I was in Chicago recently for accepted students day at my university. While there, I was excited to see active measures being taken to promote sustainability on campus (as seen through our campus garden and dining halls). It makes me feel good knowing that my university values our Earth and is actively working to protect it rather than making empty promises.

I recently finished Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Norman Friedman. Overall, it was a very insightful book, but his writing style was at times a bit bland. Additionally, seeing that it was published in 2008, some of the statistics and concepts are a tad outdated. But there was one point he made that was fascinating; he called it "petropolitics." Essentially, it's the idea that a correlation between the price of crude oil and the democracy index of nations with oil-based economies (Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, etc.). As the price of oil goes up, the democracy indexes of these nations go down. However, with the increasing scarcity of oil and continuation of its demand, it appears that the price for oil will only increase in the coming years in addition to continuously harming our planet. This pattern leads me to wonder if democracy will continue to be increasingly challenged. The point Friedman used this to make is fascinating: to be pro-democracy, you have to be pro-alternative energy based on the existence of this pattern. I've been pondering over that for the past few days and reflecting on how challenges to alternative energy within America could be considered anti-democratic in this regard.