The eesmarts student contest invites K

Transcription

2014
The eesmarts student contest invites K-12 students
across Connecticut to enhance their skills in science,
writing and technology. Students answered grade
level-specific prompts regarding efficient and renewable
energy technologies in a variety of formats including
limericks, news articles, presidential speeches, song
lyrics, persuasive essays and posters. Now in its ninth
year, the 2014 eesmarts student contest drew over
1,000 entries from across Connecticut.
Energize Connecticut helps you save money and use clean energy. It is an initiative of the Energy Efficiency Fund, the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority,
the State, and your local electric and gas utilities, with funding from a charge on customer energy bills.
2014
KINDERGARTEN
Zairah Farid Salma K. Farid Academy (Hamden)
Paige Keough Saint Martha School (Enfield)
Cali Purcaro St. Peter/St. Francis School (Torrington)
GRADE 1
Aliza Ali Salma K. Farid Academy (Hamden)
Nathaniel Goldschmidt University of Hartford Magnet School
(West Hartford)
Zoe Miller St. Peter/St. Francis School (Torrington)
GRADE 2
Joshua Eckel Saint Martha School (Enfield)
Salma J. Farid Salma K. Farid Academy (Hamden)
Gianna Gilmore Saint Martha School (Enfield)
GRADE 3
Victor Bazinet CREC International Magnet School
(South Windsor)
Yash Bhandari
Newfield Elementary (Stamford)
Trinayaan Hariharan
CREC International Magnet School
(South Windsor)
Lauren Konefal John Lyman School (Middlefield)
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2014
GRADE 4
Paige Brooks Worthington Hooker Middle School (New Haven)
Angelina Landolfi Worthington Hooker Middle School (New Haven)
Karina McMahon Burr Elementary School (Fairfield)
GRADE 5
Yann Calderwood Walsh Intermediate (Branford)
Faiz Farooqui Helen Street School (Hamden)
Kaleigh Spencer Barkhamsted School (Barkhamsted)
GRADE 6
Bryce Coudriet St. Peter/St. Francis School (Torrington)
Brendan McMahon Tomlinson Middle School (Fairfield)
Elizabeth Terry John Winthrop School (Bridgeport)
GRADE 7
Michael Gingras John Winthrop Middle School (Deep River)
Caroline Landry John F Kennedy Middle School (Enfield)
Nihal Wadhwa
Hillcrest Middle School (Trumbull)
GRADE 8
Michael McMahon
Tomlinson Middle School (Fairfield)
Kelsi Page
St. Peter/St. Francis School (Torrington)
Joey Persechino
St. Peter/St. Francis School (Torrington)
Jacob Spell
St. Aedan - St. Brendan School (New Haven)
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2014
GRADE 9–12
Charles Kuchenbrod
Greater Hartford Academy of Math
Matt Cohen
and Science (Hartford)
David Lagace
Jeremy Ray
Katelyn Rutty
Anuj Sisodiya
Trumbull High School (Trumbull)
Jenny Tang
The Academy of Aerospace and
Janaya Boddie
Engineering (Hartford)
Seeya Sodani
Trumbull High School (Trumbull)
Shravan Wadhwa
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2014
Zairah Farid
Kindergarten
Salma K. Farid Academy, Hamden, Conn.
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2014
Paige Keough
Kindergarten
Saint Martha School, Enfield, Conn.
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2014
Cali Purcaro
Kindergarten
St. Peter/St. Francis School, Torrington, Conn.
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2014
Aliza Ali
Grade 1
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2014
Nathaniel Goldschmidt
Grade 1
University of Hartford Magnet School, West Hartford, Conn.
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2014
Zoe Miller
Grade 1
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2014
Joshua Eckel
Grade 2
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2014
Salma J. Farid
Grade 2
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2014
Gianna Gilmore
Grade 2
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2014
Victor Bazinet
Grade 3
CREC International Magnet School, South Windsor, Conn.
The Boy Who Never Recycled
One hot summer day in Stephensville where
the grass never grew and the trees were
dead, a boy and girl named Susan and Joe
were walking to school. “This town is a rotten
apple!” said Joe. “Because someone never
recycles!” said Susan giving an evil look at
Joe, Joe knew she was talking about him.
Soon Joe and Susan arrived at school.
During school they had to clean up the whole
school for their action project, that day Joe
collected 5 water bottles, 1 box and 2 paper
bags. Today they only had to recycle the
water bottles but Joe threw them away.
“JOE YOU ARE GOING TO MISS YOUR RECESS
TODAY!” said Mr. Henry.
In art they are working on paintings of
recyclables so that the school knows what to
recycle. Mrs. Martinez wants us to share are
ideas of what we are going to paint, so the
class can add on to make a stronger idea.
Susan said that she will “paint the recycling
symbol” for the project, Ethan chose to paint
all the things he found at recess that where
recyclable.
But Joe didn’t paint anything about recycling,
but what he did paint was the garbage
monster.
“But why and I want to go to recess!” said
Joe. “Because you did not recycle the bottles
and that kills the Earth” said Mr. Henry. Joe
moaned as he walked into line next to his
sister. “Oooooh, you got in trouble,” said
Susan.“Be quiet!” Joe mumbled. “I told you to
recycle!” said Susan. During recess Joe sat on
the bench and Mr. Henry sat next to him and
said “I want to tell you a story.”
“OK,” so Mr. Henry started, “one time in a land
just like this there was a boy just like you. He
never recycled and one day the garbage
was so full that it turned into a big garbage
monster and destroyed the whole land and it
used the boy as a slave and made him do his
chores and feed the monster!”
“JOE!” screamed Mrs. Martinez “WHAT IS
THAT?” she added.
By the time Mr. Henry was done with the story
recess was over and they had to go inside for
art. “Joe did not participate today, so don’t let
him trick you” said Mr. Henry to Mrs. Martinez.
“OK,” said Mrs. Martinez, “I’ll remember,” she
added.
At that very second Mr. Henry walked in to the
room to pick us up for dismissal. When he saw
Mrs. Martinez yelling at me …“WHAT IN THE
WORLD IS GOING ON?!” he screamed at the
class. “Joe drew an ugly garbage monster,”
tattled Susan. Be quiet Susan, and why do
you tattle!” said Joe.
“It’s the, ummmmmmm, garbage monster,”
said Joe. “WHAT IS A GARBAGE MONSTER?!”
Mrs. Martinez told me, “and I drew this to
prove him wrong!” added Joe.
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Victor Bazinet
Grade 3
“You two both be quiet, and Joe come with
me in the hallway!” said Mr. Henry.
Joe gave an evil look at Susan then walked in
the hallway with Mr. Henry, “what happened
in art?” asked Mr. Henry. “I drew the garbage
monster to prove you that it isn’t real, and
showed the picture to the class,” said Joe.
“But it is real, that is why we picked up the
recyclables outside,” explained Mr. Henry.
“And come on the class is waiting for us,”
added Mr. Henry. As Joe and Mr. Henry
walked in the room Susan stuck her tongue
out at Joe, he got so mad that he dumped
all of the recycling in the garbage.
“The garbage monster is goanna get you,”
taunted Susan. “The garbage monster isn’t
real,” said Joe. Soon Susan and Joe stopped
arguing and were dismissed and went on the
bus to go home.
When they got home Susan ran straight to
mom and tattled on Joe and because of that
he went straight to bed after dinner. When
mom tucked Joe in he asked her, “is the
garbage monster really real?” “What do you
think?,” she answered.
When Joe woke up he felt good for standing
up to Mr. Henry yesterday, but when he got to
school …“Aaaaaaah!” he saw the teachers
and the children running out of the school
with scared faces as they were screaming
with terror.
“What is going on around here?” he asked
himself. “There is an ugly beast that looks like
your painting, and Mr. Henry says it’s because
of you!” a voice screamed, “and now we can’t
use any knew things and we can’t recycle!”
the voice added.
“There is only one way to defeat the beast,
and it is to recycle so we have more resources
like plastic and the monster will be defeated!”
So that is what he did, he walked up to the
monster and picked out all of the recyclables
and threw them in the recycling bin. He recycled all the water bottles, boxes and paper
bags. And the faster he did the smaller the
monster got.
“Reduce, reuse and recycle!” Joe shouted with
all his might.
The monster was destroyed, and the land had
new and improved resources!
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2014
Yash Bhandari
Grade 3
Newfield Elementary, Stamford, Conn.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Story of a can, a shoe and a light bulb
There once lived a can, a shoe and a light bulb in a house with humans. Even
though they were made of different material they knew that Earth had limited
resources for them and that it was important to conserve. They wanted to make
sure that the Earth had enough resources for their future generations.
The can, the shoe and the light bulb noticed that the humans they were living
with were not recycling, reducing or reusing. This made the objects furious. The
objects made a plan to make the humans change their ways. So whenever a
human turned on a light the light bulb kept blinking until the lights went out.
Every time a human put the shoe on, it went in every mud puddle until it was
worn out. And every time a human threw a can inside the garbage bin it
exploded throwing garbage all over the place.
One day by accident the human put a can in the recycling bin. The can did
not explode. The human repeated it a few times and realized the can never
exploded when it was recycled. Once they started recycling the can they
realized that they needed to do the same with the light bulb and the shoe
but this time reduce and reuse.
The humans realized that they needed to start recycling, reducing and reusing.
This made the objects happy and they stopped protesting.
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2014
Trinayaan Hariharan
Grade 3
The Battle of the Three R’s
Once there lived 2 villages, one was Gospenville
and the other was Robinville. People in Robinville
always recycled, reused and reduced the garbage that they could. But people of Gospenville
did not want to recycle, reuse or reduce the
garbage.
One day two men, Johnny from Gospenville and
Albert from Robinville, started talking to each
other. “How is your village, do you like it?”
Johnny asked Albert. Albert said his village is a
nice place to live as they always recycled what
they could. But Johnny said disposing in garbage
is better than recycling. Then they started to
argue about advantages of recycling. Johnny
said “There should be a debate about recycling.”
So they went home and told everyone in the
village that we have to get ready for the debate.
The next day they went to the debate and they
came up with an idea “that we should make
machines out of what we are standing up for”
then everyone stated saying “we are going to
make the best machine” then left the court.
Robinville said that they would their machine
“Recycling Warrior.” But Gospenville said that
they would call their machine “Waste Devour.”
The battle began to start Recycling Warrior said
“I can do this, I can help the world.”
Waste Devour said “he looks like my dinner
today.”
They both battled each other badly and Recycling warrior said “it is all your people that lived in
your village that made us fight and be mad.”
“WHY DO WE HAVE TO FIGHT?!” said Recycling
Warrior But Waste Devour did not answer.
Recycling Warrior had solar panels so he used
his energy and smashed the Waste Devour to
the ground! Waste Devour was gone. It was a
miracle!
Robinville won!
Recycling Warrior felt sooooo happy!
“WE MUST ALWAYS CONSERVE EARTH LIMITED
RESOURCES!” Screamed Recycling warrior in
jubilant voice!
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2014
Lauren Konefal
Grade 3
John Lyman School, Middlefield, Conn.
“Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.” Ashley
wondered what was making that noise.
cided to answer so the boy would leave poor
little defenseless Shelby alone.
On this beautiful August day, Ashley, her
mother, her father, and her older sister MacKenzie were at a California beach. Ashley’s
sister MacKenzie was 12 years old, and Ashley
was 10 years old. Ashley had eyes the color
of dark chocolate and golden brownish hair.
Ashley loved animals and the environment
more than anything. She was so kind that she
would do anything to help save an animal’s
life. The one thing that made her mad was
littering. When Ashley was little, she sometimes asked what littering was. Her mother
said that it was throwing things like aluminum
cans, plastic, and garbage onto the ground
or in the environment and polluting it. She
said that many times animals can die from
litter or get really sick by getting stuck in the
garbage or eating it.
“Well, I am saving this baby sea turtle who got
stuck in this soda can,” Ashley said uneasily.
She was sure this boy would not leave her
alone. Fortunately, she was saved by MacKenzie.
Ashley sat up from her lounge chair. She
gasped as she saw a soda can with a little
green head peeking out of the hole cracked
in the side of the can. Looking straight at
her was an adorable baby sea turtle! Ashley
felt salty tears trickling down her face. At the
same moment, she carefully opened the top
of the awful soda can and let the turtle that
she named Shelby crawl out of the can and
into her soft hand. “That tickles!” laughed
Ashley as Shelby crawled around Ashley’s
hand as if her hand was Shelby’s stage. Shelby was a lot happier when Ashley rescued her
than when she was trapped inside that nasty
soda can.
“Hey, what are you doing with my soda can?”
said a boy that looked about MacKenzie’s
age. Although Ashley was scared, she de-
“Leave my sister and her turtle alone,” MacKenzie told the boy who said his name was
Robert. Ashley was thankful to have her older
sister by her side.
Ashley said, “If that soda can is so special
to you, why did you litter the beach with it?
You are polluting and wasting the Earth’s
natural resources. Did you know that it takes
hundreds of years for a soda can to decompose? It ruins the environment so people
and animals cannot live in it. Turn your trash
into something new and that will keep it out
of landfills, out of oceans, and off the sides
of the road. Reduce, reuse, recycle is what
you should do.” Although Ashley was shy, she
found it easier to speak to people if you feel
strongly about something and really mean
what you are saying.
“Well . . . okay, I did not know that,” shouted
Robert who now was feeling bad about
littering.
By now, there were three other boys standing around Ashley. One of the boys had red
hair, one boy had black hair, and the third
boy had dirty blonde hair. They introduced
themselves as Roy, Jack, and Conrad. After
talking for a while, the boys and Ashley decided to make “Please Do Not Litter – Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle” posters, “Conserve the Earth’s
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2014
Lauren Konefal
Grade 3
John Lyman School, Middlefield, Conn.
Limited Natural Resources” posters, and “Turn
Your Trash Into New Things” posters and hang
them up around town.
Conrad’s dad was the mayor so Conrad got
special permission for the group to hang
the posters at the mall, town center, grocery
stores, and at the beaches. Conrad’s dad
told Ashley that her enthusiasm and dedication to saving the Earth’s limited natural
resources and preserving wildlife was wonderful. Ashley was so excited!
Together Ashley, MacKenzie, the four boys,
and some school friends set out to create the
posters so they could make a big difference
in their community by helping educate people on the terrible effects of littering and wasting the Earth’s limited natural resources.
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2014
Paige Brooks
Grade 4
Worthington Hooker Middle School, New Haven, Conn.
Did you know that everyone can do their part in saving energy? There are simple
ways a family can save energy in their home. Parents and children can do
different things to help save energy.
Children can save energy in their home. An easy way to save energy is by making
sure you don’t take long showers everyday because heating the water uses a lot
of energy. Also, during the day, instead of turning on the lights, you can pull the
shade up and let the sunshine brighten your house. Don’t forget that when
you’re charging your electronics, such as your IPod, IPhone, or laptops, you
should unplug the charger as soon as the batter is full so that energy is not
being wasted.
Parents can save energy in the home, too! Mom and the dad should cook more
food in the microwave because it takes less time to cook food and so less energy
will be used. A good way for parents to wash clothes is to wash them by using
their hands or use cold water in the washing machine. They can also hang their
clothes outside on a clothes line to dry them on nice days. Another way parents
can save energy is by using LED light bulbs. These are good to use because
they’re environmentally friendly and last longer [17 years]. It is important that they
turn off electrical items when not in use.
Saving energy is easy to do. So take my advice, or visit the Smart Living Center in
Orange, CT to learn even more! Thanks for reading my article about energy!
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2014
Angelina Landolfi
Grade 4
Worthington Hooker Middle School, New Haven, Conn.
Get cents by making sense!
Save energy!
My class and I went to the Smart Living Center
and all of the tour guides told us how to save
energy, be energy efficient, and how to do it
in your home. This is some information on how
to do that.
Well if you want to save energy and money,
then you’re better off buying Energy Star products. Energy Star uses less energy and sves you
money! Here is another way to save energy:
you can just use less light and heat! Like if you
want to turn on a lamp. You have two types of
light. One is an LED light (Light Emitting Diode)
and one is an incandescent light. You would
turn on the LED because LED is 98 percent light
and 2 percent heat! The incandescent light is
10 percent light and 90 percent heat. Now let’s
learn more!
When you want to save energy, you might think
you would get fewer chores done. Well, that’s
not true! You can get the same amount done
and use less energy. For instance, instead of
using a lamp with three light bulbs, use a lamp
with one. It’s that simple! Also, use products
made by a program called Energy Star. They
use less energy in their products! In addition,
with Energy Star, you can save more money!
Another tip: don’t leave electronics running
when you aren’t using them, and don’t take 30
minute showers. Instead, read a book, or take
10 minute showers. That way you don’t have to
stress out about your electric bill anymore! It’s
that easy!
Do you ever find yourself saying, “I have a big
family, so I need to use more energy?” Well at
the Smart Living Center we learned that no
matter what the size of your family is, you can
still save lots of energy. So, here are some tips:
You might need to dry your clothes in the summer, and you use the clothes dryer. Instead,
you can save energy by putting them on a
clothesline outside! Also, when you have to
dry your hair, instead of using a hairdryer, you
can just air dry it. At the Smart Living Center
we learned that hairdryers waste lots and lots
of energy. Just know that no matter how many
people you have in your home, you can
still save energy by following some of my
energy-saving tips.
Thank you for reading my article! I hope you
learned a lot about how to save energy. Just
know that it’s super simple to save energy. Don’t
forget to go the Smart Living Center and see all
of the wonderful things for yourself!
20
2014
Karina McMahon
Grade 4
Burr Elementary School, Fairfield, Conn.
Energy Alert! Tips on Making Your Home
More Energy Efficient
is one way you can save energy. But there are
many different ways you can make sure you’re
using your lights in your house efficiently. If you
Is your energy bill getting more expensive every change your normal light bulbs with compact
time you look? Maybe it’s time you start thinking fluorescent light bulbs it will definitely make a
about making good choices for using energy
difference. Compact florescent light bulbs are
efficiently. First of all the reason your bill is so
more energy efficient because they use less
high is because you are probably leaving lights energy and last longer. You save money
on, taking long showers and leaving your heat because you don’t have to buy as many.
system on.
Also taking a speedy shower instead of a long
Do you know why it is important to save enerleisurely one, you will notice your bill already
gy? There are several reasons we want to save inching down because you’re using less hot
energy. One reason is because it costs money. water. If you check your water heater at home
The more electricity and energy you waste, the the temperature might be higher than you
more you pay. And you really don’t want to pay need it. If you just lower it you will be making the
for the wasted energy.
heat lower, which reduces energy.
Another reason we want to use our energy
efficiently is because it is better for the environment. You might be thinking how does using
my energy wisely help the earth? Energy is actually made from resources from the environment
such as coal and oil. These two fuels go into
power plants and are generated into energy
which adds to pollution around Connecticut
and around the world. There are other ways
to make power that is cleaner and doesn’t
pollute the earth such as wind turbines and
solar power.
You might want to know just how to save
energy in your house. Saving energy is as
simple as 1 2 3! Here are a few tips:
Just by simply turning the lights off when you
are not in that room, or when there is daylight
Recently you might have been looking for appliances. Have you thought about an energy efficient refrigerator or dryer? Energy Star certified
appliances are 10 to 50 percent cheaper to use
because they run more energy efficiently. So
the next time you’re thinking about going shopping for appliances think about getting some
Energy Star Certified appliances. Just look for
the big sticker that says Energy Star to save your
money.
Another way people waste energy is by leaving their heat and air conditioning constantly
running. One way to save energy faster is to set
your heat and air system to a certain amount of
time so when you leave the house your heat or
air conditioning isn’t on. Another
easy way to save is by not turning your heating
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2014
Karina McMahon
Grade 4
Burr Elementary School, Fairfield, Conn.
and cooling to an unreasonable temperature. If you set it not too high or not too low it
won’t use up so much energy.
improvements for saving energy. These are
two programs that are worth thinking about
for making your house more energy efficient.
To conserve energy you can also try not
to go on video games and the computer.
If you limit all this you will easily be saving
money and energy. It is easy to always turn
off the T.V. so it isn’t running and same with
phones, tablets, and computers. Leaving
plugs for video games always in also is
adding money to your bill. So if you always
take the plugs out you might notice a slight
drop with the money you’re spending for the
energy that you waste.
For more information there are even some
websites to help you save as much energy
possible! Go to energizeCT.com which is a
website that will help people in Connecticut
learn more and get ideas for conserving energy. It talks on the basics and most important tips on making your house an energy
efficient place. Now you are ready to start
saving money and energy in your home.
Next week check out our next energy friendly article on energy solutions for businesses!
If you’re willing to spend more and create
a bigger project you can think about solar
panels. Solar panels work by taking particles
of light from the sun and generating electricity. As you’re driving on the streets you might
notice some houses in Fairfield have solar
panels on the roofs. They are trying to conserve energy. This is another way you can
save some energy.
Source: energizect.com
There are even some specific programs
in Connecticut for saving energy. Home
Energy Assessments is a program that is a
good way to get started. One of their workers comes to your house and checks your
heating and cooling and they check for air
leaks to show you how you can make everything run more energy efficient. They will
also tell you reasonable improvements for
your home. Another good program is Home
Performance with Energy Star. Home Performance with Energy Star focuses on the best
22
2014
Yann Calderwood
Grade 5
Walsh Intermediate, Branford, Conn.
Down a spooky street named “The Lifted Lorax”
came a little boy looking for the house of the
mysterious Onceler. He found it and waited
at the crooked front step. Once he paid, the
Onceler began telling his story of the Lorax.
When the Onceler was young, he came to the
place he lives now except it had many trees
and animals. The Onceler started chopping
trees down when up popped a strange creature named the Lorax. The Lorax explained that
he should stop chopping trees because this
was his home. The Onceler ignored the Lorax
and called upon his whole family to come and
chop trees and use them in polluting factories to make thneeds (things that everybody
needs). As a result the barb-ba-lootes had to
move out because there was not enough trufala fruit from the trufala trees for them to eat.
Next the Swamee-swans left because the air
was polluted and they could not sing. Finally,
the Humming fish left because their water was
polluted. When the last trufala tree was cut
down the Lorax looked very sad and disappeared leaving behind a pile of rocks on which
the word “unless” was engraved. Finally, when
the story was over, the Onceler gave the last
trufala seed to the boy saying that he now understood why the Lorax left the word unless. The
Lorax left this word, because ‘unless’ a little boy
cares an awful lot nothing is going to get better.
I think the author’s message is that polluting is
a big problem and has major consequences
for all living things. For example the Lorax has to
send away all his animal friends because the
air and water are polluted and are not safe to
breath or drink. Another message the author is
conveying is that overuse of natural resources,
like wood, leads to destruction of habitat and
loss of food sources for animals. Greed is the
general cause of mass destruction like this. In
this story, the Onceler is the greedy one and
does not care about the consequences of his
actions on the animals. I know this because
the Lorax warned the Onceler not to chop any
more trees down but he ignored the Lorax and
even invited his whole family come and cut
down more trees. Finally, the author concludes
the story by saying that, unless people start
caring a lot more about protecting the environment, the Earth could end up deserted like The
Street Of The Lifted Lorax.
I liked the book because the author talks about
a serious matter in a playful way. For example, in the book, all the animals are called silly
names but they tragically have to abandon
their homes and leave to find a better and safer
place. I think this is a much more effective way
to convince people to help protect the environment than being a dictator and saying, “DON’T
pollute!” Personally I am much more willing to
learn a lesson from my parents, teacher, or
coach if it is taught with humor. I wonder who
or what the Lorax represents in this book. I think
the Lorax is a personification of Nature because
the Lorax comes out of a tree trunk to warn the
Onceler and he keeps trying to save nature.
This book is good to influence children because of its simple format, which is easy to understand. For example the world is so simplistic
that it only contains one type of tree and three
types of animals. Also the children are auto-
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2014
Yann Calderwood
Grade 5
Walsh Intermediate, Branford, Conn.
matically on the side of the animals because
of their silly names and lovable attitudes. Since
the animals are the victims of pollution and
deforestation, the readers will understand
the importance of keeping the environment
healthy. On the other hand the Onceler is so
mysterious, spooky and greedy that nobody
wants to be a polluter like him. Finally, the
author is specifically talking to kids and telling
them that they can make a difference if they
care enough. They can be the kid who plants
the last trufala seed and change the world.
24
2014
Faiz Farooqui
Grade 5
Helen Street School, Hamden, Conn.
The Lorax
The Lorax is a wonderful book by Dr. Seuss about
what happens if we don’t conserve our natural
resources. This book is about the Lorax and the
greedy Onceler. The book tells you about the tale
of how a boy searching for answers goes to the
Onceler in the ruins of a land, to seek out some
information. The Onceler tells the boy his story and
how the place got wrecked and even more, how
he can save it. He also explains what the Lorax is
and what happened to him.
In my opinion, the theme of this story is that when
we get selfish with our earth’s natural resources,
we come to regret it. The Onceler was very selfish
by using all the beautiful Truffula trees to make
“Thneeds”. The Lorax warned him and told him
to stop, but he kept chopping down more trees.
Eventually, he used them all up and he soon came
to regret his decisions. The place that was once a
beautiful paradise that was home to many creatures was now a dark, barren, and lonely place
because of his careless actions. He used all the
Truffula trees, which were the natural resources for
all the creatures that lived there. The fish, the birds,
the bears and all the other creatures had to
leave to find more natural resources and he felt
remorseful because it was his actions that lead
them to leave.
The book gives children a healthy understanding
of what happens when you don’t conserve our
precious resources by making them think of what
happens if they become the Onceler or someone
else who didn’t understand this. Kids think of the
Onceler as the villain, and kids do not want to be
villains. They start thinking of how they can be the
heroes and by doing that; they start thinking of how
to solve the problem. When they come to thinking
about solutions, they find that simple things like
picking up litter, turning off the lights when they’re
not in use, turning the faucet off when you’re
done using it, using the washing machine and
dryer only when full and other small things like this
are all part of the solution. Kids realize that many
of the solutions can be done right at home or in
school quite easily and they begin to help conserve
resources and decrease pollution.
I think that everything about this book gives a
positive and powerful message that can solve
world problems while keeping it easy for kids to
understand. This book was also written in a way
that children would enjoy. I really appreciated
the plot of the book, which made the whole book
interesting for me. After reading the book, I could
clearly see the effects of pollution and why it’s
important for us to conserve our natural resources.
I started noticing things like people littering,
garbage on the street or even the smoke that
came out of factories. All this reminded me of
what happened in the book and I found myself
thinking of what would happen to our world if we
continue to treat it this way.
In conclusion, the Lorax gives kids a better
understanding of the effects of pollution and why
we need to conserve our resources. In the book,
the Onceler started by chopping just one tree. It all
starts with one single little thing that may not seem
like a lot. If everyone littered just one piece of trash
on the street, the world would be filled with trash. If
everyone decided to do one thing to conserve our
resources or avoid pollution, then in no time, our
world would also be a very clean place. Before the
Lorax left, he had left one final message- unless.
Unless we care about the Earth, we will never be
able to help.
25
2014
Kaleigh Spencer
Grade 5
Barkhamsted School, Barkhamsted, Conn.
Can you imagine a cut down forest with
smoke in the air and not a living thing in sight?
In The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss this is what a forest
once filled with Tuffula Trees turned into. This
book is an extremely interesting story. It has a
great message that everyone should know. In
this essay, I will also tell you my opinion of this
book and how this book helps kids understand
the importance of conserving our natural
resources and conserving energy.
Let me explain The Lorax, so you can understand this essay better. At the beginning, a boy
goes to the Once-ler to hear the story of the
Lorax. The Once-ler told the story to the boy:
The Once-ler went and cut down the Truffula
trees to make Thneeds even though the Lorax
told him to stop. All of the animals who lived in
the forest had to leave- the factory the Onceler built destroyed the environment. Soon, all
the Truffula Trees were gone and nothing was
left. The Lorax got lifted away through a hole
in the smoke.-Then the Once-ler gave the boy
the last Truffula Tree seed so he could attempt
to grow a new Truffula Tree.
Let’s take a look at the message of The Lorax:
be caring to the environment or nothing will
be left. In the story, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the
Swomme-Swans, and the Humming Fish all
had to leave. The Thneed factory had polluted
the air and water. All the Truffula Trees got
cut down as well. This once beautiful forest
turned into a lifeless, polluted, cut-down forest
because the Once-ler didn’t care. As you
can see, this is a very important message
for everyone.
Next, I’d like to tell my opinion and understanding of this book. The understanding seems
pretty obvious: don’t pollute. I liked how Dr.
Seuss told the story though. Dr. Seuss had the
Once-ler told the story to the boy instead of
just having the story happen. Dr. Seuss didn’t
say ‘don’t pollute’ openly, he disguised it in
an interesting story. This made reading it a lot
more exiting.
Lastly, this book helps children understand
the importance of conserving natural recourses and conserving energy. The Lorax shows
what would happen if we don’t conserve our
environment. Everything would leave, smoke
would fill the air, and things would go extinct
like the Truffula Trees. The story tells kids that
if we always take and never give back to the
world the world will turn into an ugly, barren,
place. The Lorax shows that if we pollute the
air with smoke, the sky doesn’t stay blue, and
if we through waste in the water, the fish won’t
be able to swim.
In conclusion, The Lorax is a great picture
book with a wonderful story. It has a great
message that everyone needs to know.
I like how Dr. Seuss told this story and the
understanding of it: don’t pollute. This
book helps children understand the importance of conserving natural recourses and
conserving energy. Clearly, everyone should
read The Lorax.
26
2014
Bryce Coudriet
Grade 6
EE Smarts
We, the Coudriet family, in order to save money, will establish a set of rules. We will establish
rules for saving energy. Our electricity bill is too
expensive to pay. We are going to be more
efficient and be more aware of when we leave
on our lights on. Also, be more aware of saving
energy.
By being more aware, we are going to save
energy by unplugging our chargers from the
outlets when we are done using them, look
for energy star-qualified TVs, plug electronics
into a power strip, and turn off the lights when
we are not in the room. By turning the lights
off, we could save 10 to 20 percent of our total
household electricity usage. Ten percent of
our household energy use is used on the TVs,
DVD players, cable or satellite boxes, gaming
consoles, lamps, stereo equipment, computers, printers, and phone and mobile device
chargers. Also, 90% of the energy our washer
uses goes to heating the water.
In the summer, people’s electricity bills go up
in cost because of air conditioners. There are
many different ways to save money by not
using air conditioners. Instead you could block
the sun, insulate your walls, install attic insulation, close unused air vents, or plant trees.
Another way you could save money by not
using air conditioners is by using a small fan
that does not use a lot of energy. By doing this
your electric bills in the summer will go down.
During the winter, people are spending a lot
of money on oil for heating their houses. Now
a day the price for oil has gone up. There are
many other ways to keep our house warm in
the winter. To keep our house warm, we could
cover all bare floors, do not block air vents, get
an energy efficient heat pump, and get a programmable thermos stat. To keep our house
warm without spending a lot of money these
steps will help.
The electric water heater is one of the biggest
consumer of power in anyone house. If you
limit your showers to 30% of shower time, we
could save both water and power. I think engineers should create a more efficient solar water heating system. In the meantime, we could
save energy with water heating by always
washing with cold water, turn off water heater
if you leave home for a couple of days, reduce
water heater temperature, shorten showers,
make sure you are washing a full load of laundry, and install a timer for water heater. These
steps will help you save money and power.
There are many different ways to save energy
and money. A more efficient way to save
energy is to install Energy Star products. Using
environmental resources like the sun rays,
harnessing the wind power, and using more
biodegradable products will help us to be
more efficient. Using these types of efforts to
make these changes will help us to conserve
energy and the environment. Being more
efficient is a better lifestyle.
So we, the Coudriet family, in order to save
money, will follow these rules to lower our
electricity bill. These are the rules we will
establish for saving energy. Now our energy
bill not as expensive to pay. Now we will be
more efficient and more aware of when we
leave our lights on. Also, we will now be more
aware of saving energy.
27
2014
Brendan McMahon
Grade 6
Tomlinson Middle School, Fairfield, Conn.
Family Energy Constitution
Dear Mom and Dad,
Our family should adopt an energy constitution in order to save money, and most importantly, preserve the environment. To do this
there are many things we can and should do.
A great way to start would be to get compact
fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs can last
up to 10 times longer than normal light bulbs.
Also they use up to 75% less energy than your
average incandescent light bulb. These compact fluorescent light bulbs may be more expensive, but they are a great long term investment for our family to make, because in the
long run they last longer so we won’t have to
keep stocking up on the other light bulbs. LED
lighting is another option because it also more
efficient and even more long lasting but it is
more expensive.
Energy Star Appliances are another great
thing for our family to think about. These are
appliances that have been certified as more
energy efficient and will help us save money.
When we are searching for an appliance, we
should look for the Energy Star label. Suppose
we get a refrigerator? We can save up to 50
percent on the cost to run it. They are environmentally friendly. Many electronics around our
house are constantly consuming energy. Even
when you think they are off they off they are
still using our energy. If we get Energy Star
DVD players or TVs we can save up to 50
percent more than normal models when
they are switched in the ‘off’ position.
A small thing we can all do in our family that
would go a long way is conserving energy.
Simple things such as turning off lights when
we are done in a room could drop the price
on our electric bill. Also, heating and cooling
is the most energy spent in a household. We
should try to have a set schedule for our air
conditioning and heating. We could program
our thermostat’s timer so that it knows when to
stop blowing air. We can make sure windows
and doors are closed so heating and cooling
is not wasted needlessly on spaces with no
one in them. Taking shorter showers would
also be a great way to save money for our
family’s electric bill since we would pay for less
hot water. Running the dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full is also a
way to conserve energy. Also proper insulation is very important because if our home is
not insulated properly, more heat and air conditioning may be blasting to keep our rooms
comfortable. We all have to make an effort in
saving energy. It is very important.
A large investment that our family could make
if we were seriously committed to saving
energy would be to get a type of renewable
energy. Many people are making the switch
from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy
because they are concerned about global
warming and keeping the environment clean.
There are many types of renewable energy,
but the most common one for a house is solar
panels. There is also hydropower from water
and wind turbines which make energy from
the wind. Solar power is the conversion of
sunlight to electricity. If we installed solar
panels on our house, it would be a huge step
to making our family energy efficient.
28
2014
Brendan McMahon
Grade 6
Our family can do these things and more for energy conservation. Let’s adopt the McMahon
Family Energy Constitution and help our family
save money and keep the environment clean!
We, the McMahon Family, will try to positively
help our planet through energy conservation.
We will try to be energy efficient and keep
moving toward the goal of having a better
place to live.
I. Get LED and compact fluorescent light
bulbs, getting rid of any inefficient incandescent bulbs.
II.Buy ENERGY STAR Appliances, replacing
standard models in our home.
III.Make sure to conserve energy by turning
off lights, lowering the thermostat and only
using the laundry appliances when they are
completely filled.
IV.Fix all insulating problems, and close
windows and doors so that the heat and air
conditioning is not running needlessly.
V.Try to get a renewable source of energy for
our house; solar panels are a good option.
VI.Promote the use of good energy wherever
we go.
The McMahons
29
2014
Elizabeth Terry
Grade 6
John Winthrop School, Bridgeport, Conn.
Dear mom, dad, and Karol (my sister),
Earth the population of 7.046+ billion. Each
day more and more people are born. More
houses are built and bought. You’re probably just thinking what your point is. Well
my point is that each day more energy is
used. For an example people forget to turn
off their lights, television, or even to unplug
unnecessary plugs. Honestly we all do it
sometimes. We try to do it but we forget. If
you read my whole constitution plan then we
would save more than 200 dollars a year for
a lifetime. Now that sounds like a good idea!
First, let’s start with outlets. We all do this. We
leave the phone charger or any type of charger. Especially you Karol (my sister)! You would
always leave your Iphone charger or laptop
charger. So guys please. It’s not hard to
unplug a charger when not used or the multi
outlets. To add on to that, unplug the toaster,
coffee, maker, blenders, or even TVs. Trust me
it would work. Never forget to turn off heat
products for your hair or an iron it can cause
fire! Of course we all know that.
Next, we have to find the perfect light bulbs for
us. Incandescent bulbs can cost you about
$264 dollars a year to illuminate them. If you
made the smarter idea to choose energy star
LED lights you would probably pay about $64
to illuminate them per year. So mom and dad
just by reading this so far you know we got to
use LED lights for about everything. Also the
LED lights or CFL are inexpensive. And this one
is especially for you Karol, because almost
every room you walk into you got to leave it on.
So you’re welcome.
After we’ve cleared lights and outlets let get on
with electronics. We about all the time go on
our computers to check mail, or watch television for more than one hour, or using your
phone for hours using wifi. You know all those
cables connected to your TV and then there
are so many extension cords? Well did you
know if you leave a phone charger, lamps, or
TVs sill plugged into an extension cord it would
draw more electricity. You may think since
the TV or lamps are off nothing will happen
well it would! The reason that is will use more
electricity is because sometimes what’s in your
cable has an ooze of electricity still in it! I did
not know that either so you already know what
to do.
Finally, what we should all do is just go outside.
It can defiantly save your electricity of course.
Well at least spend an average about 30 min
outside or 30-60 min of TV time. It can also
hurt your vision. Most people nowadays do
not realize how much electricity they spend
mom and dad. You should realize that there
are 7.046+ billion people in the world that also
use computers and television. A fun fact that
would probably help you is how people now
are always complaining about losing battery
percentage. Well the best way to solve that is
to go outside or turn your phone off. It won’t
just help you or your vision it can save the
world and the economy. Thanks for taking the
time reading this and I hope you understand.
*cough cough* Karol.
Love- your favorite daughter (well hopefully)
30
2014
Michael Gingras
Grade 7
John Winthrop Middle School, Deep River, Conn.
Good afternoon Connecticut friends and colleagues, thank you for coming out here today.
Now, we all know that living in the fantastic
state we do, we all want the best we can have
for our citizens and ecosystem. And, there is
a way we can have just that. We can work
together to help the people of Connecticut be
more energy efficient, and in addition, save
money. We can also work to keep the ecosystem safe for the animals that live in our beautiful state. This is the best direction for Connecticut, and there is a way to get there. We need
to be more energy efficient. To do this we have
to start getting used to, and using more alternative energy sources other than fossil fuels.
Also, Connecticut residents have to begin
picking appliances, and accessories that are
energy efficient. Lastly, everyone can always
waste less. Turn off the television when you
leave the room, only use the lights in occupied
rooms, and unplug an outlet if no one is using
it. All of these little things together can make
something big. The state of Connecticut would
be more energy efficient, making people and
our ecosystem healthier and happier. Let me
be specific on what we can create together.
First, we would have to start getting used to
alternative sources of power. This means more
wind power, more hydro-electric power, and
more biodiesel fuel. If we continue to use up
existing fossil fuel faster and faster, there will
be nothing left. We need to be energy efficient
by not relying on only one source of energy.
If we used many sources of energy, we could
balance the use of fossil fuel with alternative
energy sources, a win-win situation. This could
make Connecticut a state with diverse
energy sources. But listen, there is even an
easier way!
To increase our energy efficiency, the easiest
way to decrease energy bills is to just stop using so much electricity. If people turn off the
lights and T.V in empty rooms, this would save
energy for Connecticut, and be friendlier to
the environment, and as importantly to your
bills. For every hour that a 40 watt light bulb is
off, people save about 0.04 kilowatts, which
can add up very quickly, especially depending on what type of light bulb you are actually
using. Even Energizect.com says, “No matter
how you heat your home, there’s an easy way
to lower your energy bill…” “Think about deeper energy-saving measures like insulation or a
high-efficiency heating and cooling system.”
They agree that anyone can lower their energy bill and increase their efficiency with small
changes. I remember my family complaining
about the bill in winter, but if we make these
changes there will be no incredibly high electricity bills to complain about. In addition,
if we conserve energy, we could make the
energy that we have last as long as possible,
giving us energy long after many other states
are feeling the pinch of shortages and the resulting higher costs. Saving money means not
wasting money. This is what we all want.
Our ecosystem would also benefit from
eco-friendly changes. Our lowered electricity
use would lead to less gas emissions and inevitably a cleaner Connecticut. If Connecticut
was cleaner, our ozone layers would be full
31
2014
Michael Gingras
Grade 7
John Winthrop Middle School, Deep River, Conn.
and strong, also the animals and plants would
be livelier and greener. The ecosystem is a big
part of our world and we need to protect it by
polluting less. For example, using a CFL light
bulb would greatly increase the energy
efficiency in our homes. We have all heard of
global warming and how this affects weather.
Connecticut never used to have hurricanes,
tornadoes, and super snowstorms back to
back! A Connecticut science teacher observes with her class, “One day it’s nice, the
next there’s a polar vortex! The temperature
swings are nothing like we’ve ever recorded
before.” These sudden changes in seasonal
weather have just recently begun, and many
think they are because of all this pollution from
the fossil fuel we are using. If we can cut down,
we might not have these devastating and
expensive acts of nature. This is the only
environment we have so we need to protect
our beautiful state.
In conclusion, if Connecticut became more
energy efficient using a mix of these three
methods, we as a state would save a ton of
energy lasting for a long time and creating
a better environment for the people and
animals in Connecticut. It will surely bring more
happiness to our citizens, and our ecosystem.
We won’t have to deal with over-expensive
bills, crazy weather, or running out of energy
too soon. Thank you, and I hope we can work
together to change for the better.
Now I know that this will most likely require
investments in the short-term. But, if we accept
the investment into all of this energy efficiency
options now, we will ensure a long life of
energy for Connecticut citizens, allowing us to
enjoy warmth, clean homes, and cool air for
long after others are paying more. There is no
reason Connecticut can’t, and shouldn’t invest
in this to protect our way of life. If we want to
continue our way of life we will have to change
our energy sources and wasteful use. We not
only want to change, we need to change.
32
2014
Caroline Landry
Grade 7
John F Kennedy Middle School, Enfield, Conn.
Hello Connecticut residents. My name is Caroline Landry and I am running for Governor of
this great state of Connecticut. One issue I am
very passionate about is our need to save our
natural resources. Every year, we are overusing
our unrenewable resources. I am here today
to talk to you about how we can together help
Connecticut with energy conservation. I am
confident that we can make Connecticut a
role model for other states to follow.
Our State’s resources are growing smaller and
smaller every day. As the population keeps
growing and workers continue digging, our
non-renewable resources diminish. Some
renewable resources I would like to promote
are biofuels, the sun, hydroelectricity and the
wind. Biofuels are one way to conserve our
resources wisely because they contain energy
from geologically recent carbon fixation. This
kind of fuel reduces the amount of pollution
since we are not using gasoline. We can also
use the sun as a resource. The sun’s rays shine
down on solar panels and generate energy
that can be used to hear out houses, buildings and our schools. Solar power is becoming
an increasingly popular choice among residents and businesses both for saving energy
and money. Hydroelectricity is the electricity
generated by hydropower. This is approximately how we get 19 percent of the world’s
electricity. Hydropower is electricity generated
using the energy of moving water. Hydropower
is the cheapest way to generate electricity
today. That’s because once a dam has been
built and the equipment installed, the energy
source—flowing water—is free. It’s a clean
fuel source that is renewable yearly by snow
and rainfall. Also, wind can be another good
source of producing heat and/or electricity.
Wind turbines are large windmills that take the
wind and manufacture energy. The biggest
wind turbines generate enough electricity to
supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind is a clean
source of renewable energy that produces no
air or water pollution. Have you considered
any of these renewable resources?
There are energy-efficient technologies that
will help conserve our non-renewable resources. Hybrid cards are an excellent way to
conserve some of our resources. Unlike traditional automobiles, hybrid cars run on both
gasoline and electricity. Using both resources
allows these cars to run more energy efficiently
without utilizing too much of one particular
resource. Another energy-efficient technology
is the fluorescent light bulb. This light bulb uses
a completely different method to produce
light. Fluorescent light bulbs prevent greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions of
more than 800,000 cars. They use 75 percent
less energy and last longer than a regular
light bulb. They may seem expensive but you
get a longer “light life” and have contributed
to helping the Earth! The luminous efficacy
of a florescent light bulb can exceed over
100 lumens per watt. In addition, when you
purchase a refrigerator or another common
household appliance, be sure to look out for
Energy Star products. They are energy-saving
machines that provide very good quality. I
have many Energy Star appliances. It makes
me smile when I think that I am saving energy
each time I open the refrigerator door. Please
consider buying Energy Star products for your
house.
33
2014
Caroline Landry
Grade 7
John F Kennedy Middle School, Enfield, Conn.
Energy conservation days are really helpful to
the earth. There are many different kinds of
ideas that as a community we can put into
action. A simple “no power” day saves a lot
of energy and it gives you a chance to go
outside, take a walk, or hang out with friends.
Another idea is to weather strip your house.
Weather stripping is the process of sealing
doors and windows. Also recycling and starting a compost pile can reduce landfills. Compost piles do the earth a favor and allow you
to use the compost you make as a fertilizer for
your plants. Landfills pile up in transfer stations
and take over 100 years to decompose. In
addition, by lowering your household thermostat when you leave your home or during the
summer months is another way to conserve
heat energy. When you lower the thermostat
it uses less energy because it isn’t working as
hard to heat your house. You can do the same
thing with your air conditioner. Remember to
add layers when you are cold and taking off
layers when you are hot whenever possible. I
hope you will consider many of these energy
conservation ideas and try them out. But also
be creative Connecticut! If you organize your
own energy conservation day, don’t be afraid
to put it into action! I will also give you 100
dollars for conserving energy, but it has to be
within the first year that I am elected. Consider
a “plant a tree” day in your neighborhood!
If I am elected as governor, I will help you
achieve your goals of energy conservation. As
Governor of Connecticut, I promise to implement these ideas to help save our State’s energy. Please save energy wherever and whenever you can! The Earth will thank you later and
so will future generations!
34
2014
Nihal Wadhwa
Grade 7
Hillcrest Middle School, Trumbull, Conn.
With the prices of fuel remaining all time high
and the sources of oil slowly dwindling, it is
important that we think of policies that will not
only conserve energy but also promote growth
in the state. As a future governor of the state,
I would like to introduce energy policies that
would attract businesses to the state of Connecticut and promote job growth. When we
accomplish this goal, then other states will follow our path, resulting in a cleaner and more
efficient country. Alternative sources of energy
are much expensive to implement and therefore all my programs will provide incentives
so that people can adopt cleaner sources of
energy.
As per the statistics on oil reserves, it is clear
that the world may run out of oil by 2060 which
is scary for any economy. Not only that but
as we get closer to diminishing supplies, the
prices of oil is likely to shoot up thus making it
more expensive for a common person. I would
ensure as governor of the state that we immediately take action by introducing programs
and policies for people and businesses in
Connecticut that not only help conserve energy but also promote the use of renewable and
cleaner energies such as solar power ,wind
power and energy generated using Fuel cell
technology.
Transportation being the biggest consumers of
energy, I would like to first introduce tax credits
for all those who opt to buy hybrid or electric
vehicles. This will promote the use of hybrid
vehicles that will prevent emission of carbon
gases that pollute our atmosphere. In spite of
so many sources of alternative energy such
as solar, wind and hydro, we have not even
tapped 1% to meet our energy needs. I would
appeal to the residents of Connecticut to go
for the use of Solar power for their homes . All
residents will be automatically get 50% finance
at 0% for 10 years and will get tax credits up to
$2500 if they opt to use any of the alternative
source of energy for powering their home.
Connecticut is proud to have business headquarter of Fuel Cell Energy Inc at Danbury who
are the world leader in Fuel cell technology.
They have already established many power
plants that use fuel cell energy across the
world. I will provide subsidies to all the businesses that use Fuel celled power plants to
meet their demands of energy for their businesses in Connecticut. Any new company that
starts business in Connecticut and promises to
use alternative sources of energy such as solar
power will get 50% contribution from the state
for installing the power plant. Not only that
they will also be given tax incentives for using
cleaner energy sources.
We waste lot of energy by powering our buildings which are not used at night time. I would
penalize those businesses where the lights are
left on when the building is not being used.
They will be asked to put sensors so that the
electricity is not misused if the premises are
not being used. I would come up with some
incentives to businesses where they can introduce some policies in their organization where
they promote conservation of energy and
have programs to help their employees adopt
cleaner sources of energy.
All the policies that are being introduced for
businesses and residents will also apply to the
35
2014
Nihal Wadhwa
Grade 7
Hillcrest Middle School, Trumbull, Conn.
government as well. I will ensure that in coming years, all Connecticut government buildings slowly switch to the use of solar energy for
powering all government offices and use of
hybrid vehicles for all government employees.
I will put tighter controls on the use of energy
within the government and create awareness
amongst employees for using alternative
sources of energy.
I would like to make our state as a showcase
for being energy efficient and set an example
to rest of the world. Knowing that our state
is green and has policies and incentives in
place that promotes alternative sources of
energy, it will attract people to move to the
state who are more conscious about preserving our environment and nature. The state will
also invite businesses that are investing in R&D
to discover or invent better ways of conserving energy or the use of alternative sources
of energy. The state will partner with them so
that more innovative ways of conserving and
saving energy can be invented.
If we all become aware of the fact that oil will
not be there forever, we will start to migrate to
renewable sources of energy. Energy conservation is our only hope that Earth will survive
in the future. It is important that this message
reaches everyone so that the coming generation is well prepared to live without oil. This
will not only help us sustain longer with our oil
reserves but also protect our environment and
nature. Let us all take a pledge today that
we will make energy conservation our way of
life which will allow us to live longer and live
happily. We should understand that the time
is running out for us and we must change our
ways of using energy to make a better future
for our families and coming generations.
36
2014
Michael McMahon
Grade 8
LED Lighting Public Service Announcement
Announcer 1 (deep and mysterious voice):
It was a dark and stormy night and many
houses on this quiet Connecticut street were
bathed in the unnatural yellow light of incandescent bulbs. But one house was brightly lit
with natural light and perfectly fine. What was
going on here?
Announcer 2 (enthusiastic and friendly voice):
Instead of incandescent bulbs, these smart
homeowners have LED bulbs, which cast a
more natural white light, making the inside of
the house look like it is daytime.
Announcer 2 (continuing in an informative
tone): Have you ever had that feeling at night,
where it seems like your house is covered with
unnatural yellow light? Well, you can be like
that house with the LED light bulbs and never
feel that way again.
Announcer 1 (deep and mysterious voice,
speaking in a suspicious tone): But wait, don’t
those LED lights cost more?
Announcer 2 (enthusiastic voice): No! Not
only do they emit a much more natural light,
LED lights can save you money. They use up to
80% less energy than standard incandescent
bulbs. Also they can last anywhere from fifteen
to forty years, which is ten times longer than
the traditional bulbs. This means you need to
buy far fewer replacement light bulbs and are
spending less each month on electricity than
you do with incandescent lighting. LEDs also
turn on instantly, have great dimming capability and can be directed more accurately to
where you need. So they are a great investment for your home!
Announcer 1 (deep and mysterious voice,
speaking in a suspicious tone): Hmmm. There
must be some catch. Are LED lights bad for
the environment?
Announcer 2 (enthusiastic voice): Not at all! In
fact, because they emit less heat and last longer, LEDs are more energy efficient. Also, they
do not include toxic materials and can be
easily recycled. LED lighting is a great choice
for a healthy planet!
Announcer 2 (continuing in an informative
tone): LED lights will save you money, are the
future of energy efficient lighting, and good for
the Earth.
Announcer 1 (deep but informative, no longer
mysterious): Mystery solved. Visit EnergizeCT.
com to learn more about the benefits of LED
lighting and change your bulbs today.
37
2014
Kelsi Page
Grade 8
Cast:
Actor 1 (Harry)- Adult Male wearing parka
Actor 2 (Alice)- Adult Female wearing parka
Actor 3 Young Male to right of Actor 2, frozen
in block of ice
Actor 4 Young Female to left of Actor 1,
violently shivering
1 and 2 turn their heads left to look at lamp
and return front very slowly.)
Setting: Actors standing in living room in
extreme frozen appearance. Small table to
right of Actor 3, set back with large lamp
sitting on it. Actors breath can be seen due
to extreme coldness.
Actor 1: Good idea! LED lighting is more durable, versatile, and longer lasting. They also
save you tons of cash.
Actor 2: Well Harry, I believe it’s time for us to
go to the hardware store to buy some light
bulbs and this time we’re going to save energy
and buy LED lighting.
Scene 1: Camera fades in to family standing in
living room with very solemn faces
Actor 1: Hi, my name is Harry and this is my
wife, Alice. Our family has been wondering
lately why we hadn’t started saving energy
many years ago. We could have used 25-80%
less energy by being green.
(At this point a dogsled and Eskimo being
chased by polar bear crosses behind family
through living room. Actor 1 and 2 do a quick
glance to the right and back to the camera.)
Actor 2: That’s right, Harry. Saving energy is
every person’s responsibility or we might run
out of... Well, as you can see, we seem to have
a problem.
(Alice pats the top of frozen child next to her.)
Actor 1: You’re right dear. Being inefficient
wastes energy. (At this point, lamp in background begins to flicker on and off. Both Actor
Actor 2: Saving cash is good! Because I have
been thinking about getting a new parka.
Actor 1: Kind of had MY sights on a new snowmobile.
Actor 2: Well, we’ll see about that, but now let’s
get going. There’s no more time to waste; let’s
start being green.
(Actors 1 and 2 leave stage right pushing frozen child and putting arm around shivering
child leaving stage.)
Fade out/ Fade in to Actor 1, 2, and 4 climbing
onto snowmobile pulling Actor 3 behind them.
(3-4 second drive away and fade out.)
Screen pops into white background with green
lettering saying GO GREEN! The O in GO is
replaced with an LED light bulb that clicks on
after announcer says GO GREEN!
Fade Out/ END
38
2014
Joey Persechino
Grade 8
eesmarts
Mom: Wow! I didn’t know they were so good.
Mom and Johnny are sitting on the couch
watching t.v.
Johnny: L.E.D. bulbs do cost a lot more than
other bulbs, but they will save 20% more
money than CFL light bulbs.
Johnny: Mom, why are all the lights turned off?
Mom: Because we are saving electricity.
Mom: How did you find out about L.E.D. bulbs?
Johnny: My science teacher told us all about
them. She is very smart. She also told us that
if every home in America switched to L.E.D.
lights, it could save enough electricity
equivalent to 44 large electric power plants
and could power three million homes for
a year.
Johnny: but we can still do that even with the
lights on.
Mom: How?
Johnny: By switching to L.E.D. light bulbs.
Mom: Now that would help the environment.
Just then Dad walks in carrying shopping
bags.
Mom: How would that help?
Johnny: L.E.D. bulbs last 25 times longer than
incandescent lights and five times longer
than CFL bulbs. Also, they can cut your
energy bill by three- fourths and can help
the environment.
Johnny: Dad! Have you heard of L.E.D. light
bulbs?
Dad: Yes, I just learned about them today. In
fact, I just went to the store and bought some.
Johnny: Yay!
Mom: How do they help the environment?
Johnny: They reduce air and water pollution
by reducing hundreds of pounds of CO2 and
they contain no mercury.
39
2014
Jacob Spell
Grade 8
St. Aedan - St. Brendan School, New Haven, Conn.
*Made for television
Jeremy: So if we switch to using LED lighting,
do you think we’d save enough for my
allowanced to get raised a bit?
(A boy named Jeremy appears on screen
working in the library on a project for school.
He suddenly comes up with an idea, and a
light bulb flashes over his head. His science
teacher, Mr. Kingston, enters the scene.)
Mr. Kingston: Hey, it looks like you have a pretty bright idea, but how about swapping that
incandescent bulb with a light emitting-diode,
or LED, bulb.
Jeremy: Why?
Mr. Kingston: Well, for starters, LED bulbs last
longer, so you can keep a good idea like the
one you have now going for a long time. Who
knows, you may even turn it into something
special. LEDs are also great for the environment, not to mention your parents’ wallets.
Mr. Kingston: Well, maybe if you talk to your
parents about insulation. Insulation reduces heat loss or heat gain by using a barrier,
made primarily using glass or rock spun into
fine wool, to seal of the areas in your home
that are starkly different in temperature. The
best part is that the majority of products are
made using recycled glass.
Jeremy: Wow! This sounds like a great plan,
and I’m going to tell my parents about it
tonight!
(Boy looks into camera)
Jeremy: Energy efficiency starts with you!
Jeremy: My dad already switched to fluorescent light bulbs to cut down costs and
become more energy efficient.
Mr. Kingston: LEDs release light in a precise
direction. In contrast, incandescent and
compact fluorescent bulbs emit light and heat
in all directions. This makes LEDs more energy
efficient and durable.
40
2014
Charles Kuchenbrod, Matt Cohen, David Lagace,
Jeremy Ray, Katelyn Rutty
Grade 12 - Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science, Hartford, Conn.
eesmarts Project: A Plan to Go Green
with Solar Cells
Introduction
For this project, we decided that we would try
to be more environmentally conscience by
attempting to put solar panels on the roof of
our school. We thought that this would be an
effective energy-saving method because our
school has a large, mostly flat roof and there
are no surrounding trees to block the sunlight. Our school, the Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics and Science, is part of
CREC. There are many other CREC buildings
in Connecticut, and so for our community
involvement, we thought that expanding out
project to the other CREC buildings would be
reasonable extension of what we are trying
to accomplish .It is our understanding that
CREC is trying to be more environmentally
friendly with its buildings and so we were not
surprised to receive enthusiastic support from
our administrators to continue with the project.
Unfortunately, there was more information that
we could not access than we would and so
we had to make several key assumptions that
may impact the amount of energy we believe
this project could save. Regardless of how accurate we are with our estimations, there is no
denying that introducing solar panels into the
energy system of the Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics and Science will decrease
our carbon footprint. We were inspired to
do this as our project because New Britain
High School recently has put solar panels
on their roof.
Technology
The technology component of this project is
solar panels, specifically photovoltaic solar
panels. Photovoltaic cells use the energy of
the sun is gathered through the Photovoltaic
Cells. Electrons are released from atoms in the
semiconductor material. The electrons movement from one material to another causes
electricity to be created in the form of direct
current. From there, two options are possible.
Either that energy can be used by the building
to which the solar panels are attached to, or
the energy can be converted to alternating
current and sold back to the electric company. For our purposes, we will assume that the
electricity that we get from the solar panels
will be sold back to the electric company.
The amount of electricity produced from the
photovoltaic cells is measured in kilowatt
hours, the same form of measurement which
is used to determine how much electricity is
used by a building each month.
Process
In order to determine how effective installing
solar panels would be, we needed to figure
out several variables. We needed to know
the available area on the roof on which solar
panels could be placed, the cost of those
solar panels, how much electricity those solar
panels would output, and how much electricity our building is currently using. We were not
able to obtain building schematics, and so
finding the available space on the roof was
determined through the use of Google Earth
and the measurement tool that is available
with that. We were able to determine that
there is 16,325 square feet available on the
41
2014
roof. We then looked for industrial solar panel
systems that would fit in this space and determined that the best use of the space would
be to purchase and install two 100 kilowatt
systems. These systems would be bought from
Trina Solar. The specific model is the 245TSM
Commercial FlatRoof solar panels. The cost
of the two 100 kilowatt systems would be
$315,840 before any reductions in price. The
government has been promoting the use of
clean energy and so there are many incentives that we can apply for in order to reduce
the final price of the solar panels. The IRS offers a solar panel tax credit worth 30% of the
cost of solar panels. Keeping this in mind, the
final price would be close to $221,088.
In addition to the 30% tax credit, consumers
do not pay taxes on solar panels or the
labor of installing solar panels in the State
of Connecticut.
Next, we must determine what the electrical
output of the 200 kilowatt system. In Connecticut, a one kilowatt system will produce 3.2
kilowatt hours of electricity per day. When that
is scaled to our 200 kilowatt system and multiplied by the 30 days in a month, the electrical
output of our system per month would be
19,200 kilowatt hours. Our next step was to determine how much energy our building is currently using. We did this by finding the square
footage of the building. The area of the building is 31,922 square feet. Then, we found that
a building of this size uses about 1 kilowatt
hour of electricity per month per square foot.
Thus, we concluded that the Greater Hartford
Academy of Math and Science uses 31,922
kilowatt hours of electricity per month.
Finally, we must look at the cost. We assumed
that we are currently paying $0.25 per kilowatt
hour. That means that our electric bill per
month is $7,980.50. Conversely, we can sell
the electricity we make for $0.30. This means
we are getting $5,760 per month. Financially, we will use this money first to pay off the
initial cost of the solar panels. If we put all of
our earnings towards that, it will take approximately 3 years to pay off the initial cost. After
that, the money we get back can get paid
can be put towards our monthly electrical bill,
which will be reduced to $2,220.50.
Timeline
In order to complete this plan, one must
first find out the exact cost of energy for the
specific building. We were unable to find this
out since the exact kWh usage includes the
Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science as well as other CREC buildings which
are not associated with our school. Also, since
the city of Hartford pays the electricity bill for
all CREC schools, we are unable to access
the exact cost of electricity for our school. Our
next step would be to hire an inspector to look
at our available roof space to determine the
most effective ways to put solar panels on
our roof. This will cost money and may take a
while to get set up. Once that has been taken
care of, we will need to get different quotes
on the solar panels and then choose the best
option. It would then take time to install the
solar panels and hook them up to the power
structure of our building.
New Britain High School has inspired this project. Picture 1 is an aerial view of New Britain
High School and how solar panels are spread
42
2014
across the roof. Picture 2 is an aerial view of
our school, the Greater Hartford Academy of
Math and Science. The plan approved above
would allow the roof of the Greater Hartford
Academy of Math and Science to look similar
to New Britain High School’s roof.
Works Cited
Database of State Incentives for Renewables
and Efficiency (DSIRE). “DSIRE.” Sales and
UseTax Exemption for Solar and Geothermal
Systems. North Carolina State University, 4
Dec. 2012. Web. 01 May 2014. <http://www.
dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=CT44F&re=0&ee=0>.
National Association of Realtors®. “Tax Credits
for Installing Solar Panels.” Houselogic.
National Association of Realtors®, 2 Jan. 2013.
Web. 01 May 2014.<http://www.houselogic.
com/homeadvice/taxcredits/taxcreditsinstallingsolarpanels/#.>.
Solar Electric Supply, Inc. “Commercial Flat
Roof GridTie Solar Panel Systems.” Commercial
Flat Roof GridTie Solar Panel Systems. Solar
Electric Supply, Inc, 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/commercialsolarsystems/flatroof>.
Solarreviews.com. “How Much Energy Can You
Get from Solar Electricity.”Solarreviews.com.
Solarreviews.com, 2014. Web. 01 May 2014.
<http://www.solarreviews.com/solarpower/
howmuchelectricitydoesasolarpowersystemgenerate/>.
Tang, Jenny. “Photo Voltaic Cells Project.”
Personal interview. 1 May 2014.
43
2014
Anuj Sisodiya
Grade 10
Trumbull High School, Trumbull, Conn.
Energy Issue: In today’s modern society a typical household has three TVs, two computers,
50 light bulbs, a dishwasher, a washer, a dryer,
a refrigerator, and a fan or air conditioning
unit. Every month, the average household
uses around 900 kilowatt hours of electricity,
or 10,800-kilowatt hours per year. This leads
to each household spending approximately
$2,000 per year on electricity. Every year, a
portion of this electricity is wasted due to
inefficient energy devices, careless behavior
and unawareness of products and services
available to save energy.
We live in a society that runs on technology.
About 60 percent of people in this country
have a smartphone or a tablet and use it on a
daily basis to browse the Internet, check their
social network, or play games like Angry Birds.
We personally rely on phones to communicate, entertain, navigate and perform many
of our tasks. But we also rely on technology
to generate and distribute electricity, purify
water and harness natural gas. Technology
surrounds us and is integrated into our everyday lives. What a lot of people do not know is
that there are quite a few energy saving related software applications available that can
help save energy and money from the convenience of a smartphone.
My Plan: My plan is to promote the use of energy saving related smartphone applications
and smart technology in order to help people
in my town save money and energy. By doing
this, I will also be promoting the use of energy
efficient appliances, CFL/LED light bulbs and
turning off appliances and devices that are
not in use. My proposal is to launch a campaign titled “Measure, Monitor & Save Energy
(M2SE)”. The message behind my campaign
is, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t monitor it.
If you can’t monitor it, you can’t save it!”
Specifically, I will be promoting three smartphone applications and an energy saving
product: Meter Readings, Watt’s Plus, Light
Bulb Finder and a smart power strip product.
1. Meter Readings:
• Download to your smartphone from the
Google Play or Apple app store for $0.99
• Enter data for up to 9 household meters such
as gas, solar, water, electric using energy
timers usually located outside your house
• Graphs usage and cost for daily, weekly,
monthly or even yearly comparisons
• Stores readings so you can double check
your bills and make sure there are no errors
This app clearly informs you how much energy
you are using. It also has the ability to show
you what times, days, or seasons you are using more energy and when you are using less
based on the graphs. By downloading this
app, people in my community will become
aware of how much energy they consume
and be encouraged to switch to a greener
lifestyle. While energy bills may have usage
information, it’s often not graphed by daily,
monthly, or yearly usage. Overall, this app is for
daily use and provides a great visual of
how much energy you are using and where
you can save.
44
2014
Anuj Sisodiya
Grade 10
2. Watts Plus:
• Download from the Apple app store for $1.99
• Enter data such as watts used and number of
hours on per day for appliances and the app
will calculate how much money you spend
per day/month/year on the appliance
• The app also lets you compare 2 different appliances to see which one will cost less to run
This app is a good way to see how much money you can save by switching to energy efficient
appliances and tools. Sometimes, people are
hesitant to buy energy efficient appliances because they’re more expensive. This app allows
you to see exactly when you would earn back
the return on your investment by dividing the
cost of the item by the money saved per year.
This app will open up people’s eyes and make
them switch to energy efficient products. This
app is helpful because it gives you a drilled
down analysis of how you can save energy in
your home with specific appliances.
3. Light Bulb Finder
•D
ownload from the Google Play or Apple app
store for free
• T his app is used to replace your current light
bulbs with energy efficient lights
•Y
ou pick what kind of lighting fixture you have,
the number of hours you keep it on, the style
of bulb you want and the old bulb you were
using
• T he app then picks an energy efficient bulb
and compares it to the old bulb based on
money saved, CO2 saved and the time it will
take for the bulb to be paid back
• T he app connects you to an online website
where you can purchase the bulbs
This app is a great tool to convert people to use
energy efficient light bulbs. In a few easy steps
the app locates a bulb that would best suits
your energy efficiency needs and estimates the
price. In some stores, energy efficient light bulbs
are sold at a huge mark up. This app gives you
the cheapest pricing and allows you to order it
directly from a website.
45
2014
Anuj Sisodiya
Grade 10
4. UFO Power Center
• Available in most hardware stores, directly
from their website or Amazon for $100
• It is a smart power strip that connects to
your home Wi-Fi
• Understands the energy each individual
electrical device uses and its cost
• Automatically turns off appliances when
not in use, reduces stand–by power
• Developed for smart device interface so
no PC is needed
This product is a great device that enables you
to turn off huge power wasting appliances and
devices when you are not home. Many people
don’t realize that even when devices like TVs
and computers are turned ‘off’, they still consume electricity. The UFO Power Center can be
configured to turned ‘off’ devices at certain
times etc. It also comes with its own app so you
can turn devices off and monitor their usage
from the convenience of your smartphone.
With this product, you can easily save 100
watts of electricity per year, which corresponds
to around $100 in savings annually.
How to launch the campaign:
• Create a website
• Door to door distribution of fliers
• Live demos of how the UFO power center
works
• Social media - Twitter and Facebook to
spread the word about apps and product
• Booths at local town and state events - Earth
Day, Arts and Craft fairs
• Signs and posters in schools and stores
directing people to the website
• Advertisements and articles in newspapers
and magazines
Timeline:
Project Kick off
Nov. 1st
Website Development
Nov. 3rd
Advertisements via social media
Nov. 20th
Advertisements via signs, newspaper, posters
Nov. 22th
Buying and setting up UFO power centers
Dec. 2nd
Attending/ demoing at local fairs
Dec. 5th – May 1st
Door to door canvassing
March 3rd – 15th
Project Reflection/Testimonials
May 15th
Project Closure
May 28th
Budget:
Website development
$600
UFO Power Centers Demo (4x$100)
$400
46
2014
Anuj Sisodiya
Grade 10
Supplies (Fliers, Signs, Refreshments)
$600
Booth Fees
$400
Total:
$2000
Conclusion: In today’s tech savvy world, people want information anytime, anywhere using
any device. My M2SE campaign leverages
available technology to make people aware
of energy saving applications and usages.
This empowers consumers to measure, monitor, and save energy anytime, anywhere. By
providing a detailed analysis of energy usage
on a day-to-day basis, this campaign enables
individuals to understand their energy usage
at the lowest atomic level and provides them
with the knowledge to reduce their energy usage. My goal is to have 10% participation (i.e.
1000 households) coupled with a 5% reduction
of energy usage per household in my town to
save 500,000-kilowatt hours (1000 households
X 500 kilowatt hours per household) of power
per year. Even with a conservative estimate,
that calculates out to a net savings of $100,000
or $100 per household per year. This will reduce
CO2 emissions by 0.6 million pounds per year.
Overall, Meter Readings, Watts Plus, Light Bulb
Finder and the UFO power center will allow us
to Measure, Monitor & Save Energy (M2SE).
47
2014
Jenny Tang, Janaya Boddie, Seeya Sodani
Grade 12
The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, Hartford, Conn.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell School Busses
In the state of Connecticut, the Connecticut
School Transportation Association (COSTA)
transports on average 500,000 students a day
on regular school busses. That means typically, on a standard size school bus, seating
roughly fifty five students, there are over nine
thousand school busses running around in the
state of Connecticut, twice a day! Just think
about the amount of fossil fuels that would be
emitted into the atmosphere each day, solely
from school busses alone. Taking in consideration the limited amount of fossil fuels left in
the world, and the harmful effects such fuels
have on the atmosphere, there must be a way
to reduce or terminate the harmful emissions
from school busses into the atmosphere.
This is where the idea of the alternative energy
source, Hydrogen Fuel Cells, may come very
handy. Hydrogen Fuel Cells are when hydrogen and oxygen are combined in a fuel cell
to create electricity, heat, and water. Typically,
energy is created through the process of a
chemical reaction transforming into usable
energy, otherwise known as electric power.
Although, with hydrogen fuel cells, energy is
only produced as long as hydrogen (otherwise
known as the fuel of the fuel cell) is supplied
and never losing its charge. Hence, this is what
a hydrogen fuel cell is and how it works.
Throughout our state it is not uncommon to
see hydrogen fuel cell, or Zero Emission, transit
busses running throughout the city of Hartford. By 2011, Connecticut was known as the
“second largest hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet in
the country” (Connecticut Hydrogen-Fuel Cell
Coalition). The first hydrogen fuel cell bus implemented in Connecticut was developed by
CTTransit in 2007 in order to reform Connecticut to becoming more or an eco-friendly and
energy-saving state. Hence, by the year of
2010 four more CTTransit Zero Emission busses
were developed; as of today there are a today
of six Zero Emission buses running on route
throughout the Greater Hartford Region, while
more buses are still in the process of being
built. Overall, the benefit of Zero Emission busses is that the sole item that is released from
the buses is water vapor, meaning there is no
type of smoke or forming nitrogen oxides, no
particulates and no carbon dioxide. Hence,
Zero Emission busses will create a cleaner
environment, decrease global warming and
overall there will be better neighborhoods with
cleaner air.
Therefore, if the state of Connecticut can use
their technology of Hydrogen Fuel Cell (Zero
Emission) transit busses and implement it to
Zero Emission school busses, which overall is
a large majority of transportation in the state
of Connecticut, given there are on average
over nine thousand school busses running
around in the state of Connecticut daily, this
would surely benefit the neighborhoods of
Connecticut for cleaner and healthier air,
with less harmful pollutants being released
into the atmosphere; which is probably a
benefit for the environment of the students
who ride the busses every day. Thus, having
The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering
(AAE) begin implementing this project idea for
Zero Emission school busses, is most likely very
48
2014
Jenny Tang, Janaya Boddie, Seeya Sodani
Grade 12
The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, Hartford, Conn.
beneficial, since AAE is a CREC school which
transports students from all over the Hartford
County. By implementing Zero Emission buses
with our school we would be able to influence
other schools in other towns and districts to
also transfer to Zero Emission busses. Hence
creating a better, cleaner, and healthier
neighborhood.
As you can see the budget will decrease
drastically when the hydro fuel cell buses
come into play. For a single portable fuel cell it
will be around U.S $100. It would save the
community a lot of money that is needed in
other places and it will also be a safer way
Once the test model is deemed fit for mass
production to begin, we will create five more
buses by August 1, 2015 and spend the next
few weeks till the beginning of the 2015/2016
school year testing the school buses to work
out any kinks. Our hope is that by the first day
of school, we will have six hydrogen fuel cell
buses in service and another 12 fuel cell buses
in the process of being built to substitute for all
of the buses provided by CREC Transportation
(our regional bus provider).
for children to be bussed from home to school
and vice versa. The initial cost to get the buses
up and running is a lot but the money being
saved and paid back because of it makes the
change worth it.
Our school, The Academy of Aerospace and
Engineering will be moving from Hartford, Connecticut to a new location in Windsor, Connecticut by September, 2015. With this change
our goal is that by this month we will be able to
implement our first wave of hydrogen fuel cell
buses. In order to ensure this will happen, as
of June 31, 2014 till December 31, 2014 we will
begin building our first hydrogen fuel cell bus
built by UTC Power, a company specializing in
fuel cells for buildings, buses and automobiles.
Once this is completed, by January 1, 2015
till April 31, 2015 we will spend this time period
testing the bus within the Hartford County and
making modifications as needed.
49
2014
Shravan Wadhwa
Grade 10
Recycle for Charity (RFC)
If we talk about conservation of energy, everybody
gets excited. However, when it comes to executing
a plan, it does not always work since we as human
beings are so used to using energy for our daily
luxuries but care least when it comes to using the
resources wisely. There are various schemes the
government floats for using solar energy, hybrid or
electric vehicles, but they just promote one time
savings. In addition such schemes does not get
everyone excited as they are limited to high priced
items such as Electric or Hybrid cars and Solar panel projects. There is no such drive from the government or organizations which support or encourages the communities to conserve on daily basis.
Primary aim of the recycling movement is to reduce the amount of household waste headed for
landfills. Recycling also helps reuse and conserve
valuable resources, reducing the need for fresh
materials in creating consumer products. Using recycled materials also lowers energy costs for manufacturers, in some cases by a substantial amount
compared to using raw materials. According to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “recycling an
aluminum can requires less than 5 percent of the
energy that would be expended in creating a similar can out of fresh bauxite ore. The Aluminum Association estimates that the energy saved in recycling
a single aluminum can could power a television for
3 hours.” When it comes to plastics found in seven
major types of consumer products, recycling can
extend the use of most of them. “Recycling plastic
requires only a tenth of the energy needed to create new plastic from raw materials “, according to
Mike Biddle, president of MBA Polymers.
In this plan , the communities will come together
us one, will encourage them to recycle on a daily
basis and it will also give them incentives to save
as their savings will be translated into $’s that will
go the Charities serving their community. We use
plastic and aluminum on daily basis when we drink
various packaged drinks that come in various sizes of bottles and aluminum cans. The state of CT
charges us 5 cents for each bottle or a can. Even
though we gladly pay those 5c per bottle or can,
very few consumer know that the grocery shops or
liquor shops they are buying drinks ,also pay to the
distributors , 5 cents for each bottle or can. Many of
the grocery shops have Machines which generate
receipts for bottle deposited back to them. These
receipts can be used to buy grocery from the grocery store.
Recycling For Charity (RFC) will target both Residents and Businesses. The success of the plan depends on 7 pillars which are:
1. Participation of Volunteers from each Community
2. Sourcing of Recyclables Trash Green Bags and
Green RFC T Shirts for Volunteers
3. Pickup of Plastic bottle or cans limited to Beer ,
Soda,Water Bottles /Cans by volunteers
4. Participation of Businesses that would sponsor
the Bags / Advertisements on Bags
5. E
nough Machines for Recycling of the contents
of the Bags by Various Grocery Stores
6. U
sing the receipts from Grocery Stores to buy
goods for Charitable Organizations such as Food
Banks, Soup Kitchens and Homeless people
7. P
romoting and making Communities, Businesses
and Grocery Stores to participate in this program
and make it a success.
Volunteers from each Community
Any such program which involves communities
cannot be a success without involving volunteers.
Since volunteers themselves come from these communities, they also help in spreading awareness
amongst the local residents where they come from.
RFC program will draw volunteers from following
groups / organizations:
50
2014
Shravan Wadhwa
Grade 10
1. H
igh School or College Going students who
would get community hours for their work which
can be used for their graduation requirement
2. People of who are retired but still volunteer for
community work
3. Any person who can devote their time for this
work
4. Firms and Business which are involved in weekly
trash pickup from residents and
Businesses
5. Parents with their children who want their
children to adopt recycling
Pickup of Plastic bottle or cans limited to Beer,
Soda, Water Bottles /Cans.
Only the following items will be allowed for RFC
program for easy handling by the volunteers • Soda Cans
• Beer Cans
• Water Bottles
• Soda Bottles
Each community can pick up a leader and few
volunteers who can serve a particular area or
neighborhood that can span across multiple residents and involve businesses in and around the
community. These volunteers will meet on a regular
basis and organize the weekly pickup cycles.
Recyclables Trash Green Bags and Green RFC
T Shirts for Volunteers
The plan will be to distribute recyclable kitchen
sized drawstring bags which are made from recycled material in green color. These plastic bags will
be available for advertisement which will ultimately
pay for its cost or alternatively the organization can
get them printed as per the specifications provided to them by RFC on one of the sides of the bag.
These bags will be distributed free of cost to all residents and businesses. Each resident will get free
replacement when the household gives a bag full
of recycled plastic bottles or cans (typically Soda
Cans or bottles, Water bottles, Beer bottles
or cans).
All the volunteers who would be working for RFC
will get free Green Coloured T Shirt highlighting the
motto of the RFC Program “Recycle For Charity”.
Various businesses will be approached to donate
for T Shirts as well. They will be able to advertise
their company logo or motto along with RFC Motto.
No other bottle type will be available for pickup
for phase 1 of the program. Eventually when more
Grocery Chains join the program, additional bottle
types which carry 5 cents deposits will be included.
Business that would sponsor the Bags/Advertisements on Bags
A major cost for running this program successfully
is the cost of Trash bags which would be needed
in mass quantity. Initially when the program is
introduced, the cost has to be borne by funding
from some of the businesses who participate in the
program. Eventually when the program becomes
popular, the advertisement on the bags will fund
the cost of buying the bags.
Recycling of the Contents of the Bags by Various
Grocery Stores
There will be mass recycling of bottles and cans
that would be needed every week. There has to be
enough machines that are able to handle such
mass recycling. Currently very few machines are in
working condition outside very few grocery stores.
An effort will be made by the program committee
to have the Grocery shops and liquor stores add
more of these recycling machines and ensure that
they are in working order. The grocery store will
have incentives of attracting more revenues as the
store credit receipts from these machines will be
used to buy non perishable grocery items for
food banks.
51
2014
Shravan Wadhwa
Grade 10
Using the receipts from Grocery Stores to buy
goods for Charitable Organizations such as Food
Banks, Soup Kitchens, Homeless people Our food
banks and pantries are always in need of more
donations. RFC is a perfect source for providing
the necessary supplies on a regular basis. The
receipts generated from the grocery stores can
be used to buy items which are needed by the
Food banks or by various organizations that are
involved in Charity.
the tremendous amount of waste they produce
in terms of plastic and aluminum. Waste products
ranging from plastics to aluminum are constantly
being dumped in landfills only to rot for over a
million years before disintegrating into the land.
Although awareness is present no action is being
taken and I hope that this plan will fuel the movement for conserving energy in our community.
Action Plan, Time Line & Budget
To start with, I will target my community living in
twin brook park area of Trumbull. I will spread
awareness by fliers that will be put in each neighborhood’s mailbox. This flier will gives details
about the program and spread awareness for
recycling. I will also get a local business to sponsor the event for my community. A website will
be created giving necessary details about the
program. I will kick off the program during my
summer break where I can devote my time in ensuring that this program is a success. During the
2 month summer break, I will spread this program
to few more communities where my friends live
and motivate them to be part of this program.
The pickup will be Saturday that will allow me to
continue this program beyond and after my summer break,
Promoting and making Communities, Businesses
and Grocery Stores to participate in this program
and make it a success.
The success of the overall program depends on
the involvement of the local community and businesses. The program would need businesses to
sponsor for the cost of the bags, T Shirts and Bag
Pickup. Volunteers would be needed to collect
the recyclable items on a weekly basis and carry
those bags to the Grocery Stores where they can
be recycled. If children are involved, the parents
have to accompany them during pickup.
Additional Motivation for the Communities
All these volunteer groups / communities will be
competing against each other in the amount
that they collect on quarterly basis and they
would be awarded a prize that will allow them to
donate in cash to their choice of charity. These
prizes will be sponsored by local businesses
and there will be an annual event held where
communities will gather and witness the prize
ceremony which can he held on July 4 when we
also celebrate with Fireworks our national independence.
As a budget, I would need $2500 which will go
towards printing of fliers, creating website, buying
T Shirts and printing Trash Bags for collections
that can last for a year. Once the program is a
success and has mass awareness, the businesses that sponsor this program will pay for the recurring charges.
Our community is in dire need of this plan that
I have proposed. With this plan, I hope not only
to provide awareness of conserving energy but
also solving the problem of energy waste in my
community. This plan is very feasible and can
be easily executed with the right people and
To start with, RFC will target Fairfield County which
has over 110,000 businesses and more than
360,000 households. Both these businesses and
households share one thing in common which is
52
2014
Shravan Wadhwa
Grade 10
management. Imagine the amount of energy
we as a community could save every year if we
continued to run this program not to mention
the amount of homeless and hungry people we
would be helping them at the same time. This
plan does not have one motive but many motives
which include: reducing energy consumption,
landfills, the amount of homeless and hungry
people suffering from poverty, creating a community effort to save our planet, and giving back
to our community as citizens.
With the establishment of RFC program, a huge
lasting impact will be created including a role
model for other communities to follow so that
we can influence our communities to become
greener. Additionally, this plan is not very complex like many other energy conservation plans
and does not require a lot of funding. It just
needs motivation and awareness. Some initial
funding may be necessary for spreading awareness, T Shirts and trash bags. I will also create a
website and spread the awareness using social
media such as Facebook and twitter. If done and
promoted in the right manner, our communities
will come closer, people in neighborhood to get
to know each other better, the younger generation will be more aware and take this awareness
to their homes and workplaces. It can create
a big movement which can spread across the
whole country. I will ensure that this program is a
huge success.
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The eesmarts student contest invites K

Transcription

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