Energy

Light up your (LED) Life!

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So I’m excited. I just got my annual LED Christmas present on the slow-boat from China!
Back at Christmas 2008, I found http://www.goldengadgets.com

They’re out of Hong Kong and have a huge array of techy stuff for very cheap. Particularly cheap compared to here… LED lights!

The past 3 years (Dec 2008, Aug 2009, and Jan 2011), I’ve bought myself a $50-$60 present… comprising the latest LED lighting technologies.

It’s been a long road… but it looks like LED technology is finally maturing. And NO you do NOT have to spend $58 for a single bulb from London Drugs or Canadian Tire (I was in both stores recently and was shocked at the prices). I bought these bulbs at around $8-$15 a piece.

The latest bulbs I bought, I bought 7 for $60. Roughly the same price as ONE LED bulb and CanTire.

Here are my three purchases plus a CFL…. for size comparison, I included the Shaw remote.
(click for larger images)

Now the interesting stuff.
Look at the difference in light and brightness. The 2008 bulb was “supposed” to be a “Warm” white… ya, not so much. This is in my bathroom fixture.

And with the CFL. (which I was using alone in the fixture omitting the other two)
The CFL is still the winner in overall brightness, but the gap is definitely narrowing.

And now with 3 2011 Bulb LEDs … these use 9 Watts vs. the 15W for the one CFL.

Ain’t Technology great!!

Awareness, Event

Earth Day Message — Vote!

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We are in a time of great change. Economically, environmentally and socially the 21st century will without doubt overtake any other in terms of humanity’s effect on itself and the planet we live on. What’s more, this decade from 2010 to 2020 could become the decade that shapes our whole way forward.

The Transition Town movement is all about making the best of those changes and challenges in a local, cooperative, and constructive way. Peak oil and climate change may be daunting things to consider but thousands of people around the world including a bunch right here in the Alberni Valley are making real, positive progress towards addressing them head on.

Sometimes though it does seem like it’s all too much, it’s all too complicated and it’s just too hard. However, there is one act that is so simple, so fundamental, that it can make all the difference in the world, voting.

By voting, you truly shape the world you live in. By voting, you can affect not only what goes on in Port Alberni, or in our riding of Nanaimo-Alberni, but also in Canada and the World. By voting you are choosing and expressing your values, your convictions, your needs and wants to all. Voting is the single most powerful act we as citizens can perform.

We all yearn for change in some form. We all wish for things to be better than they are in some way.

So on May 2nd, whether you want to change the world, or only a very small part of it please vote.