Post by jeandeaux on Nov 8, 2011 7:39:02 GMT -5
Here are some thoughts I have for OA being able to overwinter in Academy Park:
Sleeping overnight in tents, even frigid nights, is not that complicated as long as people know what they're doing and have the right gear. We should take advantage of the people in our group who are experienced campers and ask them to lead teach-ins on this subject. Also, we should direct donation requests toward getting more appropriate winter gear.
As draconian as this might sound, we might want to start self-policing to make sure that any overnight occupants during extremely cold weather are properly equipped. People who don't have sufficiently warm sleeping bags/clothes should be asked to leave and support OA through other means.
NYC confiscated OWS's generators. OWS has now gotten some bike-powered generators and battery set-ups and is building many more. They use the stored electricity for powering computers, network, and other devices and even for some heat. Even if we could get/build some of these, I don't think it would work as well here because it's just that much colder and we don't have enough people to pedal around the clock. Luckily, Albany has condoned our existing generator. I propose we look for donations of diesel generators. We could run these on donated bio-diesel fuel. This would be a win-win-win. The fuel is non-toxic and non-volatile. It's safe, it's clean and it's green! We could use the generators for extra electricity and for some heat. It would be even better if we could get co-generation equipment and capture the heat directly from the generator exhaust. Using bio-diesel would make the whole park smell like french fries - who wouldn't love that?
We're going to need a small number of larger structures to heat and use during the day. Yurts have been proposed - they're nice, but a bit pricey. We're going to have to put a serious call out for material help from the community. Another idea - does anyone know the best way to reach out to the RPI community? They have all kinds of engineering know-how and there's probably a lot a sympathetic folks there among the faculty and students. Why not tap into those and try to come up with a home grown solution?
Please respond with thoughts, comments, suggestions, ideas. Thanks.
Sleeping overnight in tents, even frigid nights, is not that complicated as long as people know what they're doing and have the right gear. We should take advantage of the people in our group who are experienced campers and ask them to lead teach-ins on this subject. Also, we should direct donation requests toward getting more appropriate winter gear.
As draconian as this might sound, we might want to start self-policing to make sure that any overnight occupants during extremely cold weather are properly equipped. People who don't have sufficiently warm sleeping bags/clothes should be asked to leave and support OA through other means.
NYC confiscated OWS's generators. OWS has now gotten some bike-powered generators and battery set-ups and is building many more. They use the stored electricity for powering computers, network, and other devices and even for some heat. Even if we could get/build some of these, I don't think it would work as well here because it's just that much colder and we don't have enough people to pedal around the clock. Luckily, Albany has condoned our existing generator. I propose we look for donations of diesel generators. We could run these on donated bio-diesel fuel. This would be a win-win-win. The fuel is non-toxic and non-volatile. It's safe, it's clean and it's green! We could use the generators for extra electricity and for some heat. It would be even better if we could get co-generation equipment and capture the heat directly from the generator exhaust. Using bio-diesel would make the whole park smell like french fries - who wouldn't love that?
We're going to need a small number of larger structures to heat and use during the day. Yurts have been proposed - they're nice, but a bit pricey. We're going to have to put a serious call out for material help from the community. Another idea - does anyone know the best way to reach out to the RPI community? They have all kinds of engineering know-how and there's probably a lot a sympathetic folks there among the faculty and students. Why not tap into those and try to come up with a home grown solution?
Please respond with thoughts, comments, suggestions, ideas. Thanks.