When Two Or More Are Gathered....

Anthony,
Alas, but life is something that happens to you while you are busy making other plans. Due to weather and other constraints I did not make it to Sunward (yes, it is the first of three co- housing developments with Great Oaks) And speaking of serendipity, a good friend and colleague is coming to visit this week who happens to be in the forefront of bio diesel algae research and development. Will speak with him regarding the potential to grow algae in an area where the fresh water supply is limited. What day are you leaving? As far as the building and energy components of the research station are concerned, the answers are only limited to the degree that applications of naturally occurring genius are constrained. That is to say if we are able to develop the local talent (naturally occurring genius in the young people and the genius of nature unconstrained by the viruses of greed and corruption) in conjunction with partners in distance learning projects I am convinced that a great symbiotic adventure can be embarked upon. So although there are many parallel and divergent components needing to be considered in building a successful research station in Madagascar the first and most important one I believe is to embark on that journey through a system of self awareness and empowerment of the local villagers especially the young ones. That takes an understanding and appreciation of the cultural precepts as part of a discovery of all the potential resources that could be involved in the success (or failure) of this and future projects.
Looking forward,
Jim Bates
Southern Exposure REC
(248) 245-7114
edOn Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 1:30 AM, Anthony Arnold wrote:
Serendipitously I have given a presentation about Madagascar at Great Oak co-housing community back in August, maybe that is near Sunward? It would be great to stop by and meet up with you for a bit but I will probably only be able to stay for a short while as I'm leaving next week and yes going to South Africa and then to Madagascar in 6ms as the 'Applied' part of my degree I like the power station ideas that your talking about. Have you ever heard of anything about algae biofuels, I hear that it is supposed to be energy efficient to produce with out much environmental impact http://www.valcent.net/s/Ecotech.asp?ReportID=182039 or High density vertical growing systems http://www.valcent.net/s/HDVGS.asp?ReportID=266563As far as building materials found locally there is endless amounts of sand and lime stone (for concrete/plaster), straw (for straw bale buildings) water can be sparse, so we are going to study the local hydrology better and test a few ways to build wells and may hire a well drilling company to drill a professional wall for our field site.Timber is relatively abundant, but the forest canopy is 6 meters high at most so there are not a lot of huge rain forest trees. Were we are at there is not much processing of timber so you can get logs which works well enough. Depending on how much lumber is needed, it makes more sense to bring milled lumber from the capital where it is possible buy planks in whatever dimension you need and what every other logistics (materials/tools) can likely be procured from the capital.A power station sounds like exactly what is needed and if it is simple enough that local people and university students can become immediately involved in constructing, learning about, benefiting from it and passing it on, all the better. As i said before there is major solar, wind and tidal energies to be harness. ill fill you in with the rest tomorrow best Anthony
On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM, Jim Bates <renewablesjim@gmail.com> wrote:
Anthony,
I may be going to Ann Arbor tomorrow (Saturday) evening to the Sunward Co-Housing for a dance/music party. If you are not already It would be great for you to become familiar with Co-Housing as a potential development idea for Madagascar as it is a model of a small village with a common house being central to it's design. Give me a call if you are available to attend there and bring a friend.
Jim Bates
248-245-7114
On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 5:31 PM, Anthony Arnold <arnold.anthony@gmail.com> wrote:
HI Jim It looks like my plans to go to South Africa for my masters project is going to work out after all so it is good that we met when we did. I showed a friend of mine one of the wind spires and he really was interested to know more about them and probably would consider setting one (maybe more then one) up at his house if he has the wind power. He was interested in checking them out at the auto show and would like to learn more about them directly from you. Can I put him in touch with you to learn more about them?ON a different note, I guess it was never quite clear to me so I wanted to ask directly how you guys potentially could see your projects and the Madagascar project lining up? I know we talked about distance learning and that is really appealing to me, I just was curious to know if you had any more specific ideas that would be relatively easily attainable in the near future?Id be interested to learn more...
thanks again-- Anthony Arnold co-founder of New Latitude - who's mission is to mobilize initiatives that actively promote community projects benefiting both people and the environment's most vital steps in conservation are mapping biodiversity, identifying priority areas, restoration, and making conservation profitable',from The Future of Life, E. O. Wilson-- Anthony Arnold co-founder of New Latitude - who's mission is to mobilize initiatives that actively promote community projects benefiting both people and the environment's most vital steps in conservation are mapping biodiversity, identifying priority areas, restoration, and making conservation profitable',from The Future of Life, E. O. Wilson

Dutch program as a great example of sustainable harvesting of drinking water with wind power

Please see link: http://www.drinkingwiththewind.nl/

wind energy allows access to clean water

Please see article http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007903.html

Is wind a good alternitive for partially offsetting some of the enery costs of desalination

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2007/11/water-eats-ener.html

Funding Constraints could become CATALYST for Disruptive Digital Learning

Michigan school districts fear budget cuts

Declines in state revenue could create deficits

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009

The January revenue conference -- when lawmakers meet to begin deciding how much money the state will have for next year's budget -- has an ominous feel for many Michigan school administrators this year.

They gratefully accepted an early Christmas present from the state, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that midyear budget cuts would not affect schools.

But with 54% of Michigan's districts holding less than the recommended 15% of their budget in savings, and about one third of the districts approaching dangerously low levels of savings, administrators will be nervously watching the conference -- which starts Jan. 9 -- and hoping there will be enough money in next year's budget to keep their programs going.

"The thing that really frightens me for the future is, where do we go next?" said David Houle, business manager for Willow Run Community Schools. "We're going to come to a point where there are no additional cuts you can make that don't impact in the classroom."

In these uncertain economic times, state revenues could be down between $500 million and $1 billion next year, according to Mitch Bean, director of the House Fiscal Agency.

At best, any drop in state revenue could mean school districts have to make cuts in anything from supplies to transportation. At worst, cuts in school revenues would drive some districts into a deficit.

"This is not an environment in which we expect to get anything," said Tom White, executive director of Michigan School Business Officials. "It's really a question of how difficult it's going to be and what we're going to do about it."

"There are so many unknowns, it's like playing with a whole deck of wild cards," White said. His organization is recommending school administrators plan for no increase in school funding next year.

The good news is that there may be more money available for schools because there are fewer students. Michigan lost about 5,000 pupils, saving about $40 million because school money is doled out on a per-pupil basis.

The bad news is that schools don't necessarily lose pupils in cost-saving ways. A district that loses 25 students is unlikely to lose them in the same classroom or even the same building. So expenses such as teachers, heating and transportation remain the same.

What could help? Strong Christmas sales generating more tax revenue, help for the U.S. automakers saving Michigan jobs or a timely federal economic stimulus package that could include a significant savings for Michigan in Medicaid.

"As soon as those sales in the state go down, we're not funding our schools," Houle said.

But even if these situations materialize, no one knows whether they will be enough. Most worried are those whose districts are likely to fall into a deficit if the state cuts any funding.

"It's the equivalent of squeezing blood out of a turnip," said Charles Muncatchy, superintendent of Mt. Clemens Community Schools. He said his district is out of savings, and the likely result of any funding cuts would be a deficit.

East Detroit Public Schools also would be likely to end up in a deficit if state funding is cut. The district is down to a slim $57,000 in savings.

"It's a mess," said Superintendent Bruce Kefgen. "I can't tell you where we'd ultimately cut."

The Willow Run Community Schools district already was in a deficit, and files an annual plan on how it is reducing its deficit with the state.

"We've already made major changes and concessions with our employees and staffing," Houle said. "We don't have anyplace to go for discretionary spending."

Even well-heeled districts can struggle.

Bloomfield Hills Public Schools has a cushion in the form of $20 million in savings, but its officials still feel that it has to close two schools next year.

"Just because we have a fund balance doesn't mean our board wants to tap it," said district spokeswoman Betsy Erikson.

Educators say if money is tight, it's only fair for the state and federal governments to chip in by dropping some of the schools' requirements.

"If you don't have the money for us, you could cut some of those unfunded mandates," said Kefgen. He suggests cutting back on the state testing programs such as the MEAP, which he said costs districts thousands of dollars to administer, or rethinking all the databases that districts are required to keep.

Muncatchy said he would like the federal government to fund some of the requirements under No Child Left Behind.

"I'm all for rigor and that schools should be places of excellence, but other countries in the world spend 30% of their federal funds on education, and America spends less than 3%," Muncatchy said.

Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.

Disruptive Digital Learning equals Cheaper, Better, Faster!

Waivers free high school students to study online, off-campus

State steps up role in Web-based high school education

BY LORI HIGGINS • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009

Eleven Michigan school districts and one charter school can now allow students to take more courses -- and in some cases all of their classes -- online and off-campus, moves that could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education.

Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state in the nation to require students take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.

Just in November, the Center for Digital Education ranked Michigan second, behind Florida, for online education.

Two metro Detroit districts -- Waterford and Avondale -- are among the handful moving farther ahead, winning approval from the Michigan Department of Education to allow larger numbers of students to take online courses wherever they want.

At least two dozen of the state's 552 districts and 230 charter schools have applied for the waivers from rules that require students be in a school building for nearly 1,100 hours each school year. Students also are currently limited by state law to taking only two online courses outside a school building during a semester.

"That would be so much easier," Kayla Jacques, 18, of Waterford said of the chance to take online courses from the comfort of home. She is a senior at Waterford Alternative High School and stays late after school several days a week to take an online class.

The waivers are a result of a challenge issued to districts earlier this year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, with the goal of seeing what innovative ideas school districts could come up with if they were allowed to bypass some rules that might be "standing in the way of schools reaching more kids," said MaryAlice Galloway, senior adviser to the chief academic officer at MDE.

Most of the 24 districts that submitted proposals targeted struggling students, particularly those attending alternative high schools. That's not surprising given that a quarter of the state's students fail to graduate on time, including 15% who drop out altogether.

Nearly all of the districts made online education a key component of the plans.

"It gives them a shot at catching up," said George Heitsch, Avondale superintendent.


Virtual enrollment boom

Online education has soared in Michigan in the last decade, illustrated by growth in enrollment at Michigan Virtual University, one of the options students have to take online classes. MVU offers more than 200 high school courses and enrollment has spiraled upward from 100 students in the 1999-2000 school year to an expected 15,000 this school year.

Part of the growth is influenced by students who need to make up credits required to graduate. But there also are students who want to take on larger course loads, those who want to take courses their schools don't offer and those with scheduling conflicts that prevent them from taking classes they want.

Most of those students who enroll at MVU, however, take one course at a time. The seat-time waivers will give students in districts that win approval an opportunity to take most or all of their course work online. And, in most cases, it allows them to take classes anywhere they can find an Internet connection.

That's what has Jacob Carman, 18, intrigued. A student at Waterford Alternative High School, he said being away from school would mean fewer distractions while he's learning. And there would be the convenience of not having to follow a school schedule.

The Avondale district, approved for a seat-time waiver last month, already has 10 students taking all of their classes online. Conor Helmrich, 16, is one of them.

"I'm able to wake up, turn my computer on and get going," Conor said. It's a lifestyle that has made him the envy of his friends. "They wish they could sleep in until whenever, and then do their work."

It may sound unstructured, and for the student who lacks inner motivation, online classes from home may not work. It helps that Conor's parents play an active role in his education. And the school closely monitors online students' progress and how often they log into the system.

"I got my parents all over my back on this," Conor said. "They're calling me like every hour making sure I'm on track."

No one is expecting hordes of students to sign up for a schedule in which they don't have to show up for school every day, if at all.

Jacques and her friend Katie VanOvermeer, 17, say they wouldn't want to take all of their classes online.

"I like coming to school here," Jacques said.

The Waterford district is beginning the program with alternative high students and those who are homebound for medical reasons. It will then expand it to its traditional high schools, said Lynn Kosinski, supervisor of secondary education.

But the district's plan includes limiting participants to 10% of the student body.


Trial program

The state is looking at the seat-time waivers as a pilot program and will closely monitor how well it works.

"What we're going to learn is not only which kids do well, but what kinds of support a district can give them to help them succeed in a virtual learning environment," Galloway said.

One thing they do know is that students taking online classes need support. Districts allowing students to take their course work online will assign a teacher mentor who regularly will meet face-to-face with them and monitor progress between meetings. Some districts also require students to take exams on a school site.

The Avondale district last spring piloted an afternoon program in which 12 students came into a computer lab and took all of their courses online. That program is still going on, but the seat-time waiver has opened it up to allowing up to 80 students to complete their course work outside of school.

Among the 10 students enrolled are four who would just rather not come to school. But there are others who have been expelled and can't come to school, said Chuck Granger, director of community education, adult education and the Avondale Academy, the district's alternative program.

Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or lhiggins@freepress.com.