I spent last evening and all day today involved in judging a debate tournament. Before anyone rushes to commiserate with me, you should probably know that I asked for it by volunteering, and that I really enjoy it. A lot. I think high school students, the smart, dedicated, hard working ones, anyway, like those involved in debate, are a lot of fun to be around and listen to, and I love to hear their ideas. It challenges me, and keeps me current, and they have a lot of interesting thoughts and ideas which I like to toss around in my head.
The topic for this year is alternative energy, which in my opinion mostly gives the negative side the edge, which they already have to begin with, at least in my judging book. So the affirmative side, the side that has to present the plan and make it so viable that it can overcome all objections, has an uphill battle. And yet, I have heard some pretty interesting solutions to the energy problems we are facing, and quite a few affirmative plans made the cut.
Sometimes, the need to justify the affirmative plan or to prove the negative leads to some fairly outrageous statements. I have heard the death knell sounded for the earth in half the debates I judged this weekend. It's a little hard to take that seriously when I can glance out the window and see the sun shining and the green grass and the trees and the cars and the new building going up.
Humans faced extinction a few times as well, as well as all animals and the entire eco-system. I heard about the death of the US as a nation, the death of capitalism, the death of nationalism - they were all discussed as though the world was coming to end tomorrow, and we had best be prepared for it. Personally, I'm prepared to meet my maker, but I'd sort of rather it not be tomorrow.
Over the course of the seven rounds I judged this weekend, (I think it was seven, they start to run together in my mind after awhile,) I heard some pretty creative ideas for dealing with alternative energy and resources. Two of them really intrigued me, and I think may well be a part of our future.
One of the proposals was to have the federal government provide tax incentives for cars that use alternative fuels. While I heard several variations on this theme, the one that most interested me was the proposal for a hydrogen powered car. It is clean, it is efficient, and the only environmental impact is the water vapor that results from its use, at least as presented today. I don't think the whole program was outlined quite as completely as I would like to see, but I am very intrigued by the idea, and think it is one whose time will come. We must reduce our dependence on foreign fuels, and fossil fuels generally, because they are not an infinite resource. It seems this idea of hydrogen powered cars is one that will be fruitful somewhere in the future.
Another proposal had to do with reducing waste in our landfills, primarily through a machine that would burn up the trash with a laser. This would leave, as a resulting product, a sort-of sponge that could actually be used to clean up oil spills in the water. The whole process seemed to be environmentally friendly, and in fact, according to the debaters, was already in use on Carnival Cruise line to reduce the waste that they must haul with them. I am in favor of anything at all that would reduce the need for landfills, as I do not feel we are being good stewards of the land by filling it full of trash, which then leaches into our water and our air through the aftermath of the decomposition.
The level of expertise varies widely among the debaters, as does the ability to present their plans or their rebuttal position. But throughout, they are earnest and dedicated, and it is a lot of fun to listen to their passion and their enthusiasm for sharing their knowledge.
They are funny, sweet and vulnerable at times, as when we were waiting for one young man to get off the cell phone on which he was talking to his mother. They get flustered, and they chew their nails, and they kick off their shoes, and don't realize, I am sure, just how young and innocent they are to those of us who are jaded and cynical about the political realities of our country. It is good for me to go out into the world of youth and see their perspective, and hear their thoughts, because they are the leaders of the future. It's good to know they are thinking about the serious stuff of life sometimes, and not just who is dating whom.
I was thinking about how the high school kids of today have never really lived in a world without the Columbine massacre or Tim McVeigh's bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, and they almost don't remember pre-9/11 times, either. The major events that have shaped the last part of the 20th century are more facts in history that they have to learn, rather than events they remember living through.
When I taught, oh so long ago, it was shocking when I realized that Watergate wasn't real to most of those kids sitting in my classroom. There was a divide between us drawn by life and experience and maturity, and even though only a couple of years divided us, I was an adult while they were still kids - mostly unfulfilled dreams. And yet, what I consider to be one of the greatest innovations of the last 50 years, the Windows operating system, started in the garage of kid who was still living at home while his parents prayed for him to find a "real" job. Kids can impact their world and change it for the better, precisely because their inexperience doesn't tell them they can't.
Like most American adults, I haven't given a lot of thought to alternative fuel sources, because the problem seems overwhelming. I think I will write to my Congress-people and suggest they come home and attend a debate tournament some weekend soon. Maybe they can take the fine ideas they hear, and give them as a gift, not to Congress, but to the American people. Because we deserve the best that America can give, and alternative fuels are on the cutting edge of better. I feel sure that some of the kids I heard from over the last couple of days will be inspired to be a part of the R&D that will be powering us along the roadways of the future.
