An education in blogging...a look back at my journey.

For the last month, as I blogged about the issue of energy, not only did I learn a great deal about my chosen subject, but perhaps even more important were the lessons I learned through the process of publishing a blog.  My research into the issues of energy and its interconnectedness to the economy, foreign policy, and the environment provided me with a better understanding of the challenges our government faces when attempting to implement a comprehensive energy plan. 

I started this project by challenging myself to view the issue of energy through a variety of lenses, rather than making my decisions with only the environment in mind.  At the time, we were experiencing record high gas prices, and the focus was on reducing our dependency on foreign oil.  This was the first test to the strictly environmental position I had always clung to, and also where a clear difference emerged in the candidate's plans to address the problem.  As I delved into the facts and figures of our energy usage as well as the candidate's plans, I realized that my vision of windmills supplying all the clean energy the world needs, was not very realistic.  I experienced a slight shift in my thinking related to energy and the environment.  I still consider the environment to be a top priority when it comes to making energy decisions on a personal level, and also want my government to consider it a top priority; however, I realize that the complex connections to the economy and issues of foreign policy cannot be ignored and also deserve consideration when designing a comprehensive energy plan for our nation.  I believe that strict environmentalists are very important to the debate, and have the utmost respect for their devotion to protecting the environment, however I no longer count myself as one of them.  The reason why I think they are crucial to the debate about energy, even though their position is somewhat polarizing, is because there are so many opposing forces that put jobs and the economy ahead of the environment.  

My blog took an interesting turn midway through October, as the financial crisis gripped the world.  Illustrating once again the relationship between energy and the economy, the plans for government investment into alternative energy started to look less and less likely.  Because blogs are evolving entities, I had to adjust my research and shift away from our government's plans for energy, and look into how other groups outside the government might deal with our energy challenges.  Although this was not something I initially intended to include in the scope of my blog, I am so glad circumstances forced me to do so.  It made me realize that I had become much too complacent and had put too much faith in the government to solve our energy problems.  I now believe that some combination of the private sector, civic groups, and the environmental movement will play a major role in the future of energy.

About two thirds of the way through my blog project, I found my support firmly behind the  Obama/Biden ticket as it relates to energy policy.  I believe their plan does address the issues related to the economy and foreign policy, while keeping the environment in mind. The McCain/Palin plan focuses more on reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and places an emphasis on nuclear energy as the main form of renewable energy.  I believe that nuclear energy, with all its inherent risks and unresolved issues related to nuclear waste storage, is the least desirable form of renewable energy and should be considered a last resort after we fully tap the potential energy in wind, solar and water.  

The experience of blogging was not always comfortable for me, but I know that I have grown because of it.  I was particularly challenged with the time constraints involved with biweekly postings.  I usually have more than enough time to research a topic, sit with my thoughts a while, form an opinion, write a draft or two, and then finalize my work; all before anyone has a chance to read it.  Without that luxury, I found that my writing was not up to my usual standard, and I had more than a few foot-in-mouth incidents because of it.  My word choice was sometimes off the mark, and in fact one of my posts was published with a title that completely misrepresented what my post was about.  As a result, it obviously influence how my readers interpreted my post, as their comments reflected more on the title than the content of the post.  I also learned some valuable lessons through commenting on other people's blogs.  In one instance, I failed to properly recognize the personal nature of a blog, where the author had put a great deal of thought and effort into their post, and I had, in my passionate response, neglected to pay enough attention to the tone of my comments and inadvertently offended the author.  I am used to passionately debating in person, where respect can be shown through eye contact, tone of voice, a friendly smile or even physical contact.  Without those gestures, word choice and tone are critical to effective communication.  My failures to communicate taught me that I still have a lot to learn.

And as for the most profound education I received during this experience, it is without a doubt my very deep appreciation for writers who choose to publish their work.  My relationship with published writing has been a very one-sided affair.  I have been an avid consumer and an absent contributor.  Until I nervously posted my first blog entry, I had never written for an audience other than my friends, family, and perhaps a college professor or teaching assistant.  I was completely unprepared for the vulnerability I felt when I put my thoughts and opinions on display for the blogosphere to read and possibly comment on.  As I mentioned, I have always been a voracious reader of newspapers, magazines, fiction, non-fiction, you name it, and I don't think I really understood, until this blog project, what an amazing gift the authors had given me.  I hadn't given much thought to who was behind the words that had given me such pleasure, or anguish, or amusement.  Now when I read, I will always remember to be grateful to the author who took a risk so that I have the privilege to entertain and educate myself with the fruits of their labor.