Mountains of frozen snow, ice covered sidewalks, Siberian winds and people all bundled up -- it's amazing that it takes such extreme conditions to get people thinking about conservation.

This past Wednesday and Thursday, we all witnessed something very unusual in State College. Both on and off campus, people were cooperating in an effort to decrease our overall energy consumption. Downtown businesses, classrooms and private homes were turning off lights, lowering thermostats and reducing their use of electrical appliances.

As a society, we tend to take for granted those things that were once considered to be only luxuries. People across the state of Pennsylvania have looked upon these past few days as an inconvenience and a hindrance to their daily lives. Whereas, in other parts of the world, people face these so called hardships every day.

We need to develop an appreciation of our energy resources and a respect for their importance, that we can carry with us every day. The circumstances we faced last week, illustrated to us that as a nation, we currently use more energy than we produce.

There are many simple ways that we can incorporate energy conservation into our lives. We can begin by letting the sun naturally light rooms instead of using artificial sources. When it's cold outside, lower thermostats to 65 degrees and put on an extra sweater as opposed to burning more fuel. By choosing to use the stairs over elevators, one can get some exercise while saving energy at the same time.

Learn to break the habit of thoughtlessly and unnecessarily wasting energy that is limited in supply. Let us stop and think before we act. I challenge everyone to practice energy conservation all of the time, not just on days which we have no choice but to do so.