Speech

Every day for lunch sophomore year I brought a home lunch to school. In a plastic bag held my typical meal: a sandwich, a granola bar, a cheese stick, and water. The water, however, was brought in a bottle that I’d throw away every day. The Dasani water would say “made of recyclable material”, and I would just overlook it and toss it not in the recycle bin some 20, 30 feet away but in the trash can I sat near. This subtle and quotidian action may not have had an impact in a couple of days, but throughout a year it can create a sizable amount of wasted material. What is even more negative is that not only I do these things. The overwhelming use of energy and material for our everyday lives is slowly but surely killing the environment we live in. Whether it’s using gas for a hummer getting less than 20 miles per gallon or doing what I was doing, it’s all the same. Awareness isn’t simply enough to get people motivated. The outcomes of harmful actions and knowing the effects of an action are what fuels participation. An extra step is needed. This step needs to bring attention. By creating a mass produced alternative energy source, the dependence on environment-harming fuel would decrease. People will have no choice but to change their energy consumption.

Fortunately, the tide is already turning. Elsewhere in the nation and world people have already integrated safer energy into human lives. Emerging companies such as 2GreenEnergy, Able Energy Co., or California Clean Energy Funds have already been doing the research and technology analysis. They have created viable ways for renewable energy. Overseas in Europe, with gas prices ranging between five and seven dollars a gallon, the race for different fuels has begun. In the documentary “Here Comes the Sun” Rob Van Hattum depicts current initiatives not only in Europe, but also worldwide spanning all the way to Asia. In countries such as Germany, the wind and solar energy is being utilized effectively. There have been arguments against the use of these technologies such as that solar panels take up too much space and research costs outweigh the need to new energy. In retrospect, however, if there were 300,000 square miles of space used for solar energy, it could power the entire world. That’s about the size of Turkey compared to everywhere else. In truth the cost of research and conversion of resources would only be a fraction of the cost of consumption of oil yearly. The difficult aspect isn’t what can we do. It’s how to get each person to listen.

Well what can we do? Simply exerting influence in oil rich countries in South America or the Middle East will not solve the problem. Creating even cheaper products to out-produce competitors will not help either. These ways will only prolong it. In history, there has always been ways to adapt. Humans have not always been using oil. In the times before the Industrial Revolution, oil and mass production was not even used. It was only during this period of transition that this seemingly revolutionary idea was put to use. Now that period has passed and we need to transition anew.

The supplies we currently use will not last forever. Creating cheap and mass produced products will eventually destroy our sources of material. Instead it’s more effective to invest in longer usages and quality products. Think toasters for example. Buying a cheap one will satisfy the need now but in a couple of months will it still be working? It’s simply more cost efficient when you look at it long term and not short term. This is the one advantage that we as humans have and that is to look into the future. We can prepare and adapt better and faster as technology improves. When we can use this foresight to our advantage, we can overcome our current obstacles.

What could I have done to not waste that bottle of water every day? For starters I could have reused the bottle. Maybe I could drink tap water instead or filter it. Or maybe I could have gotten a water bottle that I could use indefinitely. The point is that pro-active thinking is needed. Changing a problem isn’t just acknowledging it and thinking about what could have or should have been done. It’s about going out there and changing on your own or in a group. The generations of people changing our world weren’t ones to complain and let be. They were the ones that set the standard for the generations to come.