Had the opportunity to speak to a class of sixth graders yesterday:

[predfan]

social studies class. I told them that when my grandfather was their age, the Wright Brothers made the first flight at Kitty Hawk. When I was their age, President Kennedy challenged America's brightest minds to go to the moon and back, and within 10 years they did.

And I told them that I think President Obama will challenge us, and them, to become energy independent, and did they understand what that meant. It was great! tThey started talking solar, wind, and since we've recently had some school buildings go to geo-thermal heating and cooling, one kid mentioned that.

Very exciting, and I actually think they got something out of it. Sharp kids.

[The2ndWheel]

1. The first flight, going to the moon, both increased the impact we have on the environment

If we're all going to become energy independent, by requiring dependence on solar, wind, and geo-thermal energy, that makes independence fairly impossible. So we will still continue to exist within physical reality, not independent of it, and our actions, no matter how clean or green, will continue to have consequences.

[Buzz Clik]

2. If our only source of energy was the sun, we'd still have an impact.

All living creatures impact their environment.

[The2ndWheel]

3. Exactly

That's why the concept of energy independence is ridiculous. The more energy we extract and harness from the environment, the greater our impact. We don't exist outside of existence.