Grundfos Presence Primed: Opening Event And More

As I noted in Grundfos Primes Second Life Pump over on Your2ndPlace.com, Grundfos entered Second Life for a 6 month period to test the waters. The opening was today, and I was there for a part of it. Normally I would write this on Your2ndPlace.com, but since it touches on some things I would normally write of on KnowProSE.com, I'm writing about it on KnowProSE.com and making a preview available on Your2ndPlace.com.

The event ran from noon SLT (Second Life Time) to 6 p.m. SLT and had a pretty packed schedule. The lag monster was hitting me pretty hard but I managed to have a few side discussions while watching the opening presentation by Koldbaek Theas. The opening presentation was brief and to the point, and demonstrated that this was not only 'another corporate presence'. The majority of the event was about we humans minimizing our impact on the environment; that Grundfos bills itself as a supplier of some products which will help mankind do so seemed almost incidental. There was the standard fetish of Africa as far as needs, but that fetish is understandable - Africa is the most susceptible to many of the problems which were being discussed... and where the most good could be done in one spot. Still, it is always odd to speak of Africa when audiences are not truly familiar with Africa - something gets lost. I haven't been to Africa, and I know little of Africa other than what friends such as Bukeni Waruzi have told me.

Let me paint some background on all of this before I write about what the Grundfos presence was like.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is not a topic new to me - written of renewable energy and I've written of solar energy quite a bit - and I'm one of the firmest advocates on it. In fact, the computer and network I am writing this on are... solar powered (See picture).

My father and I designed solar systems before he died - some of which were never built, some of which were, and some which were implemented. But most of the focus of renewable energy isn't generating the electricity - it is using it efficiently. Running alternating current devices off of solar energy, for example, is a great way to be inefficient. Air conditioning or refrigeration with poor insulation makes no sense, as an example. Electricity created from renewable energy sources does not excuse poor design and engineering - if anything, it requires better design and better engineering.

One would think that energy efficiency in these ways would be more important even before renewable energy has become so prominent in these discussions - but for the majority of the world, power saving devices are not as important as low priced devices. Power saving devices typically cost more; solar panels are not cheap (their price has remained consistent over the last 3 decades). Hydroelectric power is another energy source not spoken of enough, yet Niagra Falls was Nikola Tesla's first major use of alternating current. Oddly, if you look through much in the way of wind energy and water energy, you will find Nikola Tesla's name. This really isn't that new.

Water

But when it comes to water - many places have the problem. Sadly, I count Trinidad and Tobago as - where there is pipe borne water, but much of the water is taken to areas by truck. I've seen garden hoses run across roads so that water from pipes (supplied by truck filled reservoirs!) get to houses.

Africa's not the only country with a problem, and I often wonder if that focus causes more problems than it solves. That said - we can all agree that water is a problem, and will become increasingly so if we continue treating the environment as we do. When I helped build the web presence for BluePlanetRun, all of this was on my mind. It obviously came back like a boomerang. Too often countries that are flooded are not considered areas where there is a water problem - but Guyana, Suriname and other countries on the South American continent have had these problems. And after Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada in the Caribbean, water was one of the main problems. Too often these problems are not mentioned in the same breath as deserts. A planet flooded with polluted water in some parts (New Orleans, anyone? Remember where that water was pumped) and deserts in others are all part of the same reality we should be working against. The flair for the dramatic does sometimes rob the greater cause.

Back To That Other Reality

While people chatted after the opening, I had a few people in IM while I explored Grundfos Island to see what else was there. There were a lot of interesting things to see which I took a few pictures of. The build, which Beta Technologies did for Grundfos, is well done - elegant, modern and most importantly: interesting and interactive.

There are things which one can get, important information on how to decrease your risk on the environment (including a very nicely done bicycle you can get a copy of), a quiz where you can earn Linden dollars - and a way to get people to plant real and virtual trees by donating about 300 Lindens.

It does seem odd that Second Life, which runs on so much electricity, would be a platform for this - but if you're going to preach, who do you preach to? The people who use the most electricity.

Grundfos's presence is here and there, but the island remains focused on energy efficiency and avoiding pollution. That, in and of itself, puts Grundfos ahead of some of the non-profit presences in my book.

Visit Grundfos Island; you might learn something. Plant a tree, get a bicycle and learn how you can do a small part to save the planet from us. Oh, and if you're the last one on the sim - please turn the lights off.

Hats off to everyone involved.