3 replies to this topic

[FamilyTreeClimber]

I saw this story on the news the other night.  It was about how Santa Clara University students won an award for their work on solar energy fuel cells.

http://abclocal.go.c..._bay&id=8690606

The problem they were trying to solve starts in Nicaragua.  In many small communities, there is no infrastructure--no electricity, no gas.  Many homes get their electricity from solar panels on their property.  Sounds like a wonderful idea, right?

The problem is that they are hooked up to batteries which store the energy.  When these batteries go bad, they are dumped in the local landfill.  They don't have garbage pickup.  Instead, they burn their garbage. The batteries are burned, too.  This causes so many problems.

So, even though going solar is a good thing, it has actually creating a far more serious problems as the burning waste dirtied the air they breathed. They have no way to deal with the waste created by the batteries.  I haven't put much thought about how one good idea might be creating toxic waste in another way.

These students had spent some time down in Nicaragua and became aware of the problem.  It's been their goal to try to invent something that would eliminate the need for these batteries in Nicaragua.  What they came up with is a small, rechargeable fuel cell.

I don't know if the invention has been put to practical use yet.  But, it looks like they have come up with something that will change how people get electricity from solar.

[chucktunoku]

The attitudes in the United States towards solar versus those in Nicaragua are vastly different. Here in the United States they are a luxury item, still considered too expensive and homeowners install them in order to "screw the utility" and be free of the man (even though 9 times out of 10 they are still connected to the grid and still get a utility bill of some form or another). In Nicaragua, solar panels are highly prized and often the only way for many homes to get power for a few lightbulbs and an outlet or two, which is used for appliances and cell phone chargers.

[artistry]

Fantastic, that the students are trying to help the country find a solution. What a horrible situation to find oneself in. The air quality could cause terrible long term problems if they continued. Hope that it works out.

[zararina]

It is nice to know that they had come up with a better solution for  those batteries and hope that their  rechargeable fuel cell will really work.
Burning batteries affects the environment as well as the health of the people especially living in the area. And it will be very beneficial for them if such project or invention really works.