How did it go yesterday with your electricity projects? Please feel free to inspire us with pictures of your brightest accomplishments!
Speaking of bright, a few weeks ago an enormous boom broke into my thoughts and flickering lights teased me until they didn’t. In almost an instant our home became lifeless and cold as the lights went out and the dryer stopped drying. But not quite as lifeless as the pesky squirrel that accidentally electrocuted himself and blew our transformer. Our “lights out” would be restored…his, not so much.
Those furry little guys drive us nuts! I suppose we could partly blame the coyotes who made a meal out of our sweet cat, Franklin. When Franklin was around, the squirrels were scarce. Today, we can see holes in our flowerbeds where the feisty little rodents dig up nuts they hid in the fall. For every nut they dig up they leave light bulbs in the grass where they chewed through our string lights.
This is a worldwide problem and if you don’t believe me, check out this awesome website to see a map of where squirrels have disrupted electricity.
What about those cute little baby squirrels? Nobody can resist a baby animal and in the world of wildlife rescue, February is baby squirrel month. Why, you ask. Well, from January to March, they tend to fall out of their nests. People are actually rescuing baby squirrels, calling in professionals to nurse them to a-nuthood. Do they not know these cute little guys will grow into very big pests? The squirrels are officially ready to be released “when they can crack a nut.” No kidding!!!?? Isn’t that the point for why they should not be released? That means they are also big enough to chew through our electrical wires, too. Is there any more proof needed that people can be absolved of all reason if they see a baby animal?
Friends like these will be excited to read about a compelling study. I suspect some of our esteemed politicians would even be eager to promote it.
SQUIRRELS A NEW FORM OF RENEWABLE ENERGY?
Squirrel power. It sounds nuts, right? Students at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, however, propose a different opinion. They seem to believe that harnessing the energy of squirrels has practical potential. The experiment will involve capturing campus squirrels, fitting them with lightweight, battery charging backpacks, and setting them loose to charge up a lithium battery.
The principle is similar to that which makes those hand-shaken, rechargeable flashlights work: a magnet moves freely through a coil of copper wire, thus generating current and charging the lithium cell. The difference here is that rather than shaking your arm until muscle fatigue renders it useless, this process puts an army of twitchingly exuberant rodents to task.
image via Guilford College
The project will gather volunteers from around campus to herd the squirrels for their special jacket fitting. “Our biggest concern is catching the squirrels, said Mark Dodders, a consultant for Green4Lyfe, the Asheville-based energy-saving firm hired by the college.
Naturally, one must question the efficiency of the operation. Just how much energy will be put into capturing and fitting the squirrels in comparison to the energy yielded by their battery charging efforts? Guilford English Professor, Jim Hood, indicated a rumor that campus physics students had already done some number crunching: “I heard that physics majors calculated that the energy released by Guilford squirrels running up and down just five oak and three maple trees on the quad could provide enough power to fuel Netflix streaming in Milner and Bryan combined.”
And, by the way, in case you think any actual squirrels were hurt in this project, consider this: the press release date for this story was March 31. This is just a day before that famous prankster holiday that kicks off April…
Source: www.earthtechling.com