E4 = Energy + Emergencies + Education + Enterprise
Energy Generation
Verstatile, Portable, Flexible, Scalable Electrical Power Generation
Solar generators are not (yet) well known to much of the public. Most people have seen them at events, especially music events, powering sound stages, radio booths and other event booths. Many have seen them at construction sites (as seen at left) where power is not readily available, and where silent and emission-free operation is preferred. Few people have seen them working at disaster relief, in the military, in agriculture or the many remote locations they perform in.
Solar generators are not (yet) well known to much of the public. Most people have seen them at events, especially music events, powering sound stages, radio booths and other event booths. Many have seen them at construction sites (as seen at left) where power is not readily available, and where silent and emission-free operation is preferred. Few people have seen them working at disaster relief, in the military, in agriculture or the many remote locations they perform in.
Emergency Response and Recovery
Emergency Power
The mobile solar generator we use was originally designed by SolaRover Inc. as a response to Hurricane Katrina. It's a "first-generation" mobile solar generator, but still highly capable in providing power in an emergency, even though only in exercises like this.
Just Add Water
Likewise, one of our partners, Forever Pure, designed the rapid-response water unit (in the photo next to our solar unit) in response to Katrina. This particular unit, able to be completely powered by solar, desalinates sea water, runs it through two reverse-osmosis stages, ozone and UV treatments, and at the back end captures the water in half-liter bags at a rate of 20,000 per day! Renewables West and Forever Pure were featured on Channel 2 News... you can read about it if you download the "As Seen on TV" story at the bottom of this page.
Can You Hear Me Now?
The third critical "leg" of our Mobile Emergency Response and Recover System (MERRSy?) is communications. At this early point in our funding campaign, we're looking for a sponsor to provide the satellite link we need, or the funds to purchase and install it. This capability will enable us to do at least two important things: provide a link to the Internet for our students, and allow us to operate as a command-and-control operations node in emergencies.
What's the Hurry?
Rapid response is what emergencies need! Project ME4, in "emergency mode" with our partner organizations, can deeply explore how best to respond to emergencies and disasters in the least amount of time with the most effective resources. In a major disaster event, a lot of things we take for granted get very scarce very fast! Some on our ME4 team are already deeply involved at the neighborhood level in their communities as BPCs (Block Preparedness Coordinators), NPCs (Neighborhood Preparedness Coordinators, CERTs (Community Emergency Response Training), etc. David is also working with the City of Palo Alto on a number of levels in order to learn, engage and respond better in emergencies.
Cost-Effective Systems
We have been recently getting an education about the real-world costs of emergency response equipment. Wow! Fire trucks cost hundreds-of-thousands to millions of dollars. Just deploying a foward fire camp can be a cool million. Part of our "disaster mission" is to explore ways to reduce or eliminate some of these costs.
Where Do We Stand?
Even now we have the capability to provide 7.2kW of solar electric power with battery storage of 30+ kWH. We have been demonstrating solar-powered water treatment capabilities with Forever Pure, who can provide water systems now. We don't yet have a communications partner... Who do you know?
The mobile solar generator we use was originally designed by SolaRover Inc. as a response to Hurricane Katrina. It's a "first-generation" mobile solar generator, but still highly capable in providing power in an emergency, even though only in exercises like this.
Just Add Water
Likewise, one of our partners, Forever Pure, designed the rapid-response water unit (in the photo next to our solar unit) in response to Katrina. This particular unit, able to be completely powered by solar, desalinates sea water, runs it through two reverse-osmosis stages, ozone and UV treatments, and at the back end captures the water in half-liter bags at a rate of 20,000 per day! Renewables West and Forever Pure were featured on Channel 2 News... you can read about it if you download the "As Seen on TV" story at the bottom of this page.
Can You Hear Me Now?
The third critical "leg" of our Mobile Emergency Response and Recover System (MERRSy?) is communications. At this early point in our funding campaign, we're looking for a sponsor to provide the satellite link we need, or the funds to purchase and install it. This capability will enable us to do at least two important things: provide a link to the Internet for our students, and allow us to operate as a command-and-control operations node in emergencies.
What's the Hurry?
Rapid response is what emergencies need! Project ME4, in "emergency mode" with our partner organizations, can deeply explore how best to respond to emergencies and disasters in the least amount of time with the most effective resources. In a major disaster event, a lot of things we take for granted get very scarce very fast! Some on our ME4 team are already deeply involved at the neighborhood level in their communities as BPCs (Block Preparedness Coordinators), NPCs (Neighborhood Preparedness Coordinators, CERTs (Community Emergency Response Training), etc. David is also working with the City of Palo Alto on a number of levels in order to learn, engage and respond better in emergencies.
Cost-Effective Systems
We have been recently getting an education about the real-world costs of emergency response equipment. Wow! Fire trucks cost hundreds-of-thousands to millions of dollars. Just deploying a foward fire camp can be a cool million. Part of our "disaster mission" is to explore ways to reduce or eliminate some of these costs.
Where Do We Stand?
Even now we have the capability to provide 7.2kW of solar electric power with battery storage of 30+ kWH. We have been demonstrating solar-powered water treatment capabilities with Forever Pure, who can provide water systems now. We don't yet have a communications partner... Who do you know?
Education: Hands-on for Design, Engineering, Science and Technology
The Teaching Trailer
Taking education on the road is not a new idea. Being the most complete rolling technology showcase for learning is. That's our immediate goal.
What and Who Will We Teach?
STEM education classes currently sponsored by major corporations are one resource. Then we were introduced to the National Disaster Resiliency Center (NDRC) at Moffet Field, California through the Silicon Valley campus of Carnegie-Mellon and their Disaster Management Initiative event in 2011. They want to use Project ME4 as part of their disaster management education program, and as outreach for their programs. The NDRC has also targeted, as a top priority, the provision of clean drinking water to the public in an emergency; and we're working with partner water treatment companies to develop, demonstrate and deploy effective systems. Then we started talking to homeschoolers, who typically don't have the kind of resources we can provide on our "tech-mobile." And lately we've been introduced to the idea of incorporating our teaching trailer into Career Technical Education programs and Workforce Development. So, there's a lot we can do!
Open Source Education and Other New Models
ME4 is a project of Designfluence, which has investigated a number of education models, and has come up with some unique models of its own. If you're an educator interested in exploring effective old models, new models and disruptive new developments, we welcome you to share with us and our education advisors, Jerry Michalski and David Preston. Our mobile classroom is designed to bring awareness to different ways of thinking, teaching and learning. We can do this while we provide training for emergency preparedness and vocational preparedness as well.
Taking education on the road is not a new idea. Being the most complete rolling technology showcase for learning is. That's our immediate goal.
What and Who Will We Teach?
STEM education classes currently sponsored by major corporations are one resource. Then we were introduced to the National Disaster Resiliency Center (NDRC) at Moffet Field, California through the Silicon Valley campus of Carnegie-Mellon and their Disaster Management Initiative event in 2011. They want to use Project ME4 as part of their disaster management education program, and as outreach for their programs. The NDRC has also targeted, as a top priority, the provision of clean drinking water to the public in an emergency; and we're working with partner water treatment companies to develop, demonstrate and deploy effective systems. Then we started talking to homeschoolers, who typically don't have the kind of resources we can provide on our "tech-mobile." And lately we've been introduced to the idea of incorporating our teaching trailer into Career Technical Education programs and Workforce Development. So, there's a lot we can do!
Open Source Education and Other New Models
ME4 is a project of Designfluence, which has investigated a number of education models, and has come up with some unique models of its own. If you're an educator interested in exploring effective old models, new models and disruptive new developments, we welcome you to share with us and our education advisors, Jerry Michalski and David Preston. Our mobile classroom is designed to bring awareness to different ways of thinking, teaching and learning. We can do this while we provide training for emergency preparedness and vocational preparedness as well.
Enterprise Development
Building a Business on a Mobile Platform
Our earliest ideas for "what to do with this thing" included a mobile car wash, the rolling classroom idea, an outdoor hair salon... hey! you never know!
Creating Enterprise on a Mobile Classroom
This is an important use for our nonprofit, Designfluence, whose founders are working on access to affordable products. Our mobile teaching trailer can also serve as a hub for open-source product design and development.
Creating Enterprise in Developing Countries
Success in teaching vocational skills that can be transferred from students here to their families and communities abroad, creates the opportunity for mentoring and collaborating for growing enterprises in developing countries.
Enterprising Uses for Mobile Solar
Your ideas here.
Our earliest ideas for "what to do with this thing" included a mobile car wash, the rolling classroom idea, an outdoor hair salon... hey! you never know!
Creating Enterprise on a Mobile Classroom
This is an important use for our nonprofit, Designfluence, whose founders are working on access to affordable products. Our mobile teaching trailer can also serve as a hub for open-source product design and development.
Creating Enterprise in Developing Countries
Success in teaching vocational skills that can be transferred from students here to their families and communities abroad, creates the opportunity for mentoring and collaborating for growing enterprises in developing countries.
Enterprising Uses for Mobile Solar
Your ideas here.
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