Turn off the lights … save the planet?

Our Take

From the News Editor

Yes, Diana Christopulos and her companion Mark McClain are unabashed tree huggers, with the Cool Cities Coalition and the Sierra Club being major missions these days. The couple finished a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail earlier this year and spend much of their time talking about saving the earth – from actions as “minor” as passing out compact fluorescent light bulbs; those swirling, squiggly bulbs that use about 75 percent less energy than do the regular fluorescents, according to McClain.

He explained as much to several classes at William Byrd High School last week, trying along with Christopulos to elicit answers from students that may have been planning their Christmas break already.

Even if you do not believe that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, or if you question global warming itself, as does at least one columnist for this paper, the thought that human beings can help preserve what fossil fuel sources we have left for future generations by - for starters - recycling and turning off lights when someone leaves a room sounds easy enough. Unless you’ve tried to get teenagers to turn off lights.

McClain also spoke to students about the need to harvest sustainable energy sources - the ones that are replenished, like solar and wind. “The way we make and use energy needs to be addressed,” said McClain. Who knows, in two to four years, armed with college degrees, some of those kids last week at William Byrd may be designing more efficient collection systems for sustainable energy sources, perhaps inspired by the Salem couple’s presentation.

Wind energy, solar and geothermal could replace several hundred coal-fired plants by 2030 said McClain, if everyone climbs aboard the renewable energy bandwagon. Bio-fuels for vehicles, like those made with corn, are just a “stopgap” he added, one that puts pressure on the world’s food supply.

McClain pushed the “two percent solution,” asking students to reduce their own carbon fuel emissions 2% a year for the next 40 years, by driving less, recycling more, using those compact fluorescent bulbs, turning off unneeded lights and other appliances. Get involved said McClain, embrace a “conservation culture.”

Christopulos said the Cool Cities Coalition “are the people in the valley that say, hey, we need to do these things. We feel like we are part of the solution [and] hope you will be too.” The couple said they have reduced their own carbon footprint by 30% over the last two years and offer a worksheet at rvccc.org where others can figure out how much carbon dioxide they are pumping into the air.

Their presentation came about at the behest of Byrd guidance coordinator Patrick Patterson, who said “its good for our kids” to think about such things. Even for those that haven’t signed on to the global warming theory, if we can use up less fossil fuels, preserving them for future generations, while also developing renewable energy sources that could mean cleaner, healthier air – and more jobs for our children – doesn’t it make sense to move in that direction? Now if can just get our kids to turn off the lights when they leave a room …

(originally published in The Roanoke Star-Sentinel)