Sam Fuller

  1. The main point of this chapter is energy use on campus. More specifically the chapter is broken down into sections all pertaining to different aspects of energy use. The first section is how we perceive energy use. The section touches upon how different people view energy sources and how our perceptions can change based on our background, especially our experiences. Mitchell Thomashow points out that, “The most dynamic way to appreciate the necessity of energy is to experience a blackout, or to be without a form of consumable energy when you need it most” (Thomashow 24). The way we experience energy is a crucial way for us to understand it. Someone who grew up without a reliable source of energy and someone who did will probably have different perspectives. The next section is titled “Energy is Paramount”. This is a fitting title for today’s society because it is very accurate. Access to energy, fossil fuel, nuclear, renewable, or otherwise, is at the heart of many countries and their environmental policies. Energy runs our daily lives, our cars, factories, and industry. The next sections all touch on the us of energy on campuses, specifically how we can use clean energy in a sustainable that is good for the university and the planet. These sections outline the overall message of the chapter, that understanding how energy is perceived and used globally allows us to make a sustainable energy plan for college campuses.
  2. Something that really stuck out to me a few years ago about the natural world that I had never really noticed was the variety of species that we have in this area. When I first started to get and interest in birds I started to realize how many species we could get in New England and that birds like these were not only found in far away places.
  3. It is important to find common ground with people who don’t share the same perspectives on the environment because nothing will get done otherwise. If two opposing sides refuse to work together and find a solution than they will be nothing in place. Working together at least insures that some aspects of your perspective will be put into a policy or other legislative plans. Also, by distancing people we don’t agree with, we can close the minds of others. By working with opposing views, yours or theirs might change.
  4. To get started with an energy map at UNE teachers, students, administrators, trustees, and alumni should all get a say in the process. To create an energy map at UNE we would have to keep track of all the energy the school is using. Determining clean energy on campus is a crucial next step in an energy map. And finally the last step would be to create energy friendly infrastructure here on campus. The campus community would be more likely to change their energy behavior if they had the means to do so.
  5. I think a large-scale renewable energy source on campus would propel the University of New England to standing across the country. It would bring a lot of attention and it would be a main attraction for people who visit campus. I do agree with Thomashow on the perception of renewable energy on campus. It shows the the school wants to change for the better, and is willing to become an example of how campuses should be in the 21st century
  6. I think the “ah-ah” moment for me in this chapter was in the energy perception part. Obviously different people live very different lives, but I never really paid much attention to what that could mean for your perception of energy. As someone who grew up on an island were blackouts were common, I never really realized how this could change my perception of energy.