Previously, we have shared the work of Barry Commoner and his explanation of the four Commoner’s Laws of Ecology as described in his book, The Closing Circle . Written fifty years ago, these concepts still apply to our energy-related conversations today. Here are four Commoner’s laws of ecology:

1. Everything is connected to everything else.
2. Everything must go somewhere.
3. Everything is always changing. (He actually said, “Nature knows best.”)
4. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Combined with the Six Guidelines for Economics above, these ten fundamentals provide a great foundation for energy-related discussions. When I had students read articles like this I would always ask which one(s) would best describe the situation in the article. (For example, the highlighted sections on incentives certainly apply to the battery storage issue described in the Hawaii article.) Lots of good opportunities for discussions with consideration from various perspectives.

Stay tuned as next week we will share more real-world examples and activities that will engage the future voters and decision-makers in your classrooms.

Have a great week!

Dan & Bill