the air

Last week, Democratic hopeful Barack Obama delivered a powerful speech in Detroit in front of many US automakers’ executives, chiding them about their lack of investments into fuel efficient technologies and churning out gas guzzling SUV’s. Keith Naughton, over at MSNBC, felt that the tough talk by Obama backfired. From one perspective, I agree with Keith, however, from my own liberal point of view, I completely disagree with him. In addition, I feel that GM, Ford, and Chrysler are not the only ones to blame. In fact, I think the real culprit is the consumer.

The consumers, including myself, have purchased SUV’s and driven up profits for many manufacturers. What I don’t understand is that everyone now is talking about the environment and pushing hybrids when we could have done this just 10 years ago. At that time, fuel prices were low and we were all interested in buying large cars with big engines. Now look at those same people. They talk about saving the Earth, yet they still drive their SUV’s or their $50,000+ Mercedes that just loves fuel. The fact of the matter is that the consumer is the one to really blame. I think this talk about saving Earth is just a fad because energy prices have risen in the past few years. I’m willing to bet that if energy prices were the same as they were 10 years ago or even cheaper, energy conservation movements across this country would be much lower.

Barack Obama had a point when he blamed GM, Ford, and Chrysler for not investing heavily in fuel efficient technology. However, his mistake lies in that statement alone. GM has spent billions developing new technologies that make conventional gasoline obsolete. However, GM has not made any move towards making any of these technologies financially viable for consumers. I think the problem is not that Detroit has failed to keep up with Toyota or Honda. In fact, the problem is that the American manufacturers have not tried to make efficient technologies cheaper nor have they introduced them into production vehicles. So in a way, Obama should have blamed everyone since we are all at fault.

Source: MSNBC

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Now that summer is here, I have so much time to do so many things that I really enjoy and have not been able to do in a while. For starters, I really want to get back into the groove of things and start posting on this blog. However, it will still be a couple of weeks before I will run out of excuses for not staying consistent. In order to defend myself and show you what I have up my sleeves, I give you some of things I want to accomplish by the time my summer break ends in August:

IERC2007

This Saturday, I will be departing on a 10 hour road trip to Nashville, TN to attend the IIE 2007 Annual Conference aka IERC2007. I am excited to go on this trip since it will help me gain some insight into my chosen field of study as well as gain some new contacts. As an undergraduate student, this is an extraordinary opportunity to showcase my own research as well as see other students who have done an excellent job. I am still preparing for the trip in terms of logistics and presentation material. Hence, that is my excuse for not being able to commit to consistency on this blog since IERC2007 still has priority. I will leave on May 19 and return on May 23. If I do have access to a computer and internet connection, I will definitely try to write about the conference and I will take some pictures to post up here.

Readings

In the month of May, my friend Justyna told me (more like strongly encouraged me) to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. If you have not read this book, I would strongly suggest you read it. In the past, I have taken a very apathetic approach to books on spirituality. Lately, however, it seems to me that I am more inclined to learn about my inner self and am not really interested in a particular religion. Hence, I feel that some spiritual books will not only motivate me but also help me find what I am looking for in this world. After reading The Alchemist, I am really starting to appreciate my environment even more and I am learning to treasure friendship like never before. I have strongly believed that you do not meet anyone out of mere coincidence and my friendship with Justyna is no exception. However, my theories on our friendship is best left for other days. Currently, I am reading The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. I have not had the chance to read much, but I will write some of my thoughts on the book as I progress. This brings me to my next goal of simply reading many spiritual/motivational books and catch up on some quality novels through my library.

Grades

And let us not forget my never-ending reflections on my grades. Grades will be available this Wednesday after 8 AM. I am positive that I did very well, but I am also contemplating the likelihood of earning a 4.0 GPA for this semester. Given the events of this past semester (18 credit hours + research + projects + interviews/job hunt + more), I will be extremely ecstatic if I can crack the 3.5 barrier. However, if I do end up with a 4.0, I will rejoice cautiously and push myself to find what I did wrong and how I can improve. No matter what anyone says, there is ALWAYS room for improvement. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed and looking forward to Wednesday as well.

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I know that I have not had the opportunity to post as much on this blog, but I had no choice but to “lay low” while some political heat died down. Earlier this month, the Industrial and Systems Engineering department (ISYE) at Northern Illinois University (NIU) began interviewing prospective candidates for an open position as an assistant professor. Normally, this process is highly confidential and does not usually involve students. However, the College of Engineering and Technology decided to change the rules and allow a student to sit in on the voting process and serve as the voice of the students. Since the ISYE department was need of a professor, it was natural to select an ISYE student to represent the ISYE students.

To maintain my own neutrality and for my own good, I feel that the issue behind me not blogging for some time is better kept hidden. Those who are close to me know the exact reasons, but to post such a story on this blog given my new visibility in the department would be foolish. As such, allow me to quickly bring you up to speed as to what has happened at the conclusion of this semester.

Spring 2007 Semester is Over

The two main things that have happened to me this semester are my paper being accepted at the national level and my becoming the NIU IIE president. In fact, you can view my abstract by visiting the IERC2007 program outline. In the section where it says “View Sessions by Primary Author”, just look for my name, Nikhil Agarwal. I guess in a way, I have a chance at becoming a celebrity now. Isn’t life wonderful? And to switch tracks, I was named President of the NIU IIE local chapter. Ironically, I “won” this position by negotiating with the faculty adviser and convinced him to allow me unprecedented full control of the entire organization. Before all of you decry me as a dictator or a socialist, do realize that the NIU IIE chapter has been performing poorly lately. As such, I felt that a hand-picked team filled with motivated individuals can accomplish what is necessary to shield the organization from certain death. I cannot say that I will do the impossible, but I am interested in trying and at least setting the organization on the right course.

I know this update is sort of short, but I am back now and I will resume my normal posting duties and commitments to this blog. It is my hope now to crack the top 100,000 in Technorati and take this blog further. Thank you to all of you who have kept up and been patient with me. Let’s all enjoy the great weather and cool waters and sail forward, together.

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