A little more than a year ago, several professors at WashingtonState University got to wondering: What would happen if we asked abunch of high-school kids to imagine the future of energy?Given that this is the generation inheriting global warming, why not give its members an early say in how to solve that mess?The result of those questions: "Imagine Tomorrow," a challenge to explore ways to move to alternate-energy sources."The idea was to put the initiative and energy of high-schoolstudents together with the resources of our university and Washington`sbusiness and industry leaders," explains M. Grant Norton, contestco-chair and associate dean of research and graduate programs, WSUCollege of Engineering and Architecture.Bringing in business had two advantages: It would expose students toreal-world dynamics and give them a chance at lots of prize money —almost $100,000. {The Seattle Times was one of 26 community andbusiness sponsors of the event.}More than 370 students from 32 Washington high schools showed their stuff on the Pullman campus the weekend of May 9-11.Jill Watz, contest co-chair and director of Vulcan Inc.`sclimate-change initiative, looked over the 86 projects spread outacross the Bohler Gym floor and commented: "There`s a real diversity ofprojects. Many on hydrogen, everybody`s first love — then they get overit and move on."Contest planners wanted more than a science competition and includedcategories related to societal and behavioral aspects ofsustainability. That opened the field, and students responded:• A project from the Tacoma School of Arts advocated exercise parks lit by generators hooked up to human-powered machines.• From the same school, an "environmentorship" project — high-schoolstudents mentor middle-schoolers once a week on sustainabilitypractices.• Vancouver`s Heritage High School students explained how theyproduce 100 gallons of biodiesel each week from grease collected atschool cafeterias.• From Ballard High School in Seattle, a system to replace watermeters, which just measure usage, with small turbines that use waterflow to generate power.• A working hydrogen-hybrid engine from a Future Farmers of America team from Rosalia High School in Whitman County.• A hybrid car from two brothers from Colfax High School in Whitman County.• A Bellingham High School demonstration of using the carbon-dioxideemissions from concrete plants to grow algae to make biofuel.The 70 judges strolled the floor, posing questions: "What is theoverall impact of all your components?" "What do you do with your wastefrom biodiesel production?"Catherine Kerns, one of three Lake Roosevelt {Coulee Dam, OkanoganCounty} High School students who won the grand prize, realized her teammight have a chance when so many judges came by to talk "and we reallythought so when they had to tell them to stop interviewing us." Theirproject involved three alternative-fuel sources {solar, hydro and wind}to power an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen.Each of the three won $5,000. Kerns, a senior, moves on, but theothers, Elizabeth Owen and Peter Rise, plan to compete in ImagineTomorrow next year. {Other interested students, mark the date: May29-31, 2009}. They considered refining the hydrogen project but thengot over it and are now moving on to new ideas.Redmond High School entered four projects and took two firsts and athird prize. Its winner in the societal challenge detailed acompetition the students started at the school to reduceclassroom-carbon emissions, mostly by changing everyday habits, such asusing a ceramic coffee cup instead of a paper one. "Cool SchoolsChallenge" had also won the 2007 President`s Environment Youth Award{complete with Rose Garden ceremony}.Joseph Hegge, one of the Redmond winners, says Cool Schools makeshim optimistic as he imagines what his generation`s tomorrow w
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