another stupid modern day alchemist

A few days ago, I mentioned a lot would be said about Richard and Falcon Heene. I was right. I claimed Heene was a Dad who taught science by doing. Sadly, I was right on this, too. But this time, he was the experiment. The police in Colorado are going to press charges against Richard Heene because the balloon incident was a hoax. Falcon was never in danger. As the case was built, the police didn’t tip any clues to the media, who were pretty much played again. The police investigated Heene by lying to him to the way he’d lied to them. And through Scientific Method, Heene was exposed. Or at least that’s how the police are telling it now. Given the Sheriff's choice of clothes to wear for such an important press announcement, it’s hard to say who knew what what when.

Heene represented someone who explored science as an enthusiast. Whether or not he really did, whether or not he was teaching his sons the joy of experiments and results; it’s meaningless now. Heene could have had the cure for a disease, routinely fed the homeless, or invented drought resistant  veggies, but now branded a liar and a cheat, he and everything about him will soon be filed away into obscurity.

It’s unfortunate when bad Science ends up in the news. I remember hearing about Cold Fusion while in High School, and wondering how it was going to change the world. It was fake. Why do people do this? Do they really think they can get away with such nonsense?

If Richard Heene wanted attention, he could have done something far more cool with the balloon. Instead, he’s made a mockery of others who really are weather enthusiasts and interested in environmental topics. More than anything, he disappointed the few of us who thought quirkiness might be a an innovative method to helping kids learn.

filed under: science

blog action day 2009: climate change

The world watched today as a small weather balloon floated high above Colorado with fears six year old Falcon Heene was trapped inside, or worse, that he boarded and took off,  but wasn’t inside anymore. A lot will be said about today’s story. Thankfully, Falcon wasn’t injured. He was located and was safe. Now people will ask “where were the parents, how could this happen, what kind of weirdo builds weather balloons?”

I’m eager to join this conversation!

Falcon’s Dad, Richard Keene, is a weather enthusiast. Who better to blog about on a Blog Action Day dedicated to Climate Change than a scientist/inventor/storm-chaser who includes his family as he conducts his experiments? Do six year olds always make good decisions? Of course not. Actually, go ahead and tell me at what age we start to always make good decisions. Seriously, what age?

Free thinking minds who’ve been taught to explore and investigate may not always understand the consequences. That’s how we learn. As parents we try to not let anyone get hurt on the journey to knowledge. However, let’s face it, the world is a dangerous place. I have a lot of equipment attached to my home which could easily electrocute an inquisitive child bent on fiddling with it. Am I am a bad parent because it’s not somehow out-of-reach? I love to cook and often cook with my children, encouraging them to try new foods and experiment with me. The stove controls can be reached by a child using any stool readily available in my home. Am I a bad parent?

In the United States science and math skills are declining. Richard Keene is a Dad who’s doing something about it. He has a passion and teaches by live action. My favorite anecdote buried in today’s story was how the family sometimes sleeps fully clothed ready to wake and go at a moment’s notice if they’re tracking a storm and need to be ready to chase it. Kudos to him for keeping his children interested in science and looking forward to what it holds, even through bedtime!

I was terrified at what I saw on CNN today because I watched, as a Dad, in horror knowing no one could help Falcon. But once it was known he was safe and I saw comments starting to judge the parents, I had to speak out. Falcon’s OK. Richard’s a weather enthusiast. Father and son both learned something about science safety today, and they taught us all to be more aware, didn’t they? I hope it all somehow inspires others to take action to be involved with your kids, promote math and science, and most of all, go hug your kids.  Accidents will happen no matter what we do, but how we respond defines us.

So what does this have to do, really, with climate change? That’s simple. Like I said: take action to be involved with your kids, promote math and science, and most of all, go hug your kids.  It’s their world to inherit. Think about your impact to the world around you and think if this is what you want THEIR kids to inherit.

filed under: blog, science, weather

ases solar tour 2009

We were extremely honored to showcase our house this past Saturday as Tampa Bay’s Featured Home on American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour. Although this is the tour’s fourteenth year, this was the first one locally. The tour began at the University of South Florida’s Clean Energy Research Center with speakers presenting information about solar energy. After an hour, it kicked into high gear and everyone dispersed. With four busloads visiting us (two at once, at one point) and a number of independent explorers, we estimate more than 150 people dropped by to check out our solar solution.

This is what they came to see:

1    SMA Sunny Boy SB5000US Photovoltaic Inverter
22  Sharp ND-U224C1 224W solar panels
1    SMA Sunny Island 5048U Inverter
8    Discover EV305A Lead Acid Batteries
1    Alternative Energy Technologies AE-28 4x7 Solar Water Collector
2    SunRise 1050 Solar-powered Attic Fans

Since our go-live in mid-July, we’ve generated an average of about 22 kWh a day, which is about a third of what it takes to power our home in the summer. We recently had a 24 hour window in which we didn’t need any air conditioning, and the system came very close to providing all of our electricity needs (we netted a take of four kWh from TECO).

I spent the day explaining numbers like this, the return-on-investment model, how the system operates, and answering everyone’s questions. I even spoke to WMNF when they came by. It was a lot of fun and hope I can participate again in some way next year.

Slideshow

filed under: solar, tampa

solar

We wanted our new home to be as efficient as possible. We were fortunate, the builder we selected used energy-efficient materials and methods as part of their normal processes. To extend what they were doing during construction, we applied mastic to seal the duct-to-vent connections, upgraded to 16 SEER heat pumps with variable speed air handlers, and selected extremely light colored roof shingles to reflect light and heat.

Still, we knew it would be costly to operate a large two story home where air conditioning is an indisputable need. So after construction, we added ceiling fans to many of the rooms, tinted the windows to block ~50% of radiant energy, installed frame-mounted plantation shutters to block as much light and heat as possible, replaced nearly all of the incandescent light bulbs with CFLs (Compact Florescent Lighting), and jumped in to solar energy with both feet.

Our solar installation consists of four discrete technologies. We installed twenty-two photovoltaic (PV) panels on the south roof to capture the sun's energy, rated at a maximum output of 4.928 kilowatt hours. The grid-tied inverter converts the PV energy into electricity. This electricity augments Tampa Electric (TECO)'s feed from the street and also charges our battery back-up system. The eight lead acid batteries in a cabinet provide UPS-like back-up electricity to our critical load items such as the refrigerator, the microwave, telecommunications equipment, and the solar hot water heater. The solar hot water heater works by sending water to a 4'x7' panel on the roof where it's heated and returned to the insulated holding tank. To help reduce the extreme heat in the attic, two self-contained solar powered attic fans pull hot air up and out anytime it's light outside and the attic temperature is above 86 degrees.

             

Each morning as the sun rises, the panels begin generating energy. The first priority is the batteries. Once fully charged, the energy from the panels feeds the house. Excess electricity is placed back onto the electrical grid, spinning our meter backwards and crediting our account because of our net metering agreement with TECO. Should we experience a disruption of electrical service, our back-up system engages. The solar hot water pump is on a critical load circuit, so as long there's sunlight to re-charge the batteries, we'll always have hot water and electricity.

filed under: green, photovoltaic, solar, tampa