Wow! I cannot believe that I’m already more than a month into summer break. But unfortunately, the time has slipped by like it always does. It’s as hot as ever in Washington D.C. this summer; the humidity has come in at full force. But we compensate by pumping up the AC and hitting the pool often!
I have been working at the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition (OREC) for three week now and I already have my hands full! As I explained in my last post, OREC is a trade association that does lobbying for the marine energy industry, which includes offshore wind, tidal, wave, marine biomass, and ocean thermal energy. OREC represents a number of renewable energy companies worldwide such as Aquamarine Power in Scotland, which produces wave energy generating devices such as this one:
Oyster Wave Energy Converter
This summer, I’m in charge of maintaining OREC’s social media including twitter, facebook, and blogs. I have also been going to capitol hill periodically to report on relevant congressional hearings. Just lask week I went to the hill to listen in on two hearings. On Tuesday was the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on Energy Tax Reform, in which the committee discussed the pros and cons of providing tax incentives and penalties for competing energy sources. After the hearing I wrote a blog post about the topic. Last Thursday was the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on China and Clean Energy, for which I also wrote a post.
I’m very happy to be getting my feet wet in the area of renewable energy because that’s the field I want to enter after graduation. I’m not quite sure whether I want to go into the technical and research side of renewable energy or the communications and policy side, but this experience has definitely given me good insight into the latter.
This summer I am also volunteering my time to ArtStream, a non-profit theater organization dedicated to bring the arts to those traditionally underserved, such as adults with disabilities, the elderly, veterans, and hospitalized children. I am working in the office and helping them produce their inclusive theater company performances. I have worked with ArtStream since the beginning of high school and have found it to be quite a rewarding experience. Check out some pictures from a recent ArtStream performance!
My friend Jennie and I at a benefit concert for ArtStream
Inclusive Theater Company performance of "All Hands On Deck: A Topsy Turvy Trip"
Besides work, I’m enjoying the time in DC hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. I’ve even gotten the chance to visit some of the monuments and museums I’ve neglected to see for all the years that I’ve lived here. It’s sad to say that summer is almost half over, but soon enough I will be headed back to LA for my senior year!
Until next time,
Will
I’d heard about that wave energy converter. Apparently surfers are afraid it will make the waves smaller!