As fuel electricity prices rise the average working class citizen is wondering how to keep up with the cost of living. Heating oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed in the past decade due to speculation in the market, and wages have stagnated leaving the average workers reaching for lint their pockets.  Many economists believe the cost of food and fuel will cause another recession, and if the government allows the United States default on its debt we will suffer a hardship not many in this country are prepared for.  It makes us all wonder if there is something more we Americans can do to solve the energy crisis.  The short answer is, we need to empower ourselves, not industrial corporations.

The truth is alternative energy solutions exist all over the globe, but in America we have not done all we can to support and grow the industry. Oil & Gas companies are some of the most profitable corporations on the planet and are extremely influential in the political arena.  The fossil fuel industry is connected to nearly every quadrent of our economy, which is why there is valid hesitation concerning a transition to a sustainable~renewable energy economy. They have worked to suppress alternative energy to some degree on the local and national level, yet right here in New York State we have created a company that can build you a residential or commercial structure 100% off the grid for good.

The EPA released their top 50 list of green power partners the other day, and many of the entries are nothing new. Intel, Whole Foods Market, and the U.S. Air Force are all within the top 10. Something to note however is one of the entries, the Chicago Public Schools system.

Ranked number 35 on the list for its purchase of solar power, it buys the most green power of any K-12 institution. The only other educational institutions in the list are the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, and Carnegie Mellon University. Both the State of Pennsylvania and the windy city and its suburbs are doing a great job in weaning themselves off of fossil fuels. I hope that by next year the list has a few additional entries within the education field, and other institutions take a hint as to what direction they should be heading.