Green energy gets dirty

Dirty. Filthy. Mucky.

These, generally, aren’t good adjectives.

Whether literally or figuratively, those aren’t words you’d use to describe something nice, pleasant, appealing, or beneficial. Even gardeners sometimes refer to good soil as “clean,” which they don’t mean ironically. 

What if the word “dirt” started to mean something else? Enter designer Marieke Staps, a designer from Tilburg in the Netherlands. Staps’ remarkable projects include the flower lamp, (it opens when you turn it on), and handmade garden wallpaper.

Detecting a common theme yet?

Staps has unveiled two appliances that run on – you guessed it – dirt. The Soil Clock and Soil Lamp both run on electricity, but have no plug, and require no batteries. But they do require dirt.

Both work with what’s called “earth battery.” It’s actually a very simple concept – copper and zinc cells act as electrodes. These in turn use soil as their electrolyte, which conducts the energy between them. Does that provide a lot of energy? No, not a lot – but enough.

Both the lamp and clock require as little effort as they do energy. You place them in some dirt. You water said dirt occasionally. That is all. What? That’s all. This is the very definition of sustainable, if not exactly “green.”

Indeed, these soil invention are giving new mean to dirty energy.