My course expectations are simple: to soak in as much knowledge as possible about the role energy plays in everyday lives. I have heard there is a correlation between poverty and lack of access to reliable sources of energy -- I wish to study the extent to which this is true. This past break, I visited a number of small organizations working with rural development in India. A major problem they faced was the availability of electricity. In particular, we saw a women's development center that teaches sewing skills. As the center grew and sewing machines needed power, they installed solar panels to make up the difference. Further, in the same area, there was a computer center that taught basic skills. Their main barrier was continuous power to run the computers.
To what extent do these same limitations affect Appalachia? Does the fact that coal dominates the area cause poverty to strike the area as well? But also, how difficult would it be to solve those problems? Would implementing greener technologies have a positive impact upon lives, or simply assuage green-thinking policy makers?
I am also interested in all the questions you all posted below, and look forward to joining your efforts to finding the answers!
Cheers,
Suejung
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