Billy Knows a Tree When He Googles One: The Soccer Mom Syndrome

The big ass Chevy Suburban that just cut you off is not dangerous because of the cell phone-jabbing, 5′2″ super housewife behind the wheel. The real danger lives behind those tinted rear windows, in the murky back seat region, where billions of microchips and processors compete for the attention of the one little whiny occupant who reigns supreme. Fumbling from Gameboy to iPod to DVD remote control, it’s a wonder little Billy even finds the time to allow a finger to break free and troll after those boogers that are just dying to get out. Our little friend has driven through the forest a billion times, but has yet to so much as touch a tree.

In his discussion at the Aspen Environment Forum, EO Wilson (Pellegrino Research Professor in Entomology at Harvard) blamed the group that he lovingly referred to as “soccer moms” for the declining interest in nature and the environment amongst children.

DiscoverMagazine.com reports:

Wilson filled more than an hour of questions and answers with witty remarks and barbs. And to be sure, his tone was playful. Yet, there was a seriousness behind his “soccer mom” remarks that struck a cord with many people in the audience: Have children been largely cut off from nature because of technology?

Many people agreed that they have, with video games, the Internet and structured play times replacing — as comedian George Carlin commented in a recent skit — sitting outside in a yard with a stick wondering how to entertain themselves.

If Wilson is right, little urban zombies like Billy will one day rule the world, able to leap tall logarithmic search engines in a single bound, but stupidly worthless when it comes to differentiating between an acorn and a pine cone. These are tomorrow’s Republican Senators and Governors.

Links [Discover Magazine] & [The Aspen Environment Forum]

Photo credit: Flickr user MonkeyLeo13

New See-Saw Technology Harnesses The Power of Children

I’m into old-school devices re-engineered to create energy or somehow become more efficient. Take the newly released solar-powered vibrator. Now there’s something that finally has come into the 21 Century!

Today’s latest find is a See-Saw designed to harness the power of children (obese, sugar-fueled kids are probably best), which could then be used to power a school for an evening. The idea came from a 23-year-old consumer product design student who became inspired after helping build a school in Kenya. From the article,

He said: “The current need for electricity in sub-Saharan Africa is staggering. Without power development is extremely difficult. “The potential for this product is huge and the design could be of benefit to numerous communities in Africa and beyond.” He has calculated that five to 10 minutes use on the see-saw could generate enough electricity to light a classroom for an evening, for example. Many schools in Africa open their doors in the evening to much older pupils but are only able to light their classrooms with candles or kerosene lamps.

Later this year, a prototype sourced with locally made parts will be setup in a village in Uganda.

We’re jazzed over the See-saw idea — but would be equally enamored with an energy-generating spinnie-ride as well. Sure, they always made me sick, but at least I could feel better knowing my nausea was helping save the world.

via BBC