Michele Baron's Blog (58)

“Ten years ago,” Alchemy began, “on March 24^th, 2010, New Moore Island sank beneath the rising waters of the Bay of Bengal.

[…

My first blog posting was focused on non-crisis water purification--on technologies installed or procured before emergencies, productive in the long term (also could be re-purposed for crisis use).

Large-scale water crisis situations (hurricanes, floods, cyclones, tsunami, earthquake, etc.) require special innovations to ameliorate the critical lack of potable water, and offset or prevent the spread of disease.

Crystal Bellar has posted a Learn4 blog on measures individuals can…

EVOKE Agent Michelle Angela Kim ( http://http://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/MichelleAngelaKim ) is working down in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia to realize a resilient community gardening project (…

According to the World Health Organization, over 2 billion people world-wide do not have access to clean water; an estimated 5 million people per year die of waterborne illnesses. (Former) King Hussein of Jordan and Boutros Boutros Ghali are both said to have declared that the next war (in the Middle East) will be over water." By 2025, 40 countries in the Middle East and Africa are expected to experience water stress or scarcity. (…

On a balmy autumn evening, the earth below hums with a quiet energy, a sustainable energy, and a renewed, shimmering clarity. The clouds dotting the sky are born of moisture, air and wind; pollution outputs are so diminished that waters are regaining their former pristine sparkle. River bottoms and ocean floors, and the rich bio-diversity the waters sustain, are visible in the shallow depths, and to sub-marine travelers, slipping quietly through the deeper channels (powered by…

I lead a pretty simple life--children, chores, research, chores, volunteering, chores, gardening, chores, travel...you guessed it...

There is an old Melanie Safka song (Brand New Key), covered by The Dollyrots (Blackheart Records 2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM9WuVpfl3U. The lyrics at about 50 second in: "I ride my bike, I roller skate, don't drive no car, don't go too fast, but I go pretty far..." got…

Laura Stachel, an OB-GYN doctor from Berkeley, CA, environmental sociology PhD teacher Hal Aronson, and Elk Grove, CA high school teacher Tim McDougal have teamed up to provide solar power (packed and delivered through suitcases!) to bring much-needed electricity to clinics in Africa and Mexico, and, most recently, to Haiti.…

This blog post shows links to Jasper's "Fertilizer" evokation, posted 11 March, 2010,

http://http://www.urgentevoke.com/profiles/blogs/fertilizer-1

and GLIM's Fertilizer and Peak Crises posted 15 March, 2010…

While I love container and sack gardening, and mobile-cart-gardening, I have also done some XERISCAPING projects, to augment soil health, diminish or prevent soil erosion, and to enable propagation of drought resistant berries, trees, and pollinators requiring greater root expansion areas than container gardening allows. I have also xeriscaped using herbs,…

Hello, fellow EVOKE agents. Food security is the concern this week--and an ongoing concern in the world at large. Already, online, and in EVOKE, there have been many great postings about container gardening, sack gardening, and efforts around the world to mitigate the problems of poor soil, energetic pests, lack of space or access.

While being both inspired and awed by all the large scale efforts, gardening-foundation operations and commercially-available innovations, I still wondered…

A balmy evening between the Sahel and the sea, somewhere on the western coast of Africa. My husband is back from another work tour, writing his reports, and our children, homework finished, are playing kickball nearby with the other children of the community.

Outside, we raise the light cloths that protected our vertical gardens from insects and too much evaporation in the sun, and wheel our cart-gardens closer to the walls of our homes, securing their protective cloth barriers around…

Since I have young children, and since I like to write, draw, tell stories, and cook, I thought I would write a new version of the Stone Soup tale that is known to many cultures. I will write, illustrate, and read the book to young children at the local elementary school where I sometimes volunteer. If the book is "good" and receives the approval of these young "critics," I will investigate publication possibilities, and look into fund raising opportunities to help…

Northern Virginia is considered one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the US, and still faces a poverty rate of about 5%, with almost 15% at or below poverty level in all of Virginia. This means, based on US Census figures, that more than 90,000 people are living in poverty, and more than 30% of these are children.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51059.html

In an easy-to-read newspaper…

Among other things, I like to cook. I have been cooking since I was tall enough to reach the table or counter-top. And I seem to cook wherever I find myself traveling. I have noticed there are some similarities, some differences in approach. Depending on the location and occasion, there are many differences in type, quantity, and quality of food prepared and served.

I have searched a few websites to provide general information for preparing food for…

Archimedes is recognized as a scientist, philosopher, mathemetician, and innovator of his times. While he did not invent the lever, his work with levers is said to have prompted his famous observation: "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the World!"

With the EVOKE network giving us a place to stand, maybe we can all find some way to move the world, to make changes for the better. Everyone can find a place and a fulcrum for their knowledge and talents, and who knows what we can…

There are many heros in the world. Some have very high profiles, others work in relative obscurity, making life better for families, communities, their corners of the world. Some heros can be "followed" in the media, but, unless one is very fortunate, it is difficult to reach them for correspondence--but one may still learn from their writings, their speeches, their examples. Other heros can be observed in daily life, with or…

In 2020 I will continue to research, theorize, and seek to develop sustainable solutions to problems of economic, educational, energy, and environmental infrastructure and security, so that more dis-advantaged and under-served individuals may step up to their places as contributing world citizens in their own families, communities, and nations. I hope to be a creator and Board Member of a humanitarian foundation developed to achieve these sustainable solutions, filling service and support…

1. Provide skills, not just finished technologies. The current revolution in design for developing countries is the notion of co-creation, of teaching the skills necessary to create the solution,
   
   rather than simply providing the solution. By involving the community throughout the design process, you can help equip people to innovate and contribute to the evolution of the product. Furthermore, they acquire the skills needed to create solutions to a much wider…