Watt's in the News? - Volume 15

All of these resources provide support for the upper level of the BTU Crew: "Module 5 - Energy Usage in Buildings." In addition, they serve as a great introduction to the lessons high school students can learn in NC3 Data Analytics Certification #1 - "Harnessing the Power of Data" and Certification #2 - "Energy & Sustainability with Data Analytics".

"A look at energy transformations, past and present..."

The Past: 

One of America's first conservationists and considered by many to be the father of modern game management, Aldo Leopold, wrote the environmental classic, "A Sand County Almanac". A visionary in terms of conservation and sustainability, Leopold stated, "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." 

"A Sand County Almanac" was required reading for students in my Environmental Science classes and one of my favorite quotes is from his story of "Good Oak." 

“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”

-  Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

In his writings to help the reader understand where our energy comes from, Leopold symbolically talks of landowners using the shovel to give and the axe to take. His stories stress the importance of understanding the connections in nature and the role we play as a part of this natural world. It is only through understanding these connections that we can truly begin to sustain them. 

So today, while the symbolic tools of the shovel and axe still exist, man and machine have progressed in ways that can have a much greater impact on nature and society, creating rapid changes that can have both positive and/or negative impacts.