaks - it's going to happen, but everyone needs to do something. It might just be tinkering around with a solar panel in your neighborhood to get folks interested, it might be modding the Prius you just bought - a new era in energy independence is going to happen, not overnight, but I am 100% positive it will happen and it will be makers (and their children) who lead the way.
I've put together a gift guide of all the cool and interesting alternative energy kits and resources - check it, maybe send it to a few friends... if you think a young person might have what it takes to change the world, this might be the spark that starts it off... People always ask "how can we get started" - this is just one of the ways.
Solarspeeder Kit
A quick Solaroller that can cover 3 meters (10 feet) in under 40 seconds in direct sunlight. Simple to construct and a great project for beginners!
Price: $25.00
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Keep reading for a ton more alternative energy, DIY kits and resources for building the future!
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November 20th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | |
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