Corona Green 2020.

Electricity, Food, Environment, Water, Transportation

Goals for Corona in the year 2020 20% free and 20% greener

A Specific 5 Point Plan for Corona by the year 2020 1. 20% of Corona's Electricity is free. 2. 20% of Corona's food is free (home grown). 3. 20% improvement in Coronas environment. 4. 20% of Corona commuter traffic is via car pool, train, bus, bike or other alternative transportation 5. 20% of Corona Road commuters get free gas.

By Rafe Husain rafeh1@yahoo.com

1. 20% of Corona's Electricity is free.

For making 20% of corona's electricity free we need a commitment from residents, builders and the City of Corona to standardize on solar panels with a uniform set of outputs (Low, Medium, Large). Builders are encouraged by incentives to build solar houses. Current residents are provided savings by City's ability to get mass quantity discounts. Building and Safety starts training classes on installation and maintenance. Building and Safety gives installation and maintenance certificates to those who qualify. Final target City residents get 20% of their electricity from solar. Notes: It is presumed that at "peak sun", 1000 W/m of power reaches the surface of the earth. One hour of full sun provides 1000 Wh per m = 1 kWh/m - representing the solar energy received in one hour on a cloudless summer day on a one-square meter surface directed towards the sun. To put this in some other perspective, the United States Department of Energy indicates the amount of solar energy that hits the surface of the earth every +/- hour is greater than the total amount of energy that the entire human population requires in a year. Another perspective is that roughly 100 square miles of solar panels placed in the southwestern U.S. could power the country. References: 1. Basics of Solar Power for Producing Electricity http://www.solar4power.com/solar-power-basics.html 2. Solar Energy Basics http://www.healthgoods.com/education/Energy_Information/Renewabl e_Energy/solar_energy_basics.htm 3. Power crunch spotlights deregulation turmoil http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15292581/

2. 20% of Corona's food is free (home grown)

Residents and especially school kids are encouraged to plant small vegetable gardens and fruit trees. City plants mini gardens and mini fruit orchards at many of the parks. These gardens are free for the public to observe. The fruit can be dedicated to the Citys shelter program.. Parks and Rec provides training and classes on easy care home gardens. Parks and Rec provides classes and guidance on fruit tree planting and maintenance. People are encouraged to set aside 10x10 or 10x20 backyard gardens.

Grow greens, tomatoes, potatoes, Cantaloupes and other vegetables with minimal expense and labor. School kids encouraged to plant fruit trees and tomato bushes. School kids encouraged to take ownership of what they plant. Given Certificates by the city when their plants start producing fruits and or vegetables. Neighbors can exchange their products with each other. Awards on best garden, best tasting fruits and best tasting/quality vegetables. People are closer to their food sources and are not totally dependant on shopping centers.

In addition people are encouraged to keep one or two laying chickens to get fresh eggs daily. City inspectors help residents understand how to easily keep chickens. Encourage people to keep food positive animals like chickens rather than food negative pets like cats and dogs.

In this method by 2020 20% of Corona's food is both free and grown in Corona. The focus is on local home grown food with minimum overhead and hassle. City researches and finds easier and simpler ways to have small gardens and suburban useful animals. The citys research is primarily focused on low maintenance vegetable gardens which are easy to work with people who have jobs outside of Corona.

Radishes, shallots and lettuce in canteros, some of them intercropped

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Philadelphia's urban gardens. http://www.greentreks.org/allprograms/roughterrain/urbangar dening/index.asp Urban Gardens. http://homepage.mac.com/cityfarmer/PhotoAlbum42.html Edible Estates http://home.comcast.net/%7Efotifamily/ Suburban garden Info http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/urban/benefits-of-abackyard-suburban-garden.htm Energy Info http://www.energybulletin.net/13067.html Food security in an energy-scarce world http://www.feasta.org/food.htm Sustainability through local self-sufficiency http://www.feasta.org/documents/wells/contents.html?six/gue nther.html LIFE FROM THE LAND http://www.feasta.org/documents/shortcircuit/index.html?sc6/c 6.html Great reasons to grow your own - organically! http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/reasons.ph p Great reasons to grow your own organically http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/todo_now/index.php Things to do in the vegetable garden this month http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/todo_now/veg_gard_now.ph p Family Replaces Lakewood Lawn with Fruit, Vegetables. Covered by New York Times http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/edibleestates/lalakewood-garden_text.html Chickens feed me http://poweringdown.blogspot.com/2006/01/chickens-feedme.html The urban chicken http://www.al.com/specialreport/mobileregister/?chickens.html Rethinking poultry regulations http://www.al.com/specialreport/mobileregister/index.ssf?regul ations.html The good life in Havana: Cuba's green revolution http://www.americas.org/item_28889 People want Farm outlets near homes http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_business/article/0,2232,REDD_17527_ 5073916,00.html

The Fruit Tree Project experimentally grows species and varieties of tropical fruit trees, testing which perform best in the Havana climate and soils. There are over 35 varieties of mango alone, all the common citrus fruits and other less frequently encountered such as the fortunella (or kumquat). Several species of the genus Annona are grown, including chirimoya (A. cherimolia), guanbana ( A. muricta) and ann (A. squamosa). These are the custard apple group, native to tropical Latin America. Persimmon Diospyros kaki fruits abundantly and the star fruit Averrhoa carambola, native of S. Asia is accompanied by the smaller-fruited and very sour!- A. belimbi that gets its species name from the Indonesian for star fruit: belimbing.

National Botanic Gardens, La Habana. a) Herbs drying in Cuban sunshine. December 2003. b) young guava, mango and citrus trees in the fruit tree project

But fruit are not the only productive trees grown, coconuts are there and many other palms, notably an oil palm Leycithis dubia that is supposed to produce oil of better quality than the commonly grown oil palms Elaeis species. Among the herbs is the oddly-named Jamaica Hibiscus sabdarifa This is the focus of attention for propagation in patio gardens as it has many medicinal properties, notably for stomach and blood pressure problems. Anis Helenium amarum is related to the sunflower, but is a very small and aromatic plant that is still being researched for its properties.

3. 20% improvement in Coronas environment.

Improve the environment by lowering summer ambient temperature by 5F to be more like Orange county. Corona summer temperatures are excruciatingly hot. There are two reasons for the hot temperatures. One is that Corona itself is a desert city. The Pacific ocean is more than 40 miles away and is blocked by a mountain range. The second reason is growth and urbanization of Corona. With more buildings, more houses, more sidewalks, more parking lots and more roads greenery is lessened and more of the Sun's heat is dissipated into ambient heat. Whereas grass and trees absorb solar energy into photosynthesis along with plant respiration which provides a counterbalance to solar heat.

The other problem is the growing population of Corona which uses air-conditioning to cool their homes and businesses. Air conditioning takes the energy supplied by Edison and uses it to take heat out of the inside of houses and offices and dissipates it into the outside ambient air. Basically it cools the inside by heating the outside. Since the normal home air conditioner uses 4K watts therefore we are effectively pumping 4K watts of heat into the ambient environment per residential A/C and a lot more for commercial A/C cooling large buildings and offices. The process of cooling inside is done by heating the outside. In fact all the energy a common 4KW house air conditioner uses is ultimately dissipated into the outside air as heat.

Heating up the outside air causes neighboring air conditioners to work harder to pump internal heat to the already heated outside air. In energy terms the normal Air conditioner is actually an external heater. It basically takes 4KW of energy and transports the heat outside. Cool inside makes hot outside. The way around this is to use water to absorb solar heat and make our entire environment cool so that the need for a/c is greatly reduced. Using outdoor misting and fogging systems is very popular in areas like Phoenix and Palm Springs. With the advent of high quality pressurized systems water vaporization technology is moving to fogging (sub 5 micron water particles) rather than the current mist (sub 15 micron water particles.). The advantage of fogging systems is the small water particles cause flash evaporation so that even people directly underneath spray heads do not feel wet. If the fogging systems was established on a systematic large scale it is quite possible that the ambient micro-environment in Corona gets cooler by 3 to 5 degrees.

Cooling Efficiency
Maximum Potential Cooling

Relative humidity, the amount of moisture in the air compared to the maximum amount of moisture the air could absorb at the same temperature, is a crucial factor in determining cooling potential. The lower the relative humidity, the more water can be vaporized, and hence, the more heat can be removed. Evaporative cooling can be used in most geographical locations. This is because when temperatures reach their peak during the day, relative humidity is normally at its lowest. The graph above shows potential cooling at different temperatures and levels of humidity. To calculate potential cooling using misting, find the relative humidity for the day, follow that to the curve that is closest to the outdoor temperature, then read the potential temperature drop on the bottom line of chart. (Example: 30% humidity (a), 100 temperature (b) = 26 potential temperature decrease .)

http://www.cloudburst.com/technical.html

Proposal: The city of Corona would require all new construction to include high quality outdoor fogging systems. In addition the city would provide assistance for homeowners who wish to do it themselves. With the fogging system in place on a large scale solar heat will be reduced by 3 to 5 degrees while the local humidity is increased. This will provide for a cooler outdoor environment and less load on Air conditioner utilization as A/C on/off cycles will be reduced. As far as the outdoor environment it will have a cooler more humid environment. Since Corona is primarily a desert like environment the higher humidity will actually make the ambient environment both more pleasant and cooler. Higher humidity level and lower temperature will also benefit the trees and grass in the area as the trees and grass will not go dry and will use less water. Outdoor fogging systems are a win-win all around for a hot dry summer environment like Corona. Below are the calculations of a fogging system for a a typical Corona house sitting on a 66x100 ft lot. Evaporation of 1 pint of water absorbs 250 Calories. One gallon of water (which has 8 pints) will absorb 250x8 or 2000 cal. Solar energy for one hour per square feet in calories = (1Cal/ft2min)(1 ft2) (60 min) = 60 Cal per sq ft per hour.

A gallon of water can absorb 2000/60 or 33.33 sq feet of solar energy per hour. Since full sun is only on for 4 hours average total solar power is 240 cal per sq ft per day. Total maximum solar power in a typical residential lot of 100ft by 66ft is (6600 sq ft * 60 cal per sq ft) or 1584000 calories. Since one gallon of evaporated water will absorb the solar heat from 33 sq ft. A nominal house with a lot of 6600 sq ft and a non-green footprint (House, driveway, sidewalk, patio etc) of 66% will need to dissipate 1584000 * .66 or 1052000 calories. This requires 1052000 calories / 2000 calories per gallon or 526 gallons per day must be evaporated to absorb full sun heat on house and concrete area. Since our goal is to make a 20% reduction in absorbed solar heat the target requirement now becomes 526 * 20% or 105 gallons per day.

Thus our hypothetical Corona suburban house sitting on a lot of 6600 feet needs to dissipate 20 gallons per hour for 5 hours. Since each fogging head can dissipate 1 gallon per hour so we need a system with 20 heads.

Basic solar energy and water evaporation calculations Description Energy in Calories to Evaporate 1 gallon of water Solar Energy in Calories per Hour per Sq ft Equivalent Solar Energy Absorbed per gallon of water in sq feet Size (of avg Corona) house LOT Non Green Portion of Lot. Includes house footprint, sidewalk, patio and driveway Effective Solar energy footprint Gallons of Water needed to Absorb 1 hr of solar energy on typical house Gallons of water needed to absorb 4 hrs of solar energy on typical house Gallons required to absorb 20% of Solar energy Gallons of water per head per hour # of Fogging heads required to implement item 12. Fogger will run for 5 hours near peak sun Lot 66'x100' 2000.00 60.00 33.33 6600.00 66.00% 4356.00 130.68 522.72 104.54 1.00 21 Lot 100'x100' 2000.00 60.00 33.33 10000.00 66.00% 6600.00 198.00 792.00 158.40 1.00 32 Units Calories Calories per hour per sq ft Sq ft Sq ft Percent Sq ft Gallons Gallons Gallons Gallons Fog heads Variable Names and Equations ECE_GH2O (Constant) SECH_SQFT (Constant) ESEA = ECE_GH2O / SECH_SQFT S_LOT (Assumption) NGPL (Assumption) ESEF = S_LOT * NGPL GWA1=ESEF/ESEA GWA4=GWA1*4 GWA_20=GWA4 * 20% GWH (Assumption) FOGH = GSOL/(5 * GWH)

Table above shows calculations for a pair of atypical corona homes. One is 100x66 sq ft (6600 sq ft) while the other is 100x100 sq ft (10000 sq ft). Send me an email and I will forward this spreadsheet. NOTES: 1. Koolfog Pressurized cooling systems http://www.koolfog.com/gallery/Restaurants/pics/applebees_1_g.jpg 2. Power crunch spotlights deregulation turmoil p http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15292581/ 3. Air Conditioning 101 http://www.coolnsave.com/work.asp 4. A cooler place to live? http://www.lbl.gov/today/2003/Aug/29-Fri/8-292003-Star.html 5. Microcool OUTDOOR COOLING systems http://www.microcool.com/cooling/index.shtml 6. MIST&COOL Outdoor Cooling Systems http://www.cloudburst.com/technical.html 7. Flash evaporation using pressurized water to make fog http://www.fogmachines.com/applications.htm

4. 20% of Corona commuter traffic is via car pool, train, bus, bike or other alternative transportation
The goal is to get people to try alternative transportation. Provide incentives for people to try all these means of transport. Award points for using all alternatives rather than single car. The point system is established as follows. 2 point for 2 person car pool 4 points for 3 person car pool 6 points for a 4 person car pool. 2 points for train 2 points for bus 6 points for bicycle When people reach 500 points they get a free airline ticket. Work a deal with the airlines and get them to donate a bunch of tickets for the program. For 1000 points get a 3 day cruise ship vacation. Work a deal with cruise ships to get donation of free cruise tickets from the cruise ships. Other incentives can be added for example free Disneyland passes, free amusement parks access free restaurant lunch and dinner coupons for 250 points. A city official becomes in charge of the transportation alternatives promotion department (I suggest the name should be Corona Commuter Circle). He should be supported by a staff of either other city staff and or some volunteers. Their mission is not just to promote transport alternatives but also to help Corona residents who participate in this program. For example if some people get stuck in Orange county the Corona Commuter Circle will co-ordinate their return home either via other commuters who are members of the CCC or via special shuttle or even taxi. All who join this program give their destination and hours so on an emergency the CCC alternative transportation department can ask them to help out by picking up some one who missed his bus or train or simply needs to stay later.

NOTES 1. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger passes executive order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061016/ap_on_re_us/global_warming _schwarzenegger 2. More cities and towns offer incentives to drive 'green' http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0928/p02s02-ussc.html?s=widep 3. In emissions battle, US cities vie to be 'greenest' http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1025/p01s01-uspo.html?s=widep 4. Never mind altruism: 'Saving the earth' can mean big bucks http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1025/p04s01-wogi.html

5. 20% of Corona Road commuters get free gas.

The city works as matchmaker between people driving and those who wish to get a ride. Those who wish to get a ride must work within a few miles of the one doing the driving. The city arranges a meeting point and time at one of the many rideshare parking lots within the city. The driver takes the other people to their offices prior to going to his own work. The driver provides the car while the passengers pay for the gas. The passengers pay at the rate of the distance divided by the cars mpg times the nominal price of gas plus any tolls.. The driver gets free gas and free tolls in exchange for driving and putting miles on his car. For example if ride, from central Corona to Macarthur and 55, is approximately 60 miles round trip. assuming the car gets 20 miles per gallon and the nominal price for gas is $3.00 means the passengers pay $9 per trip. If there are two passengers they pay $4.50 each per day. The advantage of having a three person or more is that the price is reduced for all and the tolls on the 91 Fastrak are 0. If going via 241 then the passengers would have to add the daily toll cost. This arrangement would need marketing, evangelizing and possible promotional subsidies at least for the first six months till the program takes off. The promotional and evangelizing aspect would require marketing to get people to register with the program as both drivers and passengers. With the growth of so many people living in Corona but working else where that the threshold for having enough participants working in the same area with the same work hours and living in Corona is quite high. The commuter coordinator office also has volunteers who are aware of who works where so that if someone works late or needs to go early can have transportation arranged for him/her by asking other members of this club to jump in and pick those people and bring them back. Basically the program provides in addition to coordinating ride shares a support system for those whose schedules change even in the worst case arranging for a taxi (only once per year). Since the city has a database of who goes where when along with their cell phones this should not be too hard. It would be best to use Corona's retired grandmothers as volunteers as nobody says no to a grandmother trying to co-ordinate things. One of the biggest impediments to all car less transportation methods is the public's perception of being stuck without a means to get home. This is a big psychological barrier and if the Commuter program can provide re-assurance to the people, who feel empty without a car, the program will become a success.

The second phase of this program can become the basis of more dynamic free enterprise based transport system. Once enough people join this system a fully dynamic real time system can be established. the driver uses his cell phone to call the commuter department number and punches his location and destination zip codes. The passenger do the same. This information can be entered in real time via cell phones. The system does a current location/destination/match and informs the driver how many people want to go to the same destination. If the driver accepts the city adds money from the passengers account to the driver's account using the method given above. Thus say the passengers want to go to Anaheim they are instructed to go to grand park and ride and wait for the car driven by the driver. This system can work at all hours. For some people who are jobless yet have cars this can become a possible money maker. The cost in the dynamic systems should be the same as the metro link trains ie for corona to Tustin the fare would be $6 per person per trip. If 4 people are transported to Tustin assuming a trip of one hour the driver would earn $24. Which once you remove car overhead of 50 cents a mile for 30 miles means the driver gets $9.00 per hour. The passengers get taxi like service going exactly to their destination while with Metrolink they have to take shuttle and buses to get to their final destination. The, drivers on the other hand actually makes good money even while they are simply going to work and home. Since now days everyone has a cell phone and doing a computer/cell phone based matching service is quite easy almost a trivial programming job. For the initial phase people can get some rideshare dollars put in their account kind of like Paypal. These rideshare dollars can not be directly used by the people but rather they must give it to each other in exchange for rides. Once the rideshare dollar moves then it can be transferred to people's credit cards as payments. The passengers can also use credit cards to replenish ride share dollars. Other federal and state aid can be used to give people boost in their rideshare dollars. Since for every car less on the freeway means less freeways to build and maintain and less pollution the state and Feds should pitch in. Once people use $100 of their rideshare money the city can add $20 from federal and state grants.