The other day I noticed something that even adults don’t usually realise. When you buy a product that uses no elecricity or batteries, yet it does something, you need to consider where the energy comes from. To do this, you need a basic understanding of energy. (skip the next bit if you think you already get it)

Energy is never created or destroyed. The amount of energy in the universe is exactly the same as it ever was in the past or ever will be in the future. The thing with energy is it is always changing forms. There are a few forms of energy:

• Kinetic energy: motion. A ball that is rolling has kinetic energy.
• Chemical energy: chemicals that have energy stored in them. Wood has energy stored in it from the sun, which is released when it burns.
• Heat: pretty self explanitory.
• Light: also self explanitory.
• Electrical energy: electricity, both static (sparks you get from touching something or from clothes that just came out of the dryer, also lightning) and current (the electricity that runs through wires, powering lights and appliances).
• Sound energy: ripples in the air that register as sounds to our ears.
• There are more types, like tension and magnetism but lets stick to the basic ones above.

Some energy transformations are obvious, like current electricity can be used to create heat, light, sound, kinetic energy, etc, and plants, through photosynthesis, store energy from the sun in chemical form. Kinetic energy, when combatted by friction can create heat (try rubbing your hand together fast—it is more difficult than moving them the same speed while they don’t touch, but it creates heat). Burning chemical energy usually creates heat and light, and some machines turn the rising heat into kinetic or electric energy by catching it in a turbine. Now that you sort of know the basics about energy, I will move on to what this article is really about.

A good example of what I said in the first paragraph is SodaStream. SodaStream is a company which produces home soda makers— devices with a chamber of compressed carbon dioxide to which you can attatch a bottle of water and, with the press of a button, carbonate it. The seltzer (soda water) can then be flavoured with many ready made flavours sold by SodaStream.

SodaStream claims to be ‘The Earth’s Favourite Soda.’ Not to say they aren’t; they are certain to save a lot of cans and bottles from the landfill. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that, since the machine uses no electricity or batteries, it is more environmental. Although Sodastream does not directly list this fact as one of their environmental virtues, it is, discreetly, on their ‘Environment’ page. And someone on teensygreen, the blog where I heard about SodaStream, did make that mistake (which is why I decided to write about it).

So what is not environmental about using no electricity, you ask. Well, think back to how energy works. It comes from somewhere! The energy that powers SodaStream home soda makers is from the compressed carbon. The CO2 is under pressure because it is squished so tightly, so when there is an opportunity it squirts out. But obviously, for the CO2 to contain stored energy, it must have come from somewhere. And, surprise surprise, somewhere down the production line electricity compressed the carbon. So it does use electricity!

In fact, if it used electricity more directly, SodaStream may be made more environmental. Then it could take CO2 out of the air, where it is harming the environment and put it in the soda. Also, that way, the machine would never run out and need to be replaced.