Some of the windmills of the Fenner wind farm near Canastota turn in the fall breeze.  Wind power is just one of the energy alternatives being highlighted at this year's STS symposium. 

Photo by Stephen Jensen, '10

Members of Morrisville’s sociology department hosted the second annual Science, Technology and Society symposium on Thursday, April 10. Dr. Kurt Reymers and Dr. Wyatt Galusky headed the event that promoted alternative energy solutions for an increasingly dependent world. 

Galusky said in an email interview that many people fail to appreciate how integrated our lives are with technological systems that require energy.

The event included tours of alternative energy facilities in the area, such as the Fenner wind farm and a methane digester, artistic renditions of energy technologies. It concluded with a panel discussion in the Little Theatre in STUAC.                  

The panel discussion was headed by MSC President Ray Cross and featured segments by Dr. Benjamin Cohen of the University of Virginia, Dr. David Hess of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Dr. Jody Roberts of the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

“If people don't get involved in those debates, which are real and pertinent,” Galusky said, “then others will make those decisions for them.” Galusky added that the symposium in itself was intended to contextualize a lot of the questions people have about “green” living and energy alternatives rather than to assume there is an obvious answer.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness not only about alternative energies, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, but also to rehash the dangers of “dirty” energies like coal, nuclear and fossil fuels.

“We are more and more seeking alternatives that may solve one or more of those problems,” Galusky said, “while leaving the rest of our lives relatively unchanged.”

The symposium was made possible by contributions from Morrisville’s Sheila C. Johnson Institute and CSTEP programs, and from the New York Council for the Humanities.