Monday, March 28, 2011

Dream girls AKA painter girls?


L-R: Taylor Averette, JT Mathis and Alexis Averette are all smiles and
satisfied with their completed project! 

Watch out, next on the spotlight in 5th and 6th period are the painter girls! Cousins, TAYLOR AVERETTE and ALEXIS AVERETTE with JA'TAURE MATHIS' project are to paint one of the biodiesel bay doors. They not only paint but also provide the class with our usual entertainment with Taylor as the talented happy-go-lucky artist, Alexis as the voice of reason and brains of the operation and JT as hardworking team member ready to get the job of the day done. During class hours you can catch them singing and lighting up everyones moods with their little antics. The finished product is a beaut! These creative group of girls have incorporated light colors in the artwork so the room will be more cooler since dark colors absorb more heat. Lighter surfaces reflect less sunlight therefore producing less heat than darker colors.The girls experienced hardships in chipping off atleast 5 layers of paint lasting the whole semester last year which they weren't enthusiastic about but still put their game face on and completed the task at hand. Once they designed the basics of the artwork they were going to do, they began to outline it with a marker over a white background and started painting using light colors. It took the girls about 2-3 months to finish painting. Below is a photo of the finished masterpiece:

 “The possibilities of creative effort connected with the subconscious mind are stupendous and imponderable. They inspire one with awe.” - Napoleon Hill

Car troubles?

The Mercedes is at a standstill, ladies and gents.
Because of the car's age, it is really struggling these days. It is a 1985 that was converted to a biodiesel engine in 2008. The engine conversion suprisingly makes the car run better, but its age is slowing it down. On Friday, the car would not stop running. Even with the key out, it was still going. Eventually the fuel ran out and the car stopped, but it is still having some complications. Today, the team figured out it is the ignition switch that is broken and they are working out the kinks so they can drive it to the shop at lunch to finally get painted! Woo hoo! Pictures will be up as soon as the paint job is finished and status updates on other projects will be available as well!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Our version of "renewable resources"

A new project is in the works here in the KWAEC: the cistern. The AC unit on the side of the building discharges a lot of water, so the cistern team in first and second period biodiesel class has decided to connect a pipe to the leaking unit and run it to the cistern. From the cistern there will be another pipe that will run to one of the planter boxes for a cheaper and more efficient way to water them. The palm tree in the planter box will grow larger with the new watering system and provide more shade for the building, which in turn will lower heating costs.

The cistern and half of the team. They're pressure-washing the cistern to get rid of the dirt marks and prepare it for a paint job!
The planter box that the AC unit water will be nurishing. The tree is already growing strong, imagine if it was getting watered constantly! The building would have great shading.

Thursday, March 24, 2011



The most amiable award goes to: STERLIN MICHEL, another student of the 5th and 6th biodiesel class. He is very hardworking, dont underestimate him because he will dissapoint you. He's very intellectual with both mechanical and electrical fields and is there to lend a helping hand with other peoples projects! 
Have you ever bought those air fresheners that automatically spray in your room, and it still doesnt smell that good? Your mom or dad scolds you for not cleaning your room when you already did. Dont you wish they'd spray much faster than they do so it will seem you did? Well Sterlin has got the solution for you! He has incorporated a fan attached to the air freshener so it will spin the scented fragrance much quicker than it does.


The picture above are the materials sterlin  used. The freshener, the fan, resistor, photocell, a 9v battery and a bread board.
When the photocell absorbs light it connects two wires, it turns on the fan and airs the scented fragrance much quicker. The battery turns the fan on. The breadboard is used to connect the electrical circuits together, for enstance the resistor is connected to the battery to reduce the flow of electron, and the photocell is connected in there as a switch too. The 9V battery produces electricity for the fan but the light source is what switches the fan on. So if the light is on, the fan will work, but without light it will not turn on. It saves energy and will only work if your inside the room. Plug into your wall, and your room will start smelling better AND quicker. Great job Sterlin!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Hello everyone! Second Biodiesel class reporter, Bianca Almero reporting! I am here to update you on the current finished projects our class has made over the weeks:


Meet JORDAN PFOST, she is a junior in Key West High School. Although she may seem shy, she is very smart and worked over this project mostly by herself and organized the supplies with minimal help. She was inspired by a primetime Mr. Clearman conducted regarding AC units powered by ice to lower energy costs. She solely came up with the design of her mini AC unit! After planning on how she will be able to construct this she came up with a  prototype and began to build the wooden box (recycled from scrap wood) with the help of fellow junior OTTO IRWIN.


 Copper Wire runs through a cooler of ice which then passes through the box where a fan blows warm air over the pipes producing cool air. Perfect for the incoming hot weather, the Biodiesel class room now has a mini AC unit, all you gotta do is plug the fan and load up some ice and voila!

A helpful lesson...

With the current disaster in Japan, Mr. Clearman decided to take some time to learn about the different types of radiation. He wanted us to know what the victims of the country's large scale earthquakes and tsunamis were dealing with. We discussed their possible solutions and speculated what they are going to do next. They were prepared, but not enough. Some of the radiation from the nuclear plants has escaped from their tightly sealed containers. The class paired up in twos and each group had to research and teach about a form of radiation and how to protect yourself from it. They scaled from alpha radiation, which is pretty harmless because you can protect yourself from it with a sheet of paper, to extremely powerful gamma radiation, which is the strongest and would require a 6 inches of lead to protect you depending on the source. We also learned how radiation is used to help cure cancer with chemotherapy and how x-rays and CT scanners' radiation will not harm you. There are a lot of conflicting stories and theories about the radiation in the media, so it's hard to predict what will happen next. The first period bidodiesel class is prepared for nuclear disaster and it's nice for us as young people to really learn the effects of the things happening in the world. We hope the people of Japan will soon be on a road to recovery.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Our newest edition.

Our "aquaponics" team is a newer addition to our projects. It is a combination of two teams that each had big ideas, who joined together to make one, big super idea. While Jeremiah and Lops (the team working on the solar roof concept) are still working part-time on their idea, they have bonded with the ever so eco-friendly bio-naut, Shenesea,who had an idea that would intrigue their interest. She built off of an idea Clearman had called "Goldfish Tomatoes". It involves a fish tank, tomato plants, and a system to connect the two. Apparently, fish tank water has all sorts of nutrients, such as fish poop. Those nutrients would somehow get to the tomato plants and nurish them and allow them to grow to be really heathly. When gardening, you have to buy the soil, the seeds, the fertilizers, the chemicals to make it grow, and all of the other extra time, money, and non-ecofriendly products. Shenesea loved the idea, but she wanted more, so she came up with this: while still using Clearman's idea, she essentially created a self-sustaining, mini ecosystem. With that, she, Jeremiah and Lops joined together to fulfill this,and have done well so far. The idea is that the fish will eventually grow and breed, which will create more nutrients for the plants in the water. The extra stuff you would have to buy for gardening would pretty much be obsolete, minus the soil and the seeds. It is better the environment and will save you money. This, my friends, you CAN try at home! Big thanks to Last Stand and Mimi Stafford, who helped with the funding of this project.  They donated $1,000 to the AEC, and we are very grateful.  More aquaponics coming soon!

The mini ecosystem that the "aquaponics" team has created. You can see it in the photo, but there is a hose from the fish tank to the blue box above it. That is where the plant resides.  This project is from the 5th/6th period class, and belongs to Victoria Albury and Danielle Mariscal.
The tomato plant inside the blue box. It's doing well!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Our Fairy Carfather

Instead of a student profile, we're going to focus on someone who has been very beneficial to our program.
This is Mr. John Key.


Mr. Key is our go-to-guy for all things car-related. He is the recent owner of our local NAPA store and he donates practically everything we need from there, which is extremely appreciated! He recently donated a 12-volt battery for the solar array, some primer for the car teams' repainting project, and various tools and jacks for the car's oil change. Safety is our number one concern here at the AEC, and he completely agrees and understands. He is very helpful with giving tips to the car team about the different projects they are pursuing to make sure they are being safe. For example, when the team had questions about the car's engine, Mr. Key was there to help and answer all of their questions. He is a great asset to the Alternative Energy Center and we are so thankful for all of his help and kindness!