Re: looking for good cordless phone sets

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:05:39 -0500, "Robert Green"
<ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<YtWdncpRB6zfTEDYnZ2dnUVZ_silnZ2d@xxxxxxx>:

>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:45ddbed5.153581328@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote:
>>
>> >I'm looking for an inexpensive combo NiMH & Alkaline charger.
>>
>> I think I found one...
>>
>>
>http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=100387896
>
>I thought rechargeable alkalines had all but disappeared.  I was not
>thrilled by their lifespan in my Nikon, although the higher voltage they
>delivered was a plus.  If they've improved, I'd take a second look.  I don't
>believe the Ultra will recharge alkalines, but I could be dead wrong on
>that.

AA NiMH have proved to be quite good in my opinion, although I still carry a
just-in-case set of lithiums for my SB flashes.

Nikon F2's through N100 used AA's but my D200 uses a proprietary battery that
isn't even the same as the D100 which looks identical. But the the new flash
still uses AA's.

So upshot was that on a recent trip long  I had to drag along 8 (eight!)
different chargers for cameras, flashes, laptops, external drives and so on.
I've begun to reject things that can't be powered by standard supplies.

One space-saving strategy is to use charger bases that use the same power
supply. One can get 12vdc-input chargers for Nikon, Olympus, AA, AAA, and
other batteries and so cut down on the bulk and weight. These can also be
used with cigarette lighter supplies in cars.

IMO, wall warts are problem enough when they are on the wall, but even worse
when you have a carry an armful on foot through the no-man's land at the
border between Jordan and Israel. To boot, the inspectors wanted to inspect
it all ...


>And on another subject, today's WashPost had an article on greenhouse gases
>that talked about dirty coal-fired plants:
>
>"A committee of more than 100 experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on
>Climate Change concluded in 2005 that carbon sequestration has "considerable
>potential" to help reduce greenhouse gases, and a lengthy study at Weyburn
>by the International Energy Agency found virtually no leakage. The British
>Columbia government this month announced that all its coal-fired electric
>plants will be required to utilize carbon sequestration to eliminate
>greenhouse gas emissions."
>
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022102
>095_3.html
>

The search for methods of carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change
goes back to at least the late 1970's (at least that's when I first became
aware of it). They have had a rocky history in part because they typically
involve geo-enginneered solutions which were long considered by many to be
dangerous meddling with earth systems.

>It sure makes more sense to cap the CO2 at the source, rather than way
>downstream. Trying to modify 100 years of consumer behavior via fiat would
>have a minimal impact, at best, on the problem.

The second sentence is a non-sequitur, right?

The first of the three conservation R's is to _Reduce_.  Modification of
consumer behaviour that has been ongoing in the US since at least 1992 with
respect to lighting -- long before the currrent crop of pundits knew that
their behaviour was being changed ;-) What is never created does not need to
be sequestered ("capped") , so reducing demand is a key step.

Most (all?) folks that have studied the problem seriously would flat-out
disagree with your statement that changing consumer behaviour by fiat has a
minimal effect. Many energy standards are indeed legally binding commands or
decisions (i.e., fiats). Indeed, voluntary measures are what have not worked.

The "Fiat Lux" of Genesis was reportedly not originally pronounced  as an
optional extra or part of a consumer preference poll ...

"LET THERE please BE efficient, inexpensive, quiet, dimmable, full-spectrum,
PLC-friendly, union-made LIGHT bulbs that last a long time when used
base-down" does seem to be more of a self-indulgent consumer wish-list than
fiat.

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org