The Tanner Forum about social ethics with Dr. Arjun Makhijani
Darlene Gleave
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Campus
Save money by saving energy. The Tanner Forum was about social ethics. This year Dr. Arjun Makhijani was invited to the South City Campus to talk about conserving energy.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani has worked off and on with the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) who in turn invited him to give a talk on his book. This was just after it had been announced that Utah might be getting a Nuclear reactor for electricity. They wanted the public to know what the alternatives might be for the state. This was his first time speaking in Utah and has been back several times since then.
The west is a great place for renewable energy. The combination of smart grids and renewable energy can be very plentiful. We have a shortage of water so wind energy would be ideal because it used with hardly any water. Solar power plants have certain designs that can be operated with no water. There is plenty of wind energy, geothermal energy, and certain kinds of plants can be used as renewable energy. "I'm against the use of food as fuel or any kind of agricultural land to produce fuel. But I think we can grow algae in waste water that will clean up the water and then we can use the algae for fuel," says Dr. Makhijani.
His lecture focuses on two levels of messages. The first is the straight, technical message and the second is a personal message. Dr. Makhijani says that the first message reflects on the twenty first century technologies. We have the Internet, laptops, cell phones, and ability to send messages through cell phones. He says that we don't really need coal or nuclear power plants and that it will take twenty to thirty years to faze these out. We have the technology to have really clean, renewable energy without producing nuclear waste or plutonium.
His second message reflects on the ethics and morals of scientists and engineers. Why are so many people promoting Nuclear Power? It was felt that they are "following the money." Now the question is, how do we prevent self-deception? How do we prevent ourselves from thinking we are doing wonderful things, when actually we may be producing a lot of problems? Dr. Makhijani says, "I myself was involved in designing two uranium mills, I turned my mind off when I went to work, and took my paycheck. But then I realized that I helped create a lot of radioactive waste and big messes in the West. I then swore to never turn my mind off at work." He went on to saying that if we want a world where we are respectful of each other, in the future generation of young people, we must not turn out minds off at work.
There are so many things that we can be doing ourselves to help conserve energy. We can turn off the lights when they're not in use. This also goes for the television, radio, and all electrical appliances. With the winter coming up, people like to turn their car on before they drive so it will be warmed up. Try putting on warmer clothes to help save your gas or jump on the bus route. Don't leave the water running while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Cut your showers short and water your lawns in the early morning or in the evening. Also, keep the heat at a moderate temperature in your house and turn it off while away.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani has worked off and on with the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) who in turn invited him to give a talk on his book. This was just after it had been announced that Utah might be getting a Nuclear reactor for electricity. They wanted the public to know what the alternatives might be for the state. This was his first time speaking in Utah and has been back several times since then.
The west is a great place for renewable energy. The combination of smart grids and renewable energy can be very plentiful. We have a shortage of water so wind energy would be ideal because it used with hardly any water. Solar power plants have certain designs that can be operated with no water. There is plenty of wind energy, geothermal energy, and certain kinds of plants can be used as renewable energy. "I'm against the use of food as fuel or any kind of agricultural land to produce fuel. But I think we can grow algae in waste water that will clean up the water and then we can use the algae for fuel," says Dr. Makhijani.
His lecture focuses on two levels of messages. The first is the straight, technical message and the second is a personal message. Dr. Makhijani says that the first message reflects on the twenty first century technologies. We have the Internet, laptops, cell phones, and ability to send messages through cell phones. He says that we don't really need coal or nuclear power plants and that it will take twenty to thirty years to faze these out. We have the technology to have really clean, renewable energy without producing nuclear waste or plutonium.
His second message reflects on the ethics and morals of scientists and engineers. Why are so many people promoting Nuclear Power? It was felt that they are "following the money." Now the question is, how do we prevent self-deception? How do we prevent ourselves from thinking we are doing wonderful things, when actually we may be producing a lot of problems? Dr. Makhijani says, "I myself was involved in designing two uranium mills, I turned my mind off when I went to work, and took my paycheck. But then I realized that I helped create a lot of radioactive waste and big messes in the West. I then swore to never turn my mind off at work." He went on to saying that if we want a world where we are respectful of each other, in the future generation of young people, we must not turn out minds off at work.
There are so many things that we can be doing ourselves to help conserve energy. We can turn off the lights when they're not in use. This also goes for the television, radio, and all electrical appliances. With the winter coming up, people like to turn their car on before they drive so it will be warmed up. Try putting on warmer clothes to help save your gas or jump on the bus route. Don't leave the water running while brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Cut your showers short and water your lawns in the early morning or in the evening. Also, keep the heat at a moderate temperature in your house and turn it off while away.
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