Although the United States does not have an energy crisis officially, it can be argued that in some ways, we do. The crisis is not that we will run out of energy in the near future. The crisis is that we need sustainable, clean energy that is safe and plentiful enough to power the increasing energy demand that is in this country and around the world. There are a number of alternatives out there, but few fit all of these prerequisites and a clear answer is therefore not present to resolve the dilemma. It is my opinion that safety should be of the highest concern, for surely human life should be put above profit. It is for this reason that I think we should reduce dependence on nuclear energy and resort more to safer sources.
George Washington University has recently addressed this problem (although it seems silly to form a sentence with “Washington” and “addressed this problem” unless the sentence is “Washington has not addressed this problem”), for the school has allegedly built the world’s first solar sidewalk. The walk consists of 100 square feet of walk-able, weather-proof, solar panels that can produce 470 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a year. I really enjoy this design and this idea in general because it utilizes something that serves a very simple task, takes advantage of its constant exposure to sunlight, and makes the world a greener place to live in. I dream of a future in which the roads of towns and cities are all solar panels so that we maximize this brilliant source of free energy. Hopefully this university’s sidewalk design will inspire more action (I see no reason why Penn State couldn’t do the same) and lead to even more positive change.
http://www.treehugger.com/solar-technology/GWU-solar-walk-worlds-first-solar-paneled-sidewalk.html
http://gwtoday.gwu.edu/gw-debuts-solar-walk-virginia-science-and-technology-campus
Feasible perhaps only insofar as it lights itself with little sparkly lights