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United States: 1a My Virtual Profile
What is your vision for a sustainable world?
My vision for a sustainable world is one in which people use only clean energy. Right now, most of our energy comes from nonrenewable sources, resources which cannot be regrown or remade at a scale comparable to their consumption. These nonrenewable sources take millions of years to form, while the sun, wind, and water can never be depleted. While these precious resources are slowly being whittled away, we are ignoring the inexhaustible resources right outside our window. Another benefit of energy from sun, wind, and water sources is that they produce no waste instead of coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy. For example, the process of using coal for electricity releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. However, wind-generated electricity produces no waste. If we start using inexhaustible sources of energy to power our homes, we can reduce our carbon footprint.
Many people feel like using electric cars over cars fuelled by gas saves the environment instantly. However, it’s not enough to just get rid of gas-powered cars and start using electric ones. If the electricity is coming from a nonrenewable source, there is no improvement from gas-powered cars. However, using electric cars can be beneficial if the electricity comes from a clean energy source. One source of clean energy that is largely overlooked is hydroelectric power. Water that is released from a reservoir flows through a turbine. This movement of water spins the turbine, which in turn activates a generator that produces electricity. Wind power is another form of clean energy that is very similar to hydroelectric power. The energy in wind spins the blades on a windmill. These blades are connected to a rotor, which is linked to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity. The spinning of the blades is very similar to the turning of the turbine in hydroelectric power. Another source of power is the sun. Homes that use solar power have solar panels on their roofs. The solar panels are made up of a special type of cell. These cells convert sunlight into direct current electricity throughout the day. Another device converts the DC electricity into alternating current electricity. These three types of sustainable energy produce no waste and are simple, efficient ways to power everything from speed meters to entire homes.
But these are not the only sources of clean energy I envision the future population using. People have already invented shoes that charge your phone as you walk. What if we created athletic gear that collects the energy we release while exercising and use it to power appliances within homes? Heat is another form of energy. Maybe someday, we will use our body heat to power things. What if a couch was invented that captures body heat, turns it into electricity, then uses it to power a television? There are so many directions we can take clean energy that I only hope we use them all!
What are you planning to do to make this vision a reality?
To make this vision a reality, I will create a form for Bullis Charter School students to fill out. This form will ask students to input their home’s electrical bill. From this figure, we can see how much energy students use (if a company charges 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, and a home’s electrical bill is 120 dollars, then we can conclude that they used 800 kilowatt-hours during the month). In order to increase the helpfulness of this survey, I will also ask what the home’s energy source is. By dividing the number of kilowatts coming from nonrenewable sources by the total number of kilowatts, we can find the percent of energy that comes from a nonrenewable source. We can apply this same process to the Bullis Charter School electrical bill to find our school’s carbon footprint. By gathering data on the percent of nonrenewable energy we at Bullis Charter School use, we will be able to shrink our school’s carbon footprint in the most effective way possible.
After I have collected data, I plan to educate people on the benefits of clean energy. One aspect I would like to discuss with people is how countries around the world respond to the issue. While each country has a different dilemma, they also each have different strengths. For example, students in third-world countries save resources by walking to school, whereas most American students are driven to school. And many countries are paving the way for 100% clean energy use. Costa Rica achieved 99% renewable energy this year, and the United States solar industry employs three times more workers than coal mining! Making my vision a reality will require a global call to action, and I hope to do my part by learning and educating the students at my school.
What impact has colonization had on our journey to a sustainable planet?
With colonization came wars, disease, settlement, pests, and resource pillaging. Many settlers battled with natives for control of land. There was a huge consumption of resources to fund these wars, as people needed weapons, first aid, and sustenance.
Colonization also brought new diseases. To fight these, the natives and settlers used many resources to develop medicines. There was also plenty of deforestation as settlers built homes. They cleared large spaces in forests to build villages and towns. Places that were once full of plants and wildlife were instead populated by people from other nations. The wildlife and plants native to the colony's location were often threatened by nonnative pests brought to the country with the settlers. For example, in Hawaii, there were no rodents until settlers came and brought rats and other pests. In addition, settlers often pillaged resources from natives. The British Empire, for example, took many resources from the colonies to bring back to England.
