|
EGUSD Students Build Solar Cases to Power Medical Clinics Worldwide September 29, 2010 Thanks to the efforts of Elk Grove Unified School District’s green academy high school students, important medical surgeries can now be performed in impoverished communities across the globe. Students in the Cosumnes Oaks High School’s Architectural Design and Urban Planning Academy, Laguna Creek High School’s Green Engineering Technology Academy and Pleasant Grove High School’s CADD/COMM academy are constructing solar cases to provide electricity in medical clinics throughout the world. The solar cases plug into solar cells to offer immediate power to charge a 12-volt battery that can offer power when needed. The solar cases can be used as charging stations for communication radios and as electrical outlets for lights or medical equipment. “The opportunity to have students learn about solar power and use that knowledge to impact the world is more than we could have hoped for,” said Cosumnes Oaks High teacher Tim McDougal. “Now we realize we’ve just scratched the surface of our potential.” COHS was the first to start the project last year. COHS teacher Tim McDougal got the idea when he learned about the work of WE CARE (Women's Emergency Communication and ReliableElectricity) Solar, a non-profit started by Dr. Laura Stachel and her husband, Hal Aronson. WE CARE Solar’s goal is to prevent maternal mortality in developing regions by providing health workers with reliable lighting, mobile communication, and blood bank refrigeration using solar electricity. To learn more about WE CARE Solar, visit www.wecaresolar.com.
|