Intriguing tech idea for future disaster situations

[pegkerr]

Here is an article about a clever solution to the sort of problems we had with Katrina: a backpack that first responders can carry. The person wearing it generates electricity which is stored in the generator, just by walking. A cool idea.

What also caught my eye was a throw away line halfway through the article. hamsterwoman, you'd love this. Apparently, a hamster running on a wheel will generate enough energy to run a cell phone. That's what the cell phone companies need to start telephone service again: give everyone a hamster!

You are invited to leave a comment offering a suggestion that would help avoid the sorts of problems we saw with Katrina, the next time we face a disaster. What would you do differently? Be creative!

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Or better yet, a pair of them, so they can spell each other and you don't have to worry about interruptions in service, and they can breed and keep the system going indefinitely.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Wow. I wonder whether one could harness the energy of small dogs and children this way too. Could probably power a whole house on that.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Yes; some kind of jumpsuit that could capture the energy of little arms and legs, and feed it into a belt-pack battery that would power their toys and the rest of the household.

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

Something to carry in the pack: a $10 water filtration straw.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Do first responders really carry 80lb packs? From what the article said, it seems like heavier packs generate more electricity. Most of my experience is with relatively light packs (less than 30lbs, considerably lighter than anything they tested), but it seems like it would be more work to carry a continuously shifting load. I'd rather have everything securely fastened, and carry a handful of long-lasting batteries that could be recharged with a solar collection device. I suspect that kind of kit would only add about a pound to the pack weight.

It might be an interesting application for people who *already* have to carry continuously-shifting loads. Maybe it will transfer over to the high-tech baby-carrier market.

[resqdog51.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Do first responders really carry 80lb packs?


Yeah, we can and do. Depends on what your specialty is, tho. Some of us carry more, some carry less.

First responders are required to take care of themselves, with gear and supplies from their pack, for 24-48 hours from initial deployment. Usually, we have a 'personal pack' an we have a 'red bag'. As a K9 handler, I have two 'red bags'... one for me and one for my dog. By the end of it, the first response team needs to be completely self contained, self reliant and able to take care of itself for 2 weeks without needing any input from the community they have come to assist -- each team/task force consists of over 60 people and that's a pretty heavy drain on a devastated community.


......now you make me curious. I ought to go home and weigh my personal pack.... with and without safety gear, which is pretty heavy in and of itself, heh. Well, heavy if you aren't used to wearing it all the time. Heck, my boots alone weigh at least 5 pounds, I'm sure.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, what's the "red bag?"

[misia.livejournal.com]

When the holidays roll around, consider buying your family and close friends one or both of the following: a crank-powered AM/FM radio (there are also ones that have an option of crank/battery/built-in-solar) and a crank-powered or otherwise human-powered flashlight with a long-lasting LED bulb. Other things that make excellent gifts in that they're small and relatively inexpensive are mylar "space blankets," first-aid kits, maps, compasses, and the following Hesperian Foundation books: Where There Is No Doctor, Where Women Have No Doctor and Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment. (Where There Is No Dentist is also very good but less critical in emergencies.) The Hesperian Foundation's books are excellent, reassuring, and time-tested primers that allow virtually ANYONE to competently handle emergency medical care and sanitation.

[misia.livejournal.com]

I know these suggestions aren't creative, but they do help solve an awful lot of problems. Being properly equipped is more than half the battle sometimes.

[resqdog51.livejournal.com]

Heck... you can get a Hamster Powered Car (http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=102&i=3682)!

*grin* For real!

....course, it only goes about 10mph at BEST, but, still!

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

See to it that all police stations, buildings designated as possible shelters, churches, etc. have a stockpile of one week's worth of food, water, and medical supplies.

Two Thoughts

[tangel.livejournal.com]

1) Make sure emergency news is distributed clearly to as wide an audience as possible. Not only through TV but media that those who canna afford TVs and radios would have access to.

At home, in an estate, blocks of apartments/homes have a volunteer neighbourhood committee who are responsible for each group to distribute news. To -everyone- in that grouping, especially the old folks, those who don't have TVs. They go door-to-door.

2) Media should stop pursuing sensationalist stories and report facts and news. I try to keep an open mind about news reported on TV and in the papers but sometimes I get de-sensitised and dismiss the stories as 'stories to sell ads'.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

Not specifically about making personal preparations (though I'm a fan of personal preparations in general, being somewhat apocalyptic-minded even at the best of times) but as a broad response to the question, "What can we do differently next time," I'd like to point anyone who's interested at war_on_error. Discussions tend to be able a wide range of things, many of them more about what we need in our laws rather than what we need in our back-packs, but the whole goal is to discuss anything that seems relevant, at *all* levels of preparedness, from the personal up to the federal and international.

As for the rest - a friend just posted this link regarding 'walk-out' (or 'bug-out') kits and other emergency preparations individuals make. Some interesting stuff there.

I myself recommend, among other things, a ziploc bag containing paper, ballpoint pens, sharpies, and a list of names, addresses and phone numbers, along with a pre-paid calling card (or, for those of you more technologically inclined, I suppose, a cell-phone with pre-paid minutes on it), maps, cash, passport, an augmented first aid kit (I can go on at *great* length about first aid kits), granola bars, a safety blanket, clean underwear, and a deck of cards.

And that's not touching on the medication issue.

[hamsterwoman]

Nothing useful to add, really, but: HAMSTER-POWERED CELL PHONES! I want one! (I've seen those hand-squeeze cell phone battery charger things in some gadgetry catalogues, but a hamster is just so much more high-tech.) I wonder if someone's pattented a cell-phone-with-hamster-wheel design already...