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2007 ENERGY TOUR: Day 12 July 6, 2007This morning we did an interview for a newspaper story in the Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times. We will be going through Madison on our way back west and fueling up at the Prairie Fire Co-op (B100). Also this morning we met some very nice people in Gary, Indiana, their names are Marshall Willoughby and Cynthia Gaver. Cynthia recently moved to Indiana from Maryland. She is a Master Gardener and had a great deal of knowledge to share with us. She especially kept the children entertained with her easy talk with them about nature and the environment. Marshall is a Vietnam Veteran and lives completely off the grid. We visited his home to see how he has constructed everything from his own power generating windmills, water distiller, backhoe, helicopter, and solar panels.  As we toured Marshall's yard he explained how he made his first power-generating windmill. He made the blades out of stainless steel sheet metal, which he then filled with foam. He also showed us how he has wired up his solar panels so they can power his home. He did a great demonstration for the children about how solar panels work. He plugged in an air blower to the cable from the solar panels, then he covered up the solar panels with a board to show them how the sun was making the electricity to power the object. Marshall has also built a hydrogen boost for his truck. It connects to the electrical system, and is filled with water and a tablespoon of Red Devil Lye. The electrodes inside split the water molecules, leaving oxygen and hydrogen; the hydrogen and oxygen is sucked into the engine via the PCV valve thereby helping the truck get better fuel efficiency. One of the projects he is currently working on is a solar collector. This utilizes mirrors that reflect the sun's energy on to a steel plate that converts the light energy into heat energy. Marshall gets his ideas for his projects from the Internet, reading, and other sources and gets most of his materials for his projects from scrap yards. He is very handy and resourceful and we had a very enjoyable visit with him.  Marshall's interest in energy comes from his life long curiosity about how things work. He enjoys sharing his knowledge, and helping others to be more resourceful and aware. He told a particularly interesting story of how he used to work with and help the children in the slums. He would take them on tours of factories and help them build a variety of projects. He tells about how a group of these kids wanted to build a hovercraft. The kids were amazed when Marshall said they could build one. Marshall told them where they could get the plans, but when they learned how much the plans would cost they were discouraged because they were too expensive. Marshall told them to figure out how to earn money, so they found an old lawn mower that had been thrown away and together with Marshall they fixed it up, then they earned money by mowing lawns. They earned enough to buy the plans and supplies to make the project. Marshall taught these children how to be resourceful and think. He used this example to show that many of the challenges we face as Americans can be solved with a little resourcefulness and work, but the younger generations are used to having their problems solved for them, and as a result, many people in America are not aware of how food gets to their plate, let alone how fuel gets to the pump, or electricity gets to the light bulb. If we all became more aware of how things worked we would probably be more conscious of the energy we use and where it comes from and what effect it may have.  After visiting with Marshall and Cynthia we spent a great afternoon at the beach of Lake Michigan, we all enjoyed cooling off in the water and building sand castles. Tonight it was time to re-fuel the Energy Aware Express. We fueled up in Sturgis, Michigan, a bit off course, but Snappy's Food Mart had the highest biodiesel blend available in the area.  We have also had the opportunity to talk to several people today who have simply approached us and asked what we were doing. We have been well received by everyone we have spoken with. The levels of knowledge about renewable energy are varied. Some people know a great deal and are using renewable energy as much as possible, others have never heard of it. There is a great need to let people know about renewable energy. Most people would be glad to use a better energy source than they presently use, they just need to know what is available and what they can do. Demand is what will drive this change. Once again, we invite you to join us, participate, and take part in shaping our energy future. |
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