It wasn’t all that long ago that all that
socket did on your dash was fire up your lighter for you next smoke. Well,
lucky for us gadget aficionados they’ve since found a whole slew of uses for
the lighter-socket, almost too many in fact. You see, many mobile technophiles
are finding the interior of their cars resembling a 50s switchboard as they
rewire various electronic devices to charge while on the road. So it’s welcomed
news that Nextar is releasing the NXBT-001 and NXBT-002; two solar-powered
handsfree kits.
The devices work on Bluetooth 2.0
technology to provide you with 30 feet of handsfree functionality for your
cellular phone. The NXBT-001 offers 10 hours of talk time and 250 hours of
standby, with the 002 model providing 6 hours of talk and 150 hours of standby.
Eddy Zheng, Nextar founder, had this to say
about the kits: “By combining two advanced technologies, Nextar makes it
possible for drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel while using their
cell phones. Our Bluetooth car kits also have the added advantage of being
solar powered, making them ‘green’ friendly.”
One wonders if Mr. Zheng is aware that in
manufacturing his product he’s using “the most potent greenhouse gas per
molecule”? I’d give him the benefit of the doubt here but the point still
stands; manufacturing solar panels consumes substantial amounts of silicon,
which in turn relies on the aforementioned greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride. The
potent chemical compound is used to clean reactors in silicon production, which
“has a greenhouse effect equivalent to that of 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide,”
according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
So, in order to mitigate greenhouse gases,
we shift towards solar technology, which in turn relies on one of the most
potent greenhouses gases in its manufacturing. *Pause and let the irony sink in
a moment.
It’s not all bad though, as the sulphur
hexafluoride isn’t being dispensed wantonly into the atmosphere. In fact, it
isn’t being dispensed at all, really. Rather it is the risk of accidental
release of the chemical that the SVTC is concerned about. And, as you’d
imagine, as the production of solar panels intensifies so too does the risk of
an accidental release of sulfur hexafluoride.
So, is it unethical to purchase gizmos like
the NXBT? No, not all really. The burden of the protection of the environment
falls squarely on the manufacturer in this instance and as consumers we should be more concerned with taking our reliance off non-renewable resources
