The Proposed DIY Auto Garage

Hail loyal readers.  As the final blog post of my own various musings and/or ranting, I thought it would be a good idea to spread the word about a certain project that me and some Environmental Studies comrades have started in Dr. Coop's ENVS 301 class.  Though Coop, who is more likely to read this than anyone else, already knows quite a bit about this venture, I am writing this to hopefully get the word out to even a few people who haven't heard something about this, as well as to the ENVS kids of next semester who may happen to stumble upon this handy-dandy blog.  Also, I think that the message and goals of this project relate nicely to the various principles of ORE that I have been rambling about for the past few months.  Anyway, our project involves establishing what we have come to call a "DIY Garage" on campus (or possibly somewhere else, depending on various location considerations) as a place where students would be able to work on their vehicles (or have someone else help and teach them how to) without freezing and while hopefully learning some important skills that they can carry with them and cultivate for the rest of their lives.  So, how does this relate remotely to what I've said about ORE's guiding philosophy?  I'll tell you how.  First of all, this project has the potential to save students a whole lot of money, as they wouldn't need to take their vehicles to a shop to have 'em maintained.  Furthermore, the education that they would receive at the garage would allow them to make wise choices in the future regarding repairs, and thus avoid being swindled by less-than-ethical repair shops.  Secondly, helping students to keep their vehicles well-maintained (similarly to ORE's EnergySmart program helping people to keep their houses well-maintained) and properly tuned would help them to reduce their vehicles' air emissions and improve their fuel economy.  Finally, there is the education piece of the garage.  I am most excited about the garage's potential to teach people a few things and inspire them to learn some other exciting stuff on their own.  Just as ORE's programs don't throw the education aspect out of the window, so can this garage maintain a focus on students' learning more than how to crack books and write papers.  My greatest hope is that the DIY Garage may inspire students, and even other people in the community, as to the possibilities of learning how to do many useful and peaceful things instead of being glued to their iPhones or whatever, so that we may, slowly at first, remember the greatness of not only learning, but also doing all of these different things.  With this in mind, I leave you all in peace for a little while.  If anyone who happens to read this can please spread the word around town and around campus, I will be forever grateful.  Over the next few years, I plan to work hard on this project, and will do my best to help this happen, so please get in touch with me if you would like to help in any way, however seemingly small.  Until next time, cheers!