Dutch electronics company, Phillips has created Bio-light, the greener lighting system that is part of their Microbial Home (MH) system.
The bioluminescent bacteria, which flourishes on waste generated in the average home, is housed in hand-blown glass cells, clustered together to form a lamp that could easily be displayed in a modern art museum.
Each cell is joined to the lamp's reservoir base by thin silicon tubes that pipe methane gas from composted bathroom solids and vegetable scraps via a kitchen dodad that digests bio-waste.
Till the time proper nutrients are supplied, the bio-light's living bacteria can be powered indefinitely. Although the light is not bright enough to fully replace conventional lighting, it does make people conscious of household forms of wasted energy that could be tapped.
"Designers have an obligation to understand the urgency of the situation, and translate humanity's needs into solutions," the Discovery News quoted Clive van Heerden, Senior Director of Design-led Innovation at Philips Design, as saying on the website.
"Energy-saving light bulbs will only take us so far. We need to push ourselves to rethink domestic appliances entirely, to rethink how homes consume energy, and how entire communities can pool resources," Heerden added.
Our own Ellen Rocco was in Albany yesterday with the group representing the North Country at the regional economic development competition being run by the governor's office.
It pits eight regions of the state against each other for economic development aid from the state. The four winning regions each get $40 million, the others split $40 million.
Ellen was there with two other people involved in one of the projects selected for presentation to the panel of judges: North Country Pastured, which hopes to get a mobile poultry processing facility going in the St. Lawrence Valley.
Kevin Elkin of Elkin Tree Service in Indian lake ( a passionate broadband proponent) and representatives of a company based in Syracuse and Ogdensburg that's working on advanced LED lighting technology. Leading were co-chairs Garry Douglas of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, Clarkson University President Tony Collins, and Kate Fish, a North Country Council member representing the Adirondack North Country Association.
Here's a link to the website with all the regions' full videos. (Don't worry…you should be able to fast forward to various bits.)
The co-chairs did the presentation, and each of the judges had questions, with interjections from time to time.
"We think we did the North Country proud," says Ellen. She says all the panelists said the North Country presentation stood out, partly because this region's council was the only team to bring actual people who could talk about their own projects. And the visuals were smart and looked good…not your typical "death by Power Point" presentation.
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