They’re called “Team California,” and the team is made up of students from Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts. About 200 students from both of these California colleges have been working together to build a solar powered house for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2009.

The solar decathlon is a competition where college students across the world compete to build the best solar powered, renewable energy house. Right now there are 20 teams participating, and Team California is the only team from the U.S. west coast.

They’re called “Team California,” and the team is made up of students from Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts. About 200 students from both of these California colleges have been working together to build a solar powered house for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2009.

The solar decathlon is a competition where college students across the world compete to build the best solar powered, renewable energy house. Right now there are 20 teams participating, and Team California is the only team from the U.S. west coast.

The Refract House

Team California’s solar decathlon house is known as the Refract House. Unlike most houses, which are shaped like a box, this house is uniquely shaped as a bent tube.

Here are some green features of the home:

• A radiant water system that runs water throughout the house for heating and cooling
• Walls made of used billboards and covered with salvaged redwood
• Water circulation system for sinks and showers

At an estimated $1.3 million to make, the Refract House hopes to take home the solar decathlon prize in Washington DC this October.

Take a look at this video about the Refract House:

Santa Clara University won third place last year, so let’s see if Team California can take home a first place this year!

Source: LA Times

Since 2003 U.S. troops have been an ever-present force in Iraq. The purpose of the Iraq War was to overthrow Saddam Hussein and to establish democracy in Iraq, but it seems that all we have done is cause great destruction to the Iraqi people’s land and lives. Our invasions have ravaged their natural environment, and the people continue to struggle to find new homes, food to eat and properly sanitized water to drink. Since the U.S. is considered the richest country in the world, the least we can do is…

Since 2003 U.S. troops have been an ever-present force in Iraq. The purpose of the Iraq War was to overthrow Saddam Hussein and to establish democracy in Iraq, but it seems that all we have done is cause great destruction to the Iraqi people’s land and lives. Our invasions have ravaged their natural environment, and the people continue to struggle to find new homes, food to eat and properly sanitized water to drink. Since the U.S. is considered the richest country in the world, the least we can do is provide some sort of economic assistance to the people whose lives we have damaged.

The Morrell Foundation

So who is coming to the rescue of the Iraqi people? Owned and operated out of Bluffdale, Utah, the Morrell Foundation is an organization whose main goal is to provide hope and assistance to people across the world that have been affected by natural disaster, armed conflict or poverty.

Through a $900,000 purchase from WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corporation, the Morrell Foundation will donate 12 solar powered water purification systems to families in the Euphrates Valley of Iraq. These systems are completely portable and can provide up to 30,000 gallons of fresh drinking water per day!

Solar Powered Water Purification Systems

A solar powered water purification system uses energy from the sun to drive the water pump and power the UV filtration system.

It can work in the sunlight alone or with a power grid. WorldWater & Solar Technologies is supplying the Morrell Foundation with 12 Mobile MaxPure systems. These systems are powered with back-up generators and a battery that can run for 24-hours. The best thing about them is that they desalinate almost any type of water, including brackish and seawater. You can read more about them here.

Scheduled Delivery

The 12 Mobile MaxPure systems are schedule to be delivered on December 15, 2007 by Millennium KI, LLC, a military supply contractor for civil action and humanitarian needs. The systems will be picked up from the WorldWater headquarters in Ewing, New Jersey and shipped immediately by air to Baghdad and by the Marines to the Euphrates Valley.

I think that these solar powered water purification systems are wonderful tools that we can use all over the world, and not just in Iraq. So many countries need clean drinking water, and if we have the ability to use these systems for a globally good cause, then we should do it. And we should do it now.