America the Beautiful

Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of what it takes to power the American way of life. I think, judging by this sign we encountered, you can tell it wasn’t pretty.

We did a poor job of following the sign's instructions. Sorry not sorry.

During our first day out of Denver, a 15.5 mile trip to Prairie View High School, we passed through Suncor Energy and the industrial park in which it is housed. Suncor’s name is deceiving; it actually has nothing to do with sunlight. Suncor is a tar sands oil refining company, the same stuff that would be pumped through the KXL Pipeline if built, and the same stuff that is destroying Alberta, Canada via the extraction process.

When we arrived at Suncor’s main office building, 4.8 miles into our walk, we staged a small performance. We were all wearing surgical masks over our faces, and my fellow marcher, Berenice, started to cough. Saying that she couldn’t breathe, she went to take her mask off, and everyone yelled:

“No, Berenice, no! The air is polluted! Keep your mask on!”

But she took it off and coughed harder, and then collapsed to the ground and “died.” Someone held a sign over her that said “Suncor-pse,” and we all grieved around her. This all took place on the lawn in front of Suncor’s company sign.

We carried Berenice to the cemetery across the street and laid her to rest in front of a tombstone, and I gave eulogy for her.

“Here lies Berenice Tompkins, dead from pollution from tar sands oil refineries like Suncor. She breathed the air and it killed her. What world are we living in where we have no clean air? Let Berenice’s death be a reminder to all of us of those who have been silenced, sickened, and killed by air pollution, and other forms of pollution that come from the oil and gas industry. Rest in peace, Berenice, you beautiful martyr.”

State of the State Ban Fracking Rally

On January 8^th, I traveled to Albany on a bus with other New Yorkers from Buffalo and Rochester. We protested hydraulic fracturing and demanded a statewide ban at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State Address.

            There were people there protesting/advocating for other things, such as the NY S.A.F.E. Act and medical marijuana. However, the anti-frackers definitely had the greatest attendance, with the final count coming to over 2,000 people! Our chanting definitely drowned out all other simultaneous protests. As we gathered in the hallway in front of the Convention Center, the police had to keep extending the protesting area farther and farther down the hall to accommodate all of us.

 

Me and my sign

 An awesome little girl standing up for New York

            There were lots of awesome signs, and I saw a group of people from Gas Free Seneca protesting. It really warmed my heart to see them there and spreading the news about what’s happening with our lake. To learn more about Seneca Lake and the potential danger of liquefied petroleum gas storage, go to gasfreeseneca.com.

This was probably the best sign I saw. It was beautifully painted!

Activism Spotlight & Suggested Reading: Obama's Climate Address

Suggested Reading

This week’s suggested reading is actually a suggested watching. If you haven’t already, I want you to watch President Barack Obama’s speech on climate change, in which he explains his plan for reducing carbon pollution and increasing renewable energy in the United States.

Whenever the President gives a speech or an address, I feel it is important for American citizens to watch and listen. However, this speech in particular is a historical one. Never before has a President delved into such a forward looking and comprehensive plan for the environment. If you truly care about the environmental cause and working for change, it is essential to understand the viewpoint of the government on the matter and the actions that are currently being taken. If there aren’t enough initiatives being carried out, we need to voice our opinions and fight for them, and if actions are being taken, we need to show our support.

If you want to know the opinion of our nation’s leader on climate change, and the actions he is taking to reduce America’s carbon footprint, then you need to watch his climate change address, given at Georgetown University on June 25th.

Picture courtesy of: http://news.yahoo.com/watch-obamas-climate-change-speech-turns-hes-talking-174716170.html

Crossroads Rally in Albany (June 17th)

Picture courtesy of: http://renewnrg.blogspot.com/2013/05/rally-in-albany-against-fracking-and.html

This was the promotion sign for the rally, dubbed New York Crossroads, that I attended in Albany today, right on the lawn and stairs of the capitol building.  To me, the message of the sign is simple. We have a choice in front of us to make, and it needs to be made now. We have reached the fork in the road. Do we pick dirty energy, fossil fuels, and environmental destruction (which in turn destroys us), or do we choose clean, green energy that will sustain us and our planet for an indefinite amount of time? To me, the choice seems obvious. But if it's as obvious as I think it is, I guess I wouldn't have been rallying in Albany earlier today.

 

Albany's Capitol Building

Guest Writer: The Future of Solar Energy

Please welcome this week's Guest Writer, Chris, who will be sharing his knowledge about photovoltaic cells, or as they're commonly known as, solar panels. Chris is a close friend of mine and he was excited to have an opportunity to write on this subject. The result was an intriguing article about solar energy that I can hardly wait to share!

Chris is a student from Penfield, New York. He is actively engaged in music, and was accepted to the All-Eastern Honors choir. He is an accomplished swimmer, as a sectional champion and second place state finalist. In addition, he has been actively involved in many medical interniships at the University of Rochester, as he intends to pursue a career in medical research. Though his career interest is in medicine, he has been interested in green technology and alternative energy since a young age. In 5th grade, he created a hydrogen fuel cell dispaly, with a hydrogen fuel cell he constructed himself. He has done amateur experimentation in fuel cell technology, as well as with photovoltaic cells and carbon zinc batteries. He is a strong advocate for alternative energy, and believes the future of global energy will come from human ingenuity.

Without further ado, I give you Chris's article, "The Future of Solar Energy."