LINING YOUR home’s walls with fungus and powering your electric lights using pond scum might seem an improbable way to save the planet. Even so, both are genuine business ideas on display from this morning at the “Green Machines” exhibition in the Science Gallery at Trinity College.
The goal of the exhibition is to get people thinking green but also thinking about commercial opportunities for Ireland, explained gallery director Michael John Gorman.
It was all about being green and kind to the environment while also looking for potential world-beating products that would help produce jobs and wealth within Ireland.
“Some of the ideas are really simple, for example putting a sink into [the back of] a toilet,” he suggested. The proposed eco-toilet, on display at Green Machines, both saves bathroom space but also avoids the loss of the “grey” water from hand washing, holding on to it until the next flush.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan attended the official launch last night, where he had an opportunity to examine a bike made of bamboo, a shower that heats the water without electricity and a cylindrical wind turbine for home use.
All of these are a part of the Dragon's Denapproach taken by the exhibition, which runs until December 17th.
While visitors can simply peruse a collection of investment ideas, just like the dragons in the popular TV programme, they can also become much more deeply involved, taking on the role as investor themselves.
Each visitor will be offered €5 million in “Science Gallery euro”, Gorman said. This can be used to invest in any of the green products and technologies on display on the upper floor of the exhibition.
Before taking the plunge, participants can also go through an “investor boot camp” at ground floor level, where they will be coached in the finer points of smart investing.
They can practise by examining a collection of simple but clever ideas on display there including eco-friendly kettles and irons, an aroma-producing humidifier and green detergents.
The ideas on display will provide visitors with the “inspiration to get involved” and to boost the economy, Mr Gorman suggested.
“This thing could get us out of a hole.”
The exhibition is supported by Glen Dimplex, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the ESB. Entrance is free but a small charge is levied for groups.
- www.sciencegallery.com