Comments on: The Human Water Pump Harvests Kinetic Energy

By: zackaders

zackaders — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:36:32 +0000

how does it work? It is highly unlikely the suggested Piezokinetic technology (MIT) would handle the energy load required… not to mention the multimillion dollar price tag.

Agreed, very bad look for that jury

By: janice

janice — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:59:09 +0000

what a great invention…….i hope you will post the whole document of the invention…

By: hughmama

hughmama — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:20:55 +0000

Going to have to agree with gregb on this one. What is it with competition juries lately?
After that ridiculous (and ugly) business card read won the supreme red dot award too. It’s a long road back to reputability from there.
This concept is like a bunch of feel-good western design wank thinking crammed together and given a pretty picture.

By: gregb

gregb — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:28:01 +0000

Well, you simply can’t wish an idea like this into reality. Especially when drinkable water supply isn’t a matter of design aesthetics, but of life and death. There simply isn’t enough power generated by walking across a bridge- period. (The MIT project is at best a concept- it’s not even a working system that could function in a desert with heat, rain, sand and scavengers). And this is also an expensive solution. People are DYING in Africa, and you could install 100 working hand or animal powered pumps for the cost of this folly.

Its one thing to give prizes to dance floors or train terminals- just more noise in the system. But the jury should be ashamed of themselves for this choice.

By: Steve N. Lee

Steve N. Lee — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:52:05 +0000

This sounds a cool idea, but I don’t get it.

If the technology is so ready available and, though I may be reading too much into what’s said above, relatively cost effective, why aren’t we employing such technology in our towns and cities right now? Imagine the enormous costs of lighting everywhere we live – now imagine how many people walk through out cities every single day. Why aren’t we capturing this energy? If it’s so easy, wouldn’t this be a major step towards cutting emissions and developing a sustainable lifestyle?

Yes, I’ve seen the phone chargers and the dancefloor, but, especially the latter, I’ve always thought they were quite gimmicky and didn’t really believe they could make a valuable contribution to sustainability. But this post implies there are vast untapped resources. Let’s hope it’s right. And let’s hope we get to see the technology spread across our urban landscapes wherever possible.

Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
and suspense thriller ‘What if…?’ http://www.steve-n-lee.com