Through the San Joaquin Valley Town Hall Lecture Series, Daniel Kammen, the climate adviser to the Obama Administration, gave a speech regarding clean energy, entitled “Time for a clean energy & low carbon economy,” at the William Saroyan Theatre, March 16.
Kammen was born in New York and studied physics at Cornell University and Harvard University. He is currently a professor of energy and society, public policy and nuclear engineering at University of California, Berkeley. He is also the director of the renewable and appropriate energy laboratory.
Although he majored in physics in college, and even wanted to become an astronaut, Kammen found his calling in the field of energy when he traveled to Nicaragua to help provide cleaner forms of energy.
“When I was in graduate school, I joined a group based in Berkeley that sent technical volunteers to Nicaragua,” Kammen said. “We worked on windmills and solar technologies all over Nicaragua. After a few more years, I saw all of the opportunities to find a job in energy.”
Town Hall Education Co-chair Joan Schoettler wanted to recruit Kammen to speak at the lecture series because she sees importance in having students learn about clean energy. Schoettler thinks that the students of today will become the future of the country, and should learn more about ways to help the environment.
“I wanted the students to learn why it is important to support clean, efficient and renewable energy systems,” Schoettler said. “I also wanted them to learn who will best represent them in government to help work towards making this world a better place.”
During the lecture, Kammen concentrated his talk on how California has progressed in its efforts to provide clean energy, and how the state’s energy choices have helped influence energy around the world. Even though he acknowledges California’s achievements, he still feels that California can do more as a leading state to help set an example for others.
“California has become one of the leaders in clean energy,” Kammen said. “We have passed laws to help increase the total percent of clean energy used in California. However, even though our pollution only counts for two percent of the pollution in the world, we still need to continue to strive for cleaner energy.”
Kammen not only stressed the environmental factor of investing in greener energy, but also emphasized the economic benefits. He believes that it will help the job market by providing plenty of new jobs for those who are unemployed.
“There is also a job benefit for using renewable resources for energy,” Kammen said. “Because these industries are so new, they will require a lot of people to help the infrastructure grow. It helps out both the economy and the environment.”
Kammen ended his talk by urging voters to keep pushing for stricter environmental laws, because he sees California as a leader in the renewable resources industry. He stressed his argument by saying that “everyone watches what happens here,” meaning that California sets an example for the rest of the world in terms of using cleaner and more environmentally friendly energy.
Sophomore Benjamin Ayala of Sunnyside High School attended the lecture because of his interests in clean energy for the future. Ayala sees how important it is for students to get involved and try to promote a cleaner environment.
“I am interested in finding a way to have affordable energy that is also clean,” Ayala said. “Later on, we will be on our own, so why not find a cleaner and better resource? I personally think solar energy will help out more in the future. Since I have solar panels in my home, I can see how valubable they are.”
Along the lines of Kammen’s focus, Planeteers Club at FC gives students the opportunity to help out the environment. Its purpose is to help students become more aware of environmental issues and how everyone can do simple things to help, like conserving energy.
Though the group may not be able to deal with renewable resources on such a large scale, they have attempted to do simple things to reduce their energy usage. The club has undertaken bi-monthly challenges, such as making sure that lights are turned off when not in use and switching to flourescent light bulbs, to help the club members do simple things to “be green.”
In addition, Planeteers Club has participated in planting shrubs in local parks, recycling programs at home football games and listening to guest speakers who teach about water conservation.
Through the Planeteers Club, sophomore Jessica Healy has gained information on natural resources and hopes to make changes to her daily routine in order to impact future generations.
“I have learned about how much people waste when it is really simple to not waste,” Healy said. “We can’t afford to waste the resources we have now. If we do, the next generation and the generation after that will not have anything left.”
The next lecture will feature Christopher Buckley, a political satirist, on April 20. For more information on the San Joaquin Valley Town Hall Lecture Series, read the Oct. 13, 2010 article, Rick Steves to give Town Hall lecture.
