Thoughts on the Human Crisis

The following letter was sent to persons inside DoE, HUD, and USDA.

We need to be our own solution but all to often we fail to see what is right in front of us. We have a great problem of energy in this nation. We have an even greater problem of poverty. We must find the path that sees the solution of both.

There is much talk about investing in a new clean energy future. We see plants being made to churn out energy saving building products and lots of new hardware for solar and wind collection. Those are jobs that will be there for the skilled workers of the old energy structure and the engineers and electricians coming out of school. For many Americans the only way they are told they can be a part of the solution is by surrendering comfort, convenience, and consumption. While there are those of us that do that already for others it is far easier to get behind doing something rather then surrendering something.

There is also in America a great untapped human energy. People with no desire to participate in the consumer culture who survive by charity and services. If putting their efforts to producing clean energy were no more difficult to get started then the process to begin food benefits and the ongoing requirements no more strigent then the daily check up at a plasma clinic we could put the nations homeless and unemployed to work on the greatest problem we face.

This idea is for a new green Government housing facility that houses an onsite Human Energy Harvesting cardio-lab where tenants and other citizens literally turn their work-outs into energy reserves harvested by generators and batteries. This system would compliment an aggressive onsite solar and wind energy collection to provide a zero energy cost Government housing model. Pedal powered (by either feet or hands) electricity generators has been a science fair and bike party favorite for decades. The designs are there and what I hope is to use the technology of today to network a whole gym of power generating treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines, and torso cycles to get as mush energy as possible from those willing sweat for their country.

Every adult qualified to reside in the facility would be expected to provide a 30 minute workout to the grid twice a day 6 days a week in addition to 2 hours a week helping in the onsite community garden. In a addition any citizen who is deemed fit by a basic vitals check (temperature, pulse, blood pressure, weight) and a medical history review can receive a benefits card that logs their time spent on a machine in a community cardio-lab. The card comes with 100 USD food benefits and 25 cash benefits. At every 10hr milestone there after, it gets a boost of 30 food 10 cash. In the interest of health and offering cardio-lab time to as many eligible citizens as possible; participants would be limited to a maximum session of 90 minutes and would be required to spend five minutes at rest for each minute of their last session (90 minute session = 450 minutes rest) before they begin another session and no more then 3hrs in a calender day.

The housing would be geared largely to single occupants and student housing. Half of the housing would be single occupancy units with half of that dedicated to housing for full time students. The skilled technical positions in the community would be partly staffed by qualified students for internship credit. This would allow those who have to work for free to fulfill their educational requirements to do so without having to run up unneeded debt. Basic labor positions in the community would also be offered first to tenants. This will go to foster a sense of community that will prevent the decay commonly associated with government housing. Construction and construction services for any facility building project should come from local firms to insure maximum community benefit.

In truth these facilities might never produce more energy then they consume. The gardens and chicken roosts will only provide so much and in the end these communities will be subsidized. They will be subsidized to consume less then everyone else around them, be healthier, eat better, and be an example of how we can all do our part to make life better.

This is not an idea I wish to own or patent or profit from, the most I would ask from it is a place to live and a good work out.