This is very cool.
Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, Calif., saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional wind turbines don’t scale down well—there’s too much friction in the gearbox and other components. “With rotary power, there’s nothing out there that generates under 50 watts,†Frayne says. So he took a new tack, studying the way vibrations caused by the wind led to the collapse in 1940 of Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge (aka Galloping Gertie).
Frayne’s device, which he calls a Windbelt, is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines. Frayne envisions the Windbelt costing a few dollars and replacing kerosene lamps in Haitian homes. “Kerosene is smoky and it’s a fire hazard,†says Peter Haas, founder of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which helps people in developing countries to get environmentally sound access to clean water, sanitation and energy. “If Shawn’s innovation breaks, locals can fix it. If a solar panel breaks, the family is out a panel.â€
Video
Newsreel about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.
Talk by Naomi Wolf author of “The End of America: Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot” given October 11, 2007 at Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus.
This coming Saturday, October 27, people from all walks of life will gather in 11 cities around the country in a national expression of the breadth and depth of antiwar sentiment in this nation. For many people, it will be their first step in transforming their antiwar feelings into antiwar action. Regional actions will enable much larger numbers of people to participate. oct27.org
This is organized by United for Peace and Justice, they always do a good job. Please come out.
New York City details:
Rally at 12 noon
Assemble on Broadway, south of 23rd Street (Please use 23rd St. subway stations)
March at 1:00 p.m.
2 Minutes of Silence to Honor those who have died – 2:45 p.m.
Peace and Justice Fair in Foley Square (at the end of the march) – 2:00 – 5:30 p.m.
They must have rappelled over the side to write this, or maybe it was written from behind the ad.
Update. I was interviewed by a reporter from ABC News on Thursday:
"It’s kind of shocking," said Michael Natale, who edits a blog that writes about the East Village in New York City, where this particular ad was located. "But it still doesn’t offend me."
I really don’t remember saying exactly that to her. I did say that I do enjoy seeing young women in ads but that this one was particularly pornographic. And that I was more interested in the fact that people are talking back to ads than what this particular person had to say. And she could have thrown the name of my blog in there, damn it.
