ONEONTA "" Hartwick College has selected ``energy'' as the theme for this academic year and will present lectures and events focusing on energy policies, production, consumption and conservation, among other issues.
"Energy is the dominant global force that encourages economic growth and exacerbates environmental degradation," said Brian Hagenbuch, theme coordinator and director of the Pine Lake Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Studies.
"We exist in a world where the prevailing political, economic and social systems have been constructed around the availability of cheap, abundant energy,'' Hagenbuch said in a media release. ``A worldwide economic recession is prompting us to re-examine our ideas about consumption, and global warming is prodding us to question our relationship to the natural world."
The campus community will explore patterns of energy use and apply lessons learned to enhance energy conservation on campus and in the regional community.
On Oct. 16, the college will present ``Energy Roundtable: Peak Oil'' from noon to 1 p.m. Associate Professor of Education Mark Davies will lead a discussion of issues surrounding peak oil.
Hartwick, a private liberal arts and sciences college, enrolls about 1,440 students.
The theme will include educating the Hartwick community about fossil fuels, peak oil and alternative-energy sources, involving the campus and community in efforts to reduce their ecological impact. Local energy topics such as natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale will also be addressed.
Past academic themes have focused on climate change and globalization. The 2008-09 academic theme, ``balance,'' looked at ways to help students, faculty and staff juggle needs while understanding how their way of life impacts the world around them, the release said.
