Realizing Our Potential

          The other day one of WMU's chemistry professors came into the class and explained the mechanics of global warming and green house gases. While some of the information was old news to me, there was a couple of things that really caught my attention and got me thinking. One tidbit that he told us was the fact that 85% of the United States' energy still comes from fossil fuels, with a mere 8% from nuclear and 7% from renewable resources. Now this information shocked me. I figured that of course our main source of energy would still be from fossil fuels but I thought it would not still be that high of a percentage. I assumed that with all of this talk about solar power this and wind power that, renewable energy definitely accounted for at least 15% of our nation's energy. The fact that we, as the most advanced country in the world, was still so dependent of oil troubled me. 

           Then the professor went on to tell us about the potential of renewable resources, in particular solar power. He told us that as of now, only 0.07% of our country's energy comes from solar energy. And then he went on to tells us that in one hour the amount of sunlight that hits the continental U.S. is enough energy to power the entire world for a year! That's insane! You mean to tell me that we have that much FREE energy just "laying around" and we only use a miniscule amount of it? I simply could not believe it. Our crisis of having enough energy for the whole world is literally right in front of us and we still don't use it? I don't know people but if that really is the case then we need to get our heads out of our asses and wake up.   

Getting It Started

             Hello all, my name is Patrick Schlaud. I am a student at Western Michigan University (Go Broncos!). This blog is part of a project for my environmental studies class. Throughout the month of April, and possibly longer, I will write blogs on the current studies and issues of global warming and its effects on our planet. I will do research on global warming and provide information on the issue. I will also give my own opinion on what I think personally about the information I dig up.
             I will also post comments and reactions to two books written by Bill McKibben, Hope, Human, and Wild and the book Eaarth. These two books are about the conservation of the environment and our impact on it. Finally I will research and record my own carbon footprint in my dorm and compare it to that of my mother's back home in North Branch, Michigan. I hope you all enjoy my blog and feel free to comment!