This summer, two very dissimilar events drew my attention to the same issue. In June, trustees at the Los Angeles Community College District approved a new plan to use 15 percent to 25 percent renewable energy in new buildings on the college's nine campuses, including the construction of solar panels to generate at least 10 percent of the energy on site. This is being called the cleanest energy policy ever adopted by a college or university in the United States.

The other story, which many of you are more likely to have heard about, was the July rescue of nine coal-mine workers trapped in a flooded mine in Somerset, just a few hours from here.

What do these two stories have in common? They both make a clear statement that Penn State needs to make the switch to renewable energy now. As the story of the coal miners showed us, the extraction of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, from the earth can be a dangerous business, one that Penn State is abetting by its continued reliance on fossil fuels.

According to the Green Destiny Council's 2000 Indicators report, about three tons of greenhouse gases are emitted in the production of the electricity necessary to power an average campus dorm each day. The report also suggests: "To make the connection between electricity and fossil fuels more vivid, Penn State might do well to place an eight pound chunk of coal on all dorm room desks."

We already know (or should) that fossil fuels are dirty. Penn State will release four tons of carbon dioxide per student into the atmosphere this year, further contributing to the widespread problems of global warming that even the notoriously anti-green Bush administration was forced to address after its own Environmental Protection Agency outlined them in a recent report.

For those who might not be aware, the verdict is in on global warming: It's real, and we're responsible. The impacts of this phenomenon will surely be catastrophic if we do not act quickly to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the Earth will warm by between 2.5 and 10.4 degrees during the next hundred years.

Among the predicted impacts of such climate change: more and more severe droughts, floods and storms; an increase in insect-borne tropical diseases (such as the West Nile Virus); the decimation or loss of ecosystems; and a rise in sea levels resulting in huge losses of tourism revenue.

Not convinced that fossil fuels are bad news? Well, you've got Exxon Mobil's hired security massacring villagers who live near their plant in Aceh, Indonesia, and you've got Shell who continues to do the same in Nigeria, even in the wake of the global attention surrounding the death of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1996, which they sponsored.

And of course, we see from the news that our addiction to fossil fuels nearly cost us nine lives right here in our own state this summer.

Our other news item shows us the path we ought to be on. It is imperative that Penn State adopt an energy plan based on transitioning to renewable energy immediately both because it is the school's responsibility to the state and the people who live in it, and because there's a responsibility to demonstrate leadership to the students who pass through this university. If Penn State is committed to creating leaders capable of dealing with the problems of the next 20 to 50 years, they had better start getting serious about issues of air pollution, global warming, and renewable energy.

The main argument against the switch to wind or solar power, as I see it, is cost. Yes, solar panels and wind turbines do cost money, but we've already seen this year that another tuition hike is of no consequence to the Board of Trustees. Furthermore, were Penn State to be held responsible for the actual costs associated with the air pollution they create (including health-care costs and the degradation of natural resources), that amount would be far greater than the cost of switching to renewable energy. For example, according to the air pollution branch of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "The health costs of human exposure to outdoor air pollutants range from $40 billion to $50 billion" each year to treat respiratory diseases, such as asthma, caused or worsened by burning fossil fuels.

To those who claim that such a project would be unrealistic, you need only see as examples the Los Angeles Community College District and the city of San Francisco, which voted last year to authorize up to $100 million to develop solar power in the city. Besides, Penn State has already taken a (very) small step in the right direction: three windmills off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike account for five percent of our current energy supply.

We have no time to rest on our laurels. It is imperative that the university move forward and obtain a minimum of an additional 5 percent of our energy from renewable sources this year. Of course, there are other ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and each of us has to do our part to conserve energy as well. And may I be so bold as to suggest that an installation of solar panels would be a remarkable class gift?

With continued investment in renewables, the university can make sure the skies here stay blue and white, if only to perpetuate humorous slogans on Penn State bumper stickers.

In an article last April, the Collegian reported: "According to the 2002-2005 Finance and Business Strategic Plan, environmental stewardship is one of Penn State's five key initiatives." Tomorrow, Penn State President Graham Spanier will deliver his State of the University address. If environmental stewardship is truly a priority for this university, I expect to hear something about it at that speech.