Nazareth College professors Brian Witz (biology) and William Hopkins (foreign languages) recently traveled to Berlin, Germany to discover what other countries are doing in response to the “going green phenomena” and the need for alternative energy sources. They attended a faculty seminar, “Germany as a Model? Germany’s Environmental and Energy Strategy” where they learned about the various alternative energy sources that are in place in Germany and how they could possibly be implemented in the United States.
The focus of the seminar was to study the science and politics of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide gasses in the atmosphere produced by “clean” coal power plants. They discussed the use of carbon neutral and carbon free energy such as photovoltaic (solar) and wind turbine power production. Participants of the seminar had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of several political parties as well as the Environmental Policy Research Center at the Free University of Berlin. They also visited several technology facilities such as one for capturing and storing carbon dioxide for coal fired power plants and Q-Cell AG in Bitterfield/Wofen, the leading German producer of high quality photovoltaic cells.
According to German statistics, Germany is ten to fifteen years ahead of the United States in developing alternative energy sources. With Americans using almost two times more energy per capita than Germans, and with only five percent of the world’s population, every day America consumes 22 percent of the world’s energy output. At the conclusion of the seminar, the faculty participants produced an opinion editorial article for publication in the U.S. newspaper media market.
Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is a coeducational college with undergraduate and graduate studies in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. The College is located on 150 scenic acres near Rochester, New York, and currently enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. Nazareth has a strong commitment to experience-based learning and civic engagement. In the past decade, Nazareth has produced 18 Fulbright recipients and two Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowships. For more information on the College, visit www.naz.edu.
