I write science fiction, draw, paint, photobash, do woodworking, and dabble in 2d videogames design. Big fan of reducing waste, and of building community

https://jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/

@jacobcoffin@writing.exchange

  • 5 Posts
  • 3 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 5th, 2023

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  • I’m honestly not against using Facebook to actually do some good if you already have an account - there’s something to be said for using the places people where people are already hanging out. But if you don’t have one, it’s definitely not worth making one.

    Freecycle has local sites for different locations, there might be one for your community. And Buy Nothing has been trying to move off Facebook (to an app, unfortunately - I don’t like apps) so that might also be an option. Both host the right kind of community for this kind of project.

    One other thing I’ve had some luck with is just putting up paper flyers. I try to look for the places where people already congregate or where lots of staples and thumbtacks indicate that other folks felt it was a good spot for flyers.



  • The reasons I’ve seen mostly have to do with upfront cost and convenience for maintenance. Support structures for solar panels can be pretty crude and basic if they’re just sitting low on a field. For a parking lot you need a much taller structure which will likely deal with more wind, but which is also designed to minimize the number of support posts so it’s not in the way, and to survive idiots running into it with their Ford fteen thousand.

    If something goes wrong in a field the crew can just drive there and start working. If there’s a problem with the panels over a parking lot they may need to clear part of the lot, bring in bucket lifts, etc.

    It can definitely be done and I think it’s a great idea all around but they’re usually looking with an eye towards how quickly the project pays for itself.