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Mr. Halloran had the encouraging news that the Aqueduct Authority is once again encouraging cisterns, that moves are afoot to exploit reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, and that composting toilets (using no water) may get a nod of approval as enlightened minds have more influence.  He closed by expressing his hope that bright young minds such as those at KWHS can turn things around once they get their hands on the controls.

The burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is a tremendous waste of a precious commodity and has a terrible cost to the environment.  One answer to this destruction is solar power... most commonly, solar panels using silicon to convert sunlight directly into electricity.

Americans waste an incredible amount of energy. They use over twice as much per capita as the residents of other advanced nations. Much of this waste can be eliminated without much inconvenience, for example, by using compact fluorescent light bulbs. Another large waste is in what solar people call "ghost loads;" appliances which draw current 24/7 such as cordless phones or televisions. Anything which has a remote, or a small black box plugged into the outlet draws current continuously. The amount in each case is small, but the cumulative demand constitutes a significant portion of America's electrical consumption.

Since a solar house has a finite amount of power available, solar living automatically teaches conservation. Residents in solar houses find that conserving is generally painless, and can produce virtuous feelings.

He highlighted what parts of the country are feasible for large-scale generation of electricity by wind power.  That generally does not include the southeast U.S., unfortunately, because wind is not strong or reliable enough.  Wind power holds much promise, though.  Worldwide, and to a lesser extent nationwide in the U.S., wind is supplying a greater percentage of electricity needs. 

Problems with wind energy are mainly with distribution and storage. Optimum wind for generating electricity is often far from where the power is needed... and generation depends on the strength of the wind rather than on demand for electricity.  (With fossil-fuel-powered plants, output can be increased to meet demand.)

Mr. Henize briefly touched on global warming, explaining to the students that among the numerous consequences of global climate change, some are more likely than others... and that some are wildly speculative.  For example, it is known that sea-level has risen approximately a foot in the last 100 years, and that the rate of rise is about twice as high now as at the beginning of the last century.  The rate at which it will continue to rise, however, is highly speculative.   He also touched on the subject of "feedback mechanisms " and how they can be either positive or negative... such as the loss of polar ice.  Ice and snow reflect sunlight very effectively, and as ice disappears at the poles and darker ground (or water) becomes exposed, more sunlight is absorbed, more heating... a positive feedback.  Warmer oceans means more evaporation, and in some places that means more clouds, which could shade some places and actually decrease warming... a negative feedback.  Many such reactions occur in nature, and a lot of the consequences of global warming will be impossible to predict.

The merits and satisfaction of growing some of one's own food, as well as the peace of mind knowing that the food is healthy and fresh and pesticide-free, were key points of her presentation. She also stressed the environmental merits of hydroponics as it uses far less water and nutrients to produce the food, and does not contribute to ground water contamination by nitrates and phosphates.