Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/01/16/Saul_Griffith_Climate_Change_Re...

Inventor Saul Griffith explains why, in terms of energy consumption, it is better to buy a single high-quality product once than many cheaper, inferior versions over a lifetime.

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Engineer, environmentalist, and entrepreneur Saul Griffith examines the numerical reality of the fight against climate change.

Drawing from a personal assessment of his own energy needs, Griffith argues that we not only need to switch to alternative energies, we also need to drastically reduce their consumption in order to prevent a global catastrophe.

Griffith connects personal actions and global climate change by analyzing his own carbon consumption.

Dr. Saul Griffith has multiple degrees in materials science and mechanical engineering and completed his PhD in Programmable Assembly and Self Replicating machines at MIT. He is the co-founder of numerous companies including: Low Cost Eyeglasses, Squid Labs, Potenco, Instructables.com, "HowToons" and Makani Power. Saul has been awarded numerous awards for invention including the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Collegiate Inventor's award, and the Lemelson-MIT Student prize. A large focus of Griffith's research efforts are in minimum and constrained energy surfaces for novel manufacturing techniques and other applications. Griffith holds multiple patents and patents pending in textiles, optics, nanotechnology, and energy production. Griffith co-authors children's comic books called "HowToons" about building your own science and engineering gadgets with Nick Dragotta and Joost Bonsen. Griffith is a technical advisor to Make magazine and Popular Mechanics. Saul is a columnist and contributor to Make and Craft magazines. (less info)