The Woz on Green Design

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, 1976

It's Woz week on TreeHugger; we know how he drives, now we learn how he builds. He discussed design with ECNmag:

The term "energy efficient" is rather vague. At some level it implies some form of conservation. I have great reservations with that concept as well. One aspect of conservation is to use less so that there is more to go around, either to more people or for a longer time. I disagree with this concept pretty strongly.

While that statement is certainly open to argument, he follows up with:

The form of energy efficiency that appeals greatly to me is the idea of efficiency of construction. I have always admired getting the same results with fewer parts or procedures. That's a win for everyone. I used that concept in my design approach in life. I was determined to give my highest regard to engineers and in engineering we always strive for more efficiency, defined mathematically as more out for less in. If you can build a car at the same price, with the same features (size and performance) yet it uses less gasoline or pollutes less, that's a win for everyone, including the car manufacturer. Engineering leads to such advances, even when they seem like tiny steps

. So the Woz thinks we can design our way out without having to give anything up. I hope he's right. ::ECNmag via ::Boingboing; thanks, Greg

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