Sustainable Energy Sources Needed as Gas Prices Soar

By Justin Guzman

Gas prices across the country have skyrocketed. According to GasBuddy.com, which tracks gas prices, on March 4, 2013, the average price of regular gasoline in Las Vegas was $3.81 compared to $3.02 on Jan. 24, 2013.

The students at the College of Southern Nevada are doing their best to promote green alternatives in light of the gas increases.

The ASCSN student government along with CSN’s Environmental Strategies Committee held the Third Annual Green Tech Festival Saturday, March 2 at the CSN Charleston campus. The event featured guest speakers and vendors promoting alternative energy awareness options for green living and eco-solutions.

“Renewable energy is the logical way to go,” CSN student and DesertSol volunteer Iani Batilov says.

Energy-efficient design was the theme of the day, best exemplified by DesertSol, an ultra-efficient home design currently being built by students at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and CSN. The team will enter the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 is an international competition with the goal of educating the public about energy-saving residential designs. In this award-winning program, 20 collegiate teams design, build, and maintain energy sustainable solar-powered houses.

The goal of Team Las Vegas’ DesertSol design is to take advantage of the Mojave Desert’s renewable resources, such as solar energy, to produce a sustainable home in the severe desert climate.

Bryce Farlow, volunteer for Project Angel Faces, a grassroots foundation that engages social change through volunteer programs, stressed that the goal of green technology is sustainability.

“Give more back to the earth than the products take away,” Farlow says.

Among the event attendees was environmental advocate and electric-car builder Jon Hallquist of GrassrootsEV.com. Hallquist had his personally-modified electric vehicle on display and discussed how to convert gasoline-powered vehicles into electric-powered ones. When comparing the two types of vehicles, Hallquist says that he gets over 100 miles driving for $3 to $5.

With the help of CSN students and ever increasing gasoline prices, it seems like a green energy revolution is on the horizon.