A Day Of Alternative Solutions

There was a wonderful turn out at the Odyssey day event. Students, faculty, staff, and community memebers went from booth to booth learning something exciting about alternative energy solutions.

High School students  attended the event from Lindhurst, Wheatland, Marysville, and Yuba City Highs

Flavors grilled hamburgers, made pasta and potato salad, and baked cookies for the event. The meal was delicious.Many vendors attended such as All Electric, PG&E, Feather River Air Quality, Brammo Electric, Solar e City Electric, Clean Cities, Drive Clean, and Lincoln Electric among others.

All Electric displayed an all electric car, not only was it electric but it was very cute. They also displayed solar panels. One solar panel was connected to a water feature and if you blocked the light from the panel the water from the feature would stop flowing. An attendant of the booth said that the panels on display put out 600 volts and 120 watts a panel and they range in price from $400.00-$500.00 a piece. He said that there are more updated panels now that put out more wattage and range from $800.00-$900.00 a panel.

PG&E also displayed solar panels along with many informational pamphlets. PG&E offers free Solar classes to teach home and business owners about the fundamentals of solar electric systems. For more information about these classes you can go to www.pge.com/solarclasses.

Feather River Air Quality was a very interesting booth. They do a lot of good things for their communities through grant programs. David A Valler. Jr, Air Pollution Control Officer spoke about these programs; “We give a grant to fund the discounted Youth Bus Pass program and grants for clean diesel school buses.” The youth bus pass program allows youth between the ages of 5-18yrs of age to get a unlimited use pass at a $10 dollar savings. They are about keeping the air clean and provide grants of different types to do so. Valler, “We just gave a $500.00 grant to replace an old wood stove.” They give out about 0.5 million dollars in grants a year. To learn more about Feather River Air Quality go to their website at www.fraqmd.org.

Willa Davis manned a booth representing a No Cost Auto Hybrid Technology Training Program that begins October 25, 2010. A grant was received for this program that provides hybrid training and the many tools students will need to do the job. It is a great job readiness program for a market in which jobs are available. To learn more about the program or if interested in applying you can contact Ms. Davis at wdavis2277@hotmail.com or by phone at (530) 741-8775.

Green Freak was a fun booth that displayed a skate board, key chains, and some very durable business cards. If you could rip the card you got to keep a key chain. The cards were almost impossible to tear. All of these products were “up cycled” products made from styrofoam, plastics, and old tires. They have a fun video at www.greenfreakrecycling.com about the process. Kids will enjoy this video as well as adults. The program is about saving land fills by making products from products that don’t break down.

Solar e City Electric had an array of information on solar energy and purchasing solar panels. The attendant of the booth advised that SMUD, Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, offers the use of renewed energy for just a small cost more then what you pay for regular electricity. It was interesting to know that there were options out there for that.

Drive Clean attended also. They have a web site that allows you to compare alternative vehicles that you may be in the market for. You can look up the emissions of cars and compare them with others. The website is www.driveclean.ca.gov.

Last but not least Lincoln Electric displayed a clever welding helmet that resembled the head of Iron Man. They are taking welding to a greener side. They now have a virtual reality training simulator that helps give students a real welding experience that saves on materials and number of first timer injuries.

There were many more vendors with new cars and exciting alternative solutions. The day was a success.