EGEE 101H

Reflective Essay: Beginning of the Semester

1/11/19
I don’t know many of the foundational concepts of energy and power, but I do know

some things in terms of conservation. I know that more CO2 goes into the air through the burning

of coal. This contributes to global warming because CO2 insulates the atmosphere and causes

the Earth to warm at an increased temperature. I understand that there are efforts to increase the

use of sun, water, and wind to create renewable energy, but that it is also very expensive to use

this type of energy. Additionally, I am aware that conserving energy by shutting the lights off

and unplugging appliances and chargers is good. However, I am not exactly sure about how our

daily use of appliances and light bulbs specifically affects the environment.

In this class, I want to learn the foundations and basic concepts related to energy and

power. I want to be able to have a conversation about this topic with confidence. Also, I hope to

have a deeper understanding of the problems confronting our earth and people. I am aware that

climate change is happening, but I am interested to learn about the various solutions that have

been proposed, and what the benefits and problems of each solution are.
EGEE 101H
Reflective Essay: Beginning of the Semester
1/11/19

I have learned a lot about energy since the beginning of the semester. At the beginning of the

semester, I said I didn’t understand the foundational concepts of energy and power, but that has now

changed. I now understand that energy is the capacity to do work and power is the rate of spending or

doing work. I used to say that you waste energy when you leave the lights on, but now I say you waste

power (which makes some of my friends laugh at my newfound energy knowledge). I also have learned a

little bit about how our daily use of appliances affects the environment. The last homework we did taught

me about this aspect, but I wish we talked about it more in class. After doing homework three, I learned

that all my household’s appliance uses result in burning approximately 64,031 lbs. of CO2. This number

can be decreased by hang drying our clothes, recycling aluminum, and switching to an electric car.

However, switching cars is not very plausible for my family because of how expensive cars can be. When

I get a car, I will definitely consider the total amount of pollution that is emitted and consider getting an

electric car.

In general, I think the most meaningful learning experiences have come from the reflective essay

we had to write in the middle of the semester and the semester presentations. While learning the basics is

important, I did find some of them boring, like learning the conversions. Although, I like how this class

didn’t put emphasis on memorizing the conversions, but rather on knowing how to do the conversions.

My reflective essay helped me learn more about coal and natural gas. I learned that coal contributes to a

large amount of emissions of CO2, leading to respiratory illnesses. I also learned that natural gas emits a

lot less CO2, but emits a good amount of methane during the fracking process to get natural gas. Putting it
EGEE 101H
Reflective Essay: Beginning of the Semester
1/11/19
in the context of Penn State, Penn State switched from coal to natural gas in 2016, which definitely helped

its environmental impact. However, the use of coal has caused me to question something that happened to

me. I got asthma in the fall of 2016. My doctor said that it could have resulted from a bad cold, but I

wonder if Penn State’s coal use had any contribution. In addition to learning about coal, I also learned a

lot about wind energy. It is a very cheap energy option, only costing between two and six cents per

kilowatt-hour, but has a large impact on indigenous communities due to the lack of due diligence

practices. Also, its availability depends on the frequency and speed of the wind, but can be stored through

grid operators and transported through transmission lines. I believe I will learn more about the effects of

different types of energy as I continue hearing other presentations.

Ultimately, I like that this class puts the material we learn in the context of the current energy and

environmental situation. The debate on the Green New Deal helped me learn more about attempts to solve

environmental threats through positive social and economic change. I like how the resolution addresses

the communities that will be affected by this change, mentioning disadvantaged and indigenous

communities, and how one of the goals is that these communities see the economic benefits from

switching to renewable energy resources. I think switching to renewable energy resources is important to

decrease our negative impact on the environment, but is going to be a slow change unless we start to

recognize the urgency of the situation.

Overall, I think this class taught me a lot about the past and current issues related to energy, and

how they can be viewed societally, politically, economically, technologically, and scientifically.