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re: 5th annual phila region junior solar sprint
1 jun 1998
scott hunter wrote:
>...the junior solar sprint is a model solar car competition for 7th and
>8th grade science students... cars are judged for technical criteria
>by a panel of our volunteers and then raced in a round robin format
>to determine which teams built the fastest cars...
how about the most practical or cost-effective cars?
or sunspaces, or water heaters?
>this year our junior solar sprint event will be held at the franklin
>institute science park on saturday may 30th from 9:00 a.m. until
>approximately 1:00 p.m. depending, of course, upon the weather...
as in "i cannot drive to work today, because it is raining"? :-)
>...at least 100 students from 10 area middle schools have been busy
>building their model solar cars while psea volunteers have been planning
>an event which we hope will be a great culmination to the student's
>learning experience...
sounds very exciting...
>psea appreciates the support of over 20 sponsors including; national
>corporations, solar product manufacturers and service providers...
who doubtless gave unstintingly of their time and enthusiasm...
>the philadelphia solar energy association believes the junior solar
>sprint is a great "vehicle" to educate the general public of the
>opportunities for and benefits of cleaner, alternative transportation
>modes...
but, doesn't the public know all about those already?
>the philadelphia solar energy association (psea) is an all-volunteer,
>membership-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting solar
>energy development in the region.
large scale, serious development?
>psea was incorporated in 1983 "for the purpose of promoting citizen
>education and participation in matters related to the discovery,
>development, and application of renewable energy sources..."
when people want to get rid of an insect, one method is to not
directly kill the insect, but to raise and release vast quantities
of sterile male insects. the sterile insects make up the major portion
of the male insect population and thus, after mating, most females are
infertile. after a few generations the insect population is down to a
handful. i see [some] projects as sterile... result[ing] in failure
or extraordinarily high prices.
i can't find any one person who has planned this solar insecticide
scheme. i do not think he exists. rather, these techniques seem to
naturally grow out of an unspoken understanding that oil, coal, gas
and atomic power are the proper energy sources...
a certain amount of solar energy activity is encouraged so that the
country can reach an actively immune state... a vaccination against
the full blown disease of solar energy utilization...
from "sunspots," by steve baer, cloudburst press, 1979.
nick
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