Energy

Energy?  Too cheap?  If anything, I feel that energy is too expensive.  In order to create or implement things that do not use a lot of energy or diminish the use of energy, the costs are enormous.  Creating a LEED certified building such as Lutgert Hall has a much bigger price tag than Ben Hill Griffin Hall, for example.  As far as conservation being a dirty word, my view is that it’s not.  What could possibly be dirty about conserving?  Well, conservation must be a dirty word because we fail to conserve anything in America or truly believe in anything ‘conservation.’  In regards to alternative energy sources, I am not exactly sure whether I believe in being more of a “free-marketeer” or in the government’s intervention in steering the U.S. away from fossil fuels.  I don’t necessarily believe the government should be the sole proponent behind our movement away from fossil fuels, but I do believe they could take some action in getting society to believe and want to act in accordance with the use of less fossil fuels.  Using less fossil fuels is going to take more than just “free-marketeering” and will need some help and action from the government, however, the desire and force of action should be from the American public.  Although I know it seems difficult and nearly impossible to utilize properly and find real, usable energy from, I feel that if the energy of the ocean could be harnessed it could prove an amazing and great energy source - especially since the majority of our world is the ocean.  Perhaps the tools and ideas on how to do so are not available, but perhaps in the future there will be.  Steps I could take in order to limit my energy footprint could include actions not limited to: trying much harder to carpool; buying bulbs and other items that conserve energy; doing research on energy and how to conserve it at home on my own; recycle; limit my consuming; and do my best as a teacher to promote energy conservation in as many ways as I can (among many other things).