Professor Alice Agogino, Mr. Daniel Wilson, and I will be teaching a freshman and sophomore seminar Engineering 39F entitled "Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES)" .

This seminar is on CARES (Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability) with application to the Pinoleville Pomo Nation.

CARES research has shown that living sustainably, having access to accurate environmental data, and having implementable solutions are of major concerns to consumers.

CARES seeks to help reduce climate change by being the first to close the loop of assessment, advisement and implementation of a more sustainable lifestyle.

This seminar will cover approaches to community assessment of renewable energy, with a focus on conservation, geothermal, microhydo-electric, solar photovoltaic, solar hot water heating, and wind energy.

We will also explore issues associate with creating a “green corridor” with electric vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area with connections to Northern California tribes. Related website: http://best.berkeley.edu/ and http://www.planetcares.org/. Enrollment is limited to ten students.

I was able to install the Black Cloud Air Quality Sensor at the Pinoleville Pomo Nation on Wednesday, July 21st 2010. 

The sensor records data on VOCs, CO2, Humidity, Vibration, Temperature, and Light.

You can check out the real time data here: http://www.blackcloud.org/alice/zurichtest_v2/

Figure 1: PPN Black Cloud Sensor in Adminstration Buliding             Figure 2: PPN Adminstration Buliding

Work has begun on the feasibility study! Funded by the Department of Energy, it is titled "Clean, Reliable, Affordable Energy that Reflects the Values of the Pinoleville-Pomo Nation."

We have so far done a preliminary assessment of the energy potential of several renewable sources: solar, wind, micro-hydro, biogas, biomass, and geothermal. Based on the preliminary work, we have determined that the system will be based on solar, wind, and micro-hydro energy generation. I'm very excited to keep working on this project with our trusted team of Berkeley students as well as the visiting students from KAUST!

Solar	Micro-Hydro	Wind

More great news: CARES won the 2009-2010 Chancellor’s Award for Public Service!!!! The ceremony takes plave in Sibley Auditorium on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 4 pm