Warner Pacific College
April 5, 2014
As
I reflected on this week’s assignment regarding society’s uses of energy,
required me to do some inter-reflection on the ways I recall consuming energy
in the past. First, I must
establish a few parameters for the discussion. I am a member of large family, fourteen to be exact; as a young
child, I can remember my parents contently saying; turn off those lights, turn
off that television or turn off that radio if you are not going to be using
them. Of course, being young and
uninformed about the importance of conserving energy I did not ascertain or understand
what my parents were trying to convey to my brothers and sisters. One must
understand my dad worked for the power plant that provided the electricity for
the city in with we resided which was probably the driving force behind the
constant awareness of the importance of energy conservation; not to mention the
cost of one’s electric bill.
Although
my parents were in possession of a dryer, I can recall my mother hanging the
family’s laundry on the clothes line my dad erected in the backyard of our home
to conserve on the electricity bill. Furthermore, whenever I witness individuals
hanging their clothes outdoors on clothes their clothesline these days it takes
me right back to my childhood days when we were more energy conscience. I can
also recall when we were more incline to take public transportation than we are
today; this can be a result of one’s work schedule or the lack of coverage in one’s
area. Another point I want to address is the ability we had as children to walk
to our destinations without the risk of being abducted by some stranger looking
to do us harm, unfortunately that is not the case today. I would love to allow
my youngest daughter who is turning 14 to walk to school or a friend’s house to
enjoy a day of play; however, because of the safety concerns I have outweigh my
concerns to be energy efficient, therefore I burn the gas and drive her the few
miles to her friends residence.
I
believe the government should allow private companies to explore and develop
alternatives to fossil fuels without interference from obstructionist like the
many lobbyist that are in the pockets of certain politicians. For example, automaker Tesla is now in
a legal battle with Washington State legislators because they want the
automaker to adopt the dealership model verses allowing Tesla to work directly
with their customers. This
situation is very perplexing to me, here you have an automaker that is
providing a green vehicle to the public at a reasonable price, but yet
individuals with governmental influence is making it harder for the automaker
to provide a product without
adding additional cost to their customers. In an effort to preserve our natural resources for generations
to come, we need to continue to explore ways of offering an alternative to oil
and coal. We should also continue
to champion our recycling efforts across the nation; bringing those states like
New York and Texas onboard with the process. In closing, as we discussed in class we all must take
personal responsibility to ensure we use our natural resources wisely; our
consumption of energy must become a household discussion.
Reference
New York, NY, Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
ISBN-13:978-0-321-89742-8
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