When I was presented with the prerogative of choosing my own theme for my blog, the decision was instantaneous: I would discuss the environment. I have always considered myself an avid environmentalist, a sentiment that was likely sparked by my unforgettable experiences at a nature camp called Acadia that I attended perennially as a child. The fragility of our beautiful planet was revealed to me one summer when Acadia tragically burned to the ground, marking the end of my blissful, carefree childhood summers, but sparking a lifelong desire for environmental activism.
I recall devoting hours of time in middle school constructing pamphlets concerning the diminishing rain forests and the destruction of the coral reef, distributing them to my classmates. I built a windmill for my eighth grade science fair project, and urged every visitor at my booth to sign a petition concerning the prospective Cape Cod windmills. I was an active member of my high school’s green team, a legacy that I hope will continue at Penn State.
This blog will act as a vent for my passion. I will discuss a wide range of environmental topics, ranging from climate change, to the Keystone Pipeline, to “clean coal.” I will attempt to address both sides of issues (when possible), although I will still present my opinion, and back it up as best I can. I would also love any feedback from any followers of my blog. If you would like to present a suggestion for a future topic, or if you’d simply like to debate me, I’d appreciate your response.
Finally, I shall end each of my blog posts with a suggestion about how you can help make Penn State a greener campus. Today, my suggestion is to try to take shorter, colder showers. Heating water requires an astonishingly high amount of energy, and aside from saving money and energy, cold showers can actually provide numerous health benefits (for more info, see http://thehealthylivinglounge.com/2010/02/15/12-essential-reasons-to-take-cold-showers/).
Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you’ll tune in next week for my first real topic!
Although there was an environmental club in my high school, I wasn’t involved in it and took physics rather than environmental science classes. I haven’t been particularly up-to-date on environmental issues since middle school, when earth science was a huge part of our required curriculum. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sacrifice hot showers seeing as the whole dorm-shower process is already relatively unpleasant, but the bright side of this unpleasantness is that I want to get out of the shower as soon as possible! So, I’ll try to make up for my use of heat by being in the shower for less overall time. Hopefully that seems like a decent compromise? I look forward to reading more of your green & clean campus tips in the coming weeks. 🙂
It’s good to see someone so passionate about the environment! Usually keeping a healthy environment is something that we all hear about, make reolutions for, and then forget about ten minutes later. It’s good to see someone taking initiative. I look forward to reading more blog posts in the future!
I really like this idea for your passion blog! I’d be interested to hear what ever happened to the petition that you were trying to get signed about the Cape Cod windmills. I’ve heard about the conflicting arguments about their presence off of the coast, but I haven’t heard what exactly happened with it all. I also like your idea of having a suggestion about how to be greener at the end of each post.
Wow, this is a really good blog post! It’s well written and has an interesting topic. I’m really curious to see what you think about global warming. And thank you for the clean campus tip!