Welcome to greenPOWERZONE!
by Lee H. Goldberg
Whether you're one of the cutting-edge folks who's already excited about the emerging wave of environmentally-friendly (and highly lucrative) technologies we cover here, or you've stopped by simply to find out just what the heck this "green power" stuff is, I want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in!
My colleague Dave Bell and I envision the greenPOWERZONE as a resource to help you keep up to date on the rapidly-evolving developments in energy conservation, energy management, and renewable energy production. For many of us, these will be career-critical topics. That's because today's $50+/barrel oil prices are only one of several clear and unmistakable signals that energy has become one of the key issues of our time. Technologies that conserve, and eventually replace gas, coal, and oil will play an increasingly important role in both our economic and environmental health. The urgent need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels represents an incredible opportunity for the electronics sector. It's folks like us who will make our livings creating the technologies that get the most out of our existing resources, and enable development of renewable energy sources.
The electronics that go into everything from high-efficiency consumer goods and home appliances to hybrid vehicles represent markets in the billions of dollars a year. The demand for products to save energy in areas like lighting, transportation and manufacturing is large, and growing steadily, as cost-conscious consumers and businesses use them to add green to their bottom line as well as the planet. And when you add in the multiple billions being spent to put in solar, wind, and fuel cell generating systems, you get a market whose size may even dwarf the telecommunications industry!
In the months ahead, we'll be bringing you the same sorts of product reviews, TechNotes, and news tidbits that you've enjoyed elsewhere on analogZONE, as well as guest columns from noted industry experts. We will also be entertaining you with occasional "hands-on" features that chronicle our own experiences with green technologies. We'll invite you to join us on test drives of the latest hybrid vehicles, tour the bowels of a fuel cell lab, or join us up on a roof to experience the trials and triumphs of installing a solar-electric system.
Please join us in helping build this special section devoted to a greener, better future for us, and our children by sending us suggestions about greenPOWERZONE. And since this is an interactive publication, we heartily welcome any stories you want to share about green-tech products you have used or designed.
Questions? Comments? Insanely great ideas for greenPOWERZONE? Write Lee at lgoldberg@green-electronics.com, or Dave at dobell@verizon.net.