E-mail to a hippy =)

Bonjour Eric =)

Hehe... I'm just keeping busy I guess. And what gave you the impression that I was a good student? I'm curious because people often mistake me for one. It's great to hear about what Joe has been doing with the kids. He actually did ask me if I wanted to intern there this summer, it sounds like he has something great going on for the kids there.

I'm working for a small investment company summer. It's very small; in the office it's just me and the portfolio manager. I really like the work... I get to do research all day and write notes and reports on various industries and companies. Last week we got to attend a conference in New York. I like it because it actually relates very well to my health economics background... the portfolio only invests in "green" companies, meaning that they take part in sustainable/renewable technological advancement. I've been doing a lot of research in water membrane technologies that could replace distillation (energy inefficient b/c you need a lot of fuel to create all that heat). With reverse osmosis membranes, you use pressure instead of heat to separate the water from the solutes.

Another really cool company that I'm researching actually sells "virtual" electricity to electrical utilities by reducing peak demand of energy so the utilities don't have to build more power plants. They do it by installing devices that reduce the amount of time that a central AC or heater or swimming pool cycles. It is then controlled with a switch in the electrical utility. Like instead of cycling for 40 mins per hour, the AC will cycle for 20 mins during the peak hours (which usually are for a couple of weeks during the year--summer when really hot and winter when really cold). I hear that the temp change is barely noticeable (about 1 degree change), and yet the electricity saved is enough to manage peak demand.

I'm going to be Minnesota for the weekend for a friend's wedding then I'll be in Michigan for a couple of days with a family I know there. So, I'm pretty excited about that. How is Kathleen doing?

I do have a question about the program for the FEMA kids... How do you go about asking people for money? I've only talked with a couple of friends about writing to the kids there.

Thanks for your e-mail! =)

Desiree