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Joslyn Reiche

Seniors Alexander Pavlicin and Josiah Gregg are keen on showing the world that they can make a difference in the world. Roger Stippel, the clubs adviser, sees that very well. "I think they're asking great questions. I think they’re very astute at observing around them the things that aren’t sustainable energy conscientious, so let’s say yeah, I think they can make a difference and I think you’re seeing some small signs of it already," says Stippel.

In a world that uses mostly coal and other nonrenewable energies, for power, there are people and companies that are wanting to change that. Sustainable energy is renewable and clean for the environment. As ways to get solar panels, and other ways to have renewable energy is expensive and hard to get, people are still limiting the use of other nonrenewable energy. Two students have created a club showing those options to other students.

The new sustainable energy club is held in room E202. That is the room of Roger Stippel, AP US government politics, US history, and psychology teacher. The two students that run the club are senior Alexander Pavlicin and senior Josiah Gregg. They have only had a few meetings, but are hoping to meet the first and last friday of each month. Pavlicin and Gregg have only started to come up with what they want to do with this club. They are starting small and hoping to expand. While at the meeting on Dec. 18, they told the group  about ways to conserve energy and water. Such a small thing can make a huge impact. They are making different social media accounts from chat rooms to a reminder via texting. Even though they are not up and running, that does not mean students want to know what is going on for the later meetings and projects.

Pavlicin and Gregg are trying to make a difference in the school. Even though Stippel is involved, he is not as much as the two students.

“Basically its a self directed group, Alex and Josiah have done most of the leadership. They have taken charge. They merrily needed somebody with a place to hold their meetings. Somebody who could over see, be a communication between the athletics and actives office and them, and that is what I do. In terms of what I do, they are pretty self directed group, they act on their own,” Stippel said.

This club is all about saving the world by talking about what most do not know. They are trying to get the word out and it starts with what is sustainable energy.

Pavlicin said, “Sustainable energy is renewable, that doesn’t run out after a certain amount of time.”

However, they do understand that it is difficult for the community to get different sustainable energies for many reasons, one of which is money. Sustainable energies are expensive and is not easy to get, even for corporations.

“Not everyone has solar panels or can afford solar panels. It’s much easier to conserve or cut down on the usage than it is, necessarily, to switch entirely to renewable energy resources. You have to kind of take it one step at a time to get there,” Pavlicin said.

As mentioned, that does not mean small changes will be made. Like turning off lights after leaving a room. Unplugging the wall charger or other things that are not used continuously is another good small way to help.

“I know that everyone in this room that was here today, hopefully, will go home, hopefully, and bring back ideas to their parents. Ideas about shifting light bulbs, shifting the amount of time they spend in the shower, you know, different things that are manageable. Not necessarily unplugging all of appliances in your house, but just little things you can do to make an impact yourself, and that’s a lot of kids. That’s a lot of people,” Pavlicin said.

Gregg and Pavlicin are not just worried about the little things in the homes of the students. They want to make changes within the school as well. Groups, previous to theirs, have changed the recycling and how many lights are used in classrooms. Gregg and Pavlicin only want to increase the things that happen in the school.

Stippel said, “One thing Josiah came in and asked me was ‘who’s decision is it when the dishwashers go to use styrofoam plates’ and it was a real aha moment for me because it made me realize that this group, again, is coming at it from the right approach. I think that question of who makes the decision and what do I have to do and, again, for me my role is to merrily say here’s where I’d start and then they’ve got to go down that. But, if we would have paper plates replace styrofoam on those few days, that it might seem very insignificant. It has a tremendous impact.”

Although making changes to the little things that the school already does is hard. As you have to talk to the school board about the changes. Changing something that has not happened yet is easier. Talking to the school board about making changes to the plans of the new construction will not be difficult.

“They were asking questions the other night, at the meeting, about the new construction of the building, and what’s being done to allow natural light in. Before a building is built you can still do something about it, but if the buildings been built, then we haven’t been energy conscientious. There’s not a lot you can do at that point, unless you receive large funds of money, which schools generally have trouble doing,” Stippel said.