Hauntings At The Ohio State University: My Experiences

Explanation

In an attempt to further develop my psychic senses, I have been subjecting myself to places that myself or others know to be haunted. My goal is to get to the point where I can tell what it is that I am feeling when I sense a spirit or other entity so that I feel more in control and less threatened by them. For most of my life I have sensed the presence of spirits and other entities. When I was a kid I could actually see them. Although I cannot see them like I was once able to, I have found that I can pick up impressions from the spirits or entities that can tell me something about them. I feel that this could not only help myself but also the spirits or those who have felt threatened by them. One of the most haunted places in central Ohio is the landmarks around The Oval at The Ohio State University. My girlfriend attends this college and was more than happy to take me on a tour of the four haunted areas in this relatively small plot of land while simultaneously enjoying what this campus had to offer in the form of worldly things. I had done minimal research before my visit. I wanted to compare my experiences with what had already been documented by others once I had returned home.

Orton Hall

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This is one of the oldest buildings on campus and was the most active, paranormal wise, during our visit. I was told that it was haunted by Edward Orton, Sr. (the person for whom the building was built for) and that his spirit is usually seen up in the tower.



From the moment that we got to the front steps of the building, I picked up on the "smell" of an old moth ball smelling suit or sweater and a taste that I originally thought to be tobacco. It was a very odd oily taste. I later found out that Orton used to read with an oil lamp up in the tower. I also caught the scent of old books before I entered the building. I later found out that the building houses a library. We made our way to the exhibit room inside the building and we were greeted by this.



This had been the first time that I had seen dinosaur bones so I naturally got out my camera to take a picture. That's when I started hearing someone knocking on one of the double doors that we had entered the room through. I checked to see if it was a staff member who was opposed to us taking pictures, but no one was there. The doors had windows so I could see through to the other side. As I investigated this knocking further it got louder and became accompanied by rattling. It became very loud and physical sounding, but I could find no physical explanation for it.



Once I actually started to browse the exhibits, the noises stopped entirely. I later found out that Orton, along with a "caveman built like a football player" are known to make these sounds in an attempt to maintain order in the building.

Hayes Hall



Our next stop was at Hayes Hall. The part of the building that is said to be haunted, the downstairs entrance room, is closed from the general public but we were able to walk underneath the main floor entrance. I was not told anything about this haunting other than that there was a haunting there.



As we came to the door which was underneath the main entrance way, I felt right away that there was something significant about it. I tried to connect with whatever spirit that was residing in the room behind the door but it did not wish to reveal itself so I respectfully moved on after a couple of instances of sensing nothing but a dark figure coming up to me and going away.

I later found out that this particular area of the building is supposedly haunted by former President of the United States of America Rutherford B. Hayes. The building was erected in his honor. If I had known this ahead of time, I would have been much more respectful in my approach and would have addressed him as President. Could this be why he did not wish to reveal himself to me? I later found out that it is reported that he unlocks the door under the main entrance when students cannot seem to get in through the main entrances and have legitimate business there.

Once I had done more research on President Hayes, I found out that he was very involved in academics at OSU before and after his presidency. He helped found the school during his stint as governor of Ohio and served on the board after his presidency. He advocated the introduction of African American students in to college. I also discovered that he was once married but had to live through the passing of his wife in his later years. His last words were "I know that I'm going where [she] is." With all due respect, I have to wonder if he really did end up where she is or if he is stuck at Hayes Hall with unfinished work.

Hopkins Hall



Our next stop was at Hopkins Hall where a female student had gotten stuck in an elevator over night and reportedly ended up having a nervous breakdown. She had written things on the walls of the elevator during her ordeal. She was later killed in a car accident after she had graduated. It is reported that her writings can still be found in the elevator from time to time and that the elevator still gets stuck on the fourth floor, particularly when a student is running late for class.



My girlfriend did not wish to ride the elevator up because of her general dislike of being stuck in elevators (not because it was supposedly haunted). Aside from the doors being dreadfully slow, we did not experience anything while riding in this elevator. I glanced around to see if I could spot writings but I could not find anything but scratches near the floor which were likely from shoe scuffs over a long period of time.

After we had exited the elevator, I opened myself up to sensing anything from it. I got the impression of a female banging on the doors and finally coming to rest in the back right corner of the elevator. There was definitely an impression left there from the student's ordeal but I didn't feel as if the student was still there herself.

After this experience I began to feel some pain in my head. I believe that this may have affected my abilities at the last two haunted locations that we visited. At the last one, Mirror Lake, I did not feel or experience a thing so I will leave it out of this entry. Instead, I will now only focus on our second from last haunted stop which was Bricker Hall.

Bricker Hall



I was not told much of anything about this haunting, mainly because my girlfriend had forgotten any details of it. However, she did mention that the person's ashes were stored in a brick that was a part of the inner building. While we rested in the main lobby, I noticed a light flickering. I did not think much of this at the time, but I later found out that this was a classic report of this particular haunting. The ashes belong to a member of the Board of Trustees, and there have been reports of the spirit of this person drinking punch in the main lobby.

However, I didn't feel as if there was a spirit in the main lobby until just before we were about to leave. I mostly felt a presence downstairs which seemed to be moving from place to place. Whatever it seemed to be very busy and did not seem to have any influence over the physical world, at least at the time we were there. Either that or the pain in my head was preventing me from experiencing much. The most that I could pick up on was the person's hair, or lack thereof, and a possible sweater.

Conclusion

Being that this is a college and rumors run wild at colleges, I would expect that some of what is told about these hauntings may be exaggerated. The proximity of these hauntings and the similarity in some of the tales may suggest this as well. However, I believe that Orton Hall, in particular, is a very active haunted site. I do not wish to discredit the other hauntings, though. I picked up psychic impressions at all of them except for Mirror Lake and I believe it was due to the fact that I had exhausted my abilities. The area around The Oval at OSU campus is the oldest and thus it makes sense that there would be at least some activity there. I simply believe that there may be other explanations, such as hazing, that could account for some of the experiences.

If anything, this is testimony from an objective outsider who seriously believes in the possibility but takes a skeptical stance until certain criteria are met. Orton Hall met my criteria for both psychic and physical evidence. The rest were just psychic impressions, which while very real to me, prove nothing to anyone else. My girlfriend also heard the banging and rattling at Orton Hall. That's good enough evidence for me.

Seeing Is Believing?

The human body is a multi-sensor probe that is designed to sense and analyze it's surroundings. However, much more emphasis is given on the sense of sight. You have more than likely heard someone say "When I see it, I'll believe it." at some point in your life. Why is this? Why is seeing something so important to validation. Why do we discredit our other senses so easily? If we hear a train, why would we rather see the train rather than just assume that there is a train near by?



There is one sense in particular that we tend to discredit above all others, and that sense is intuitive awareness. If you feel something that your physical senses can't pick up on, what makes that any less real than your other senses? The answer is likely that it is learned. We learn to rely on one sense above any others. Those who become blind or deaf later in their lives learn this the hard way. However, we don't have to let those senses stagnate. We can work on them like we would a body part that has been hardly used in order to strengthen it.

It's OK to do so. Nobody will know unless you tell them.

Photo from Jason Roger's Flickr Page.

I Cannot Believe Its True Altruism

I think pure altruism is bullshit. I was sitting in my CPR class and there were a couple of people in the class needing CPR for nursing school, Everyone was giving them the "do it for people, not for money" speech. Why is it so wrong to make good money at a job that one enjoys and helps others at? Why is being poor and in service to others considered more pure than having money and being altruistic? You want to know why? Because it justifies poverty and the lives of those who perform those jobs. It is a way of the employer telling the employee "Great job! We are only going to pay you nine dollars an hour, but Wow!, you are fucking spectacular, keep up the good work." It is a way to justify paying people less than what they are really worth, can't pay'em in money, pay'em in pats on the back.

I do not think that I would fully trust someone who said their objective in serving people and the planet were totally altruistic. The contradiction when someone says they do x, y, z for the benefit of others with no benefit in it for themselves AT ALL again is bullshit. We, as human beings, do everything we do because we get something out of it, be it self-worth, ego, feeling good, safety, financial and physical gains and whatever else. I work with handicapped people. Gee, I must be a fucking saint *laughs*. I am far from a saint. The reason I work in this field is that I am intimately knowledgeable with it. I have a disabled child. As a job, that serves me.

I feel good helping people. That helps raise my self-worth and ego. I enjoy the company of the people that I serve. That brings me happiness. I receive a paycheck that pays my bills, gives me money and that keeps a roof over my head. That brings me financial gain and physical security. I do not perform my job out of the cockles of my heart; if I said so I would be a liar.

If in the process of getting all the things that I get from my job and performing it well, I can bring love and happiness to those that I serve, it is a win-win situation.

The word "interdependence" is key to reciprocal altruism. I realize that I must be willing to give to others what they need to survive and thrive in this life in order that they might *laughs again* want to give me what I need to survive and thrive in my own life. That is Reciprocal Altruism. There will always be selfish assholes who cannot reciprocally give and would not know altruism from headcheese, but the majority of people in the world get the concept.

Give in order to get, yes that is what I wrote. Give in order to get. When you give people what they need to survive and thrive, you give a little bit of balance to the world and yes, that does benefit you. This planet, all beings on it are interdependent on one another. The wise altruistic person is someone who realizes that their needs and the needs of other beings are all interlocked together in a delicate pattern.

Hiatus

The main author of The Journal Anima (that would be me) is currently on a temporary hiatus. For more information on this, go here.

If you would like to contribute to The Journal Anima, please fill out this contact form and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

See you all on the other side.

Science Fiction Inspires Reality

Usually, fiction is inspired by reality. However, especially in the case of science fiction, fiction can inspire reality. Those geeks who grew up watching Star Trek are now working at NASA. Those cell phones with their flip open design look an awful lot like Starfleet communicators. The iPhone and iPad are not unlike the touch screen consoles in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Voice recognition has advanced to the point where you can give commands to your car or video game console. The Microsoft Kinect gaming device will respond to voice commands in much the same way that Captain Picard gave commands to the Star Ship Enterprise's computer. All that's left is for us to invent warp drive and figure out how to properly interchange energy and matter.

What technological breakthroughs do you believe were inspired by science fiction? Do you believe the breakthrough was for better or worse?

Wand Making

This is the very first wand that I have ever made. It was made very simply with copper wire and a clear quartz crystal. Although wands can assist in spells, this wand was primarily designed to be a healing wand. Due to it's twisted wire design, it takes a little more focus to channel energy through it since there is no straight path. However, it's been proven to be an excellent tool for relieving pain. It's much more affective than a clear quartz crystal would be on it's own.

There are sites out there that have pre-made wands for sell, but I decided to make my own since I wanted it to be a personal tool. That does not make buying a pre-made wand inherently bad. It's just that the wand will likely be more attuned to your own energy and be easier for you to work with if it is a personal creation. However, this can also be said for any wand that you feel suits your character. It's just a personal choice. Many pagans who work with wands simply find a stick in their yard that catches their eye. No matter where you get your wand, it's all about whether you have made a personal connection with said wand.

I may start selling pre-made wands in the future. If anyone would be interested in this, please let me know.

Also, if anyone would like to share their wand making experience or thoughts, please do so as well.

Perceptions

At first glance, this radar image may seem like just an ordinary radar image, but what if I told you that the dominant thunderstorm cell in this radar image looked like a human fetus? You undoubtedly see it now.

Others suggestions have a powerful impact on how we see things. Just a few weeks ago, a friend pointed out a street sign to me and proclaimed that it read "Firefox." At first glance, I read the sign as saying Firefox as well. This would have been humorous seeing as how a popular Internet browser goes by the same name. However, at second glance, I discovered that the street sign actually read "Fox Fire." This was vastly different from the word "Firefox," but my brain was tricked in to seeing what it wanted to see thanks to my friend's suggestion.

Your eyes may not always tell you the truth. It's best to double check things whenever possible.

The Universal Language Of Music

Music is not only a form of entertainment. Music brings people together. It moves and inspires us. For some, music is life. Music can be very powerful. When an experienced musician picks up an instrument or sings a verse, they put their heart in to it. For the audience, there is nothing but them and the music. It's a way to release stress and get away from the daily grind of life.

Music is also universal. Many musicians travel the world to play for fans in other countries. When they can feel the music, there's no need for them to understand the lyrics. It reaches their ears in a way that words cannot.

Music notes image by Vera Kratochvil.

The Power Of Imagination

Some would say that having an imagination is silly. However, if it were not for imagination, humans would not have accomplished as much as they have. Imagination is the driving force behind innovation and discovery. Those who grew up watching Star Trek are working for NASA today.

Imagination, while not as powerful as words, is still a great driving force. This invisible force shapes our world. It's no wonder that it plays such an important part in magic and energy work. Your imaginations can become as real as you want them to be, even if it does not become a reality in your life time. Leonardo DaVinci imagined flying machines in his lifetime. Today, flying machines are an everyday occurrence. What seems impossible or like magic now can become a scientific reality in the future.

When The Power Goes Out

As I sit in my car during a power outage while my netbook's battery is charging via a car adapter, I can't help but notice how reliant we are on electricity. This is something that we often do not realize until it's gone.

Back before electricity, no one missed it because it had not been invented yet. These days we become lost without it. We stumble in the dark looking for a flashlight. We worry about the parishable food items that we just bought. We wait and wait for the electricity to come back on so that we can go back to our normal lives. Even to the most rugged of society, it's a huge inconvenience.

So how would we react if it was gone for good? Would we convert back to the old ways, or would there be chaos?

The Internet was originally a DARPA project designed to survive a nuclear attack. However, I can't access it over a broadband connection while the power is still out. It requires a modem that runs on electricity. I am writing this in Notepad with intention to upload it later. I did get some electronic work done thanks to my boyfriend's car adapter. However, I've only been able to get online in small spurts at various establishments with free Wi-Fi.

I do all my work online. I actually need connectivity. More and more people are starting to as well. The attendant at the gas station told me that the electric company would have the power back on by 7AM. I really hope so.

Violet light image by Teodoro S Gruhl.

Respect For Nature

For many pagans, having a respect and love for nature is essential. However, like everyone else, they need a car to get to the places they need to be. They need to eat, which means that they produce waste. They need electricity, which means coal plants expel CO2 in order to produce their energy needs. This does not make them hypocrites or bad people. It just means that they are a part of modern society.

I myself am not the most environmentally conscious person all of the time, but I do try to do little things to show my appreciation for nature. For example, I do not throw litter on the ground. I reuse things. I put old electronics and computers to new use or sell them to people on eBay. I only travel when I need to. I always make sure that no one else needs anything before I drive somewhere.

Is there anything that anyone else does to show their respect for nature? Leave a comment and tell me about it. It may inspire others to do the same. I may even end up incorporating it in to my day-to-day life.

What Inspires You?

As a writer by practice, I sometimes have difficulty discovering new things to write about. Inspiration comes and goes. We all come across countless morsels of information every day. One can only hope to be inspired by a handful of these morsels. However, sometimes inspiration comes from no inspiration at all. In thinking of something to write about here today, I started thinking about how I needed more inspiration. From this came the idea for this post.

No matter where it comes from, true inspiration strikes when something peeks one's interest. If you've ever tried to write a paper for school on a subject that you didn't care about, you know that it's much harder to do than when you actually do care about the subject you are writing about. However, the more you deal with a subject you do not like, you may find yourself becoming more interested in it, and this in itself can spark inspiration.

Inspiration is also involved in spirituality, especially for those who walk a path that borrows from many spiritual ideologies. I myself am a Non-Denominational Pagan. I simply do not see a need to limit myself to one doctrine. In affect, my spiritual path is constantly changing. Some ideologies have stuck with me, even from my past as a Christian, but I am constantly learning and growing spiritually. I cannot say that any doctrines are bad, for doctrines can inspire good in one's life. I know that my previous faith inspired me to be a better person. Whatever works for the individual is whatever works for the individual.

That being said, what works for you? What inspires you? What inspires your spiritually? What inspires your day to day life? If you create, what inspires your creations? Has this post inspired you?

Words

They say that words hold power. However, I've known people whom were not offended by words that were derogatory towards their sex or race. When I asked one of them why they were not offended by such words, they simply replied that they were just words. I've also known people that would say "What's up, guys!" when meeting with their friends even though a few of their friends were women. The word 'guys' went from meaning a group of males to just a group of friends no matter what their sex is.

The dictionary changes all the time to reflect new meanings associated with words. Words are not concrete. Thus, the real power behind words comes from their meaning. When doing spell work, the words are not as important as the intent and energy you put behind them. In essence, the words are just a tool much like a candle may be a point to focus on. You are ultimately giving the words their power.

Question The Rules

Question the rules of society

or those rules will question your right to form your own destiny

and leave you at the fate of the sleeping masses of humanity

Apply As Needed

I had a chance to take part in a pagan oriented panel at a convention recently and something came up in the conversation that peaked my interest. Someone mentioned that they only performed spells when it was needed. They explained that although their life is not perfect, they would often work at correcting any negative situation on their own before turning to spell work. I am much the same way. I tend to only perform spell work when I feel that it is absolutely necessary. In fact, I have not performed spell work since I moved in to our new apartment back in February. I was trapped in a particularly negative situation back at our old place with no way out until our lease was up. I used spell work and ritual to gain some sense of control over the situation.

I'm not saying that performing spell work all the time is wrong. If it does something for you, no one has the right to tell you otherwise. However, assessing your situation first is always a good idea.

Image courtesy of Katherine Dunham.

Respect

In order to truly emphasize with someone, you need to have a level of respect for them. If there were more respect in the world, what do you think would happen?

The Simple Things

The is a photograph I took awhile back of a Gumby portrait.

This is the same photograph, only I converted everything except for Gumby's eyes to black and white.

It's funny how a little change in an image can bring about completely different thoughts about said image. A beloved childhood character can turn in to something evil. So too can other public figures.

Blind Illumination

Those who have walked in the darkness

have the greatest capacity for lighting the world,

For they have walked blindly,

groping the walls to find their way,

illuminating a path for those who suffer the same fate

who follow behind them,

whom they cannot see,

Such blinded angels walking in the shadows

are the guide posts of humanity

Authors

Daniel W. Webb

Founder/Contributor

Daniel has been publishing his work on the Internet for over a decade. He's also been published in an anthology book. He is currently working towards a degree in Communications. In his spare time, he films significant weather events in the area of Columbus, Ohio where he is based.




Website: www.danielwwebb.com

Twitter: @webbupdates

Tina Brady

Contributor

Tina, age 44, lives in California and has loved books and reading poetry ever since she was old enough to read. She describes herself as an odd duck.

LiveJournal: moonnana

Twitter: @tinacybele

You Get What You Pay For

You've likely heard this saying before: "You get what you pay for." When people say this, they usually mean that you will likely get a lackluster product or bad service if you're paying a cheap price for it. This saying holds true most of the time.

However, you can look at this saying from another angle. If enough people feed money in to a product or service that is crappy, that product or service is going to end up everywhere. Many people today do not realize that they have a choice about what they consume. Many people would agree that most fast food restaurants offer less than par meals, but why are there fast food restaurants on every corner? It is because millions of people buy that food. They are there because we let them be there. We ultimately have a choice about what makes up our world, and we can make that choice with what we put our money in to. You can't blame a dog for eating your meal if you put it in front of him. People can't blame a fast food restaurant for making unhealthy foods when they directly fund them.

You have a choice. You make many choices every day. Why not make some that will count? If enough people do, they could end up changing the world for the better.

Mercy For The Coming Fire

Mother, my soul is pliant in your hands,

I come to you seeking peace,

I ask for only a moment's tranquillness

to gather strength for that which lies ahead,

I bow down in resolute prayer

that you may mold me without fear in my heart

America's Dependence On Fossil Fuel

Henry Ford began production of the first automobiles in 1908. After World War II ended, these motorized transportation buggies grew in popularity. These automobiles allowed people to get to where they needed to go much faster than they would be able to get there in a horse and buggy. They were technological marvels of their time. Today, despite the fact that automobiles have greatly improved in both efficiency and performance thanks to better engine designs and on board computers that control the automobile’s various functions, they still rely on fossil fuel to run. In comparison to most of our technology in the world today, these vehicles seem archaic for using such an old energy source. This is not only a problem of technological progress, however. This has become an environmental problem as well. The exhaust from combustion engines produces carbon monoxide which degrades air quality as well as the earth’s ozone layer.

So why are combustion engines that rely on fossil fuel still getting us from point A to point B? Hydrogen and electric vehicle technology have been in the public eye for some time now. What is hindering these alternative technologies? Why are we still reliant on fossil fuel? When, if ever, can we expect to move on from this archaic source of power? This article will delve in to this issue and provide answers to these questions.


Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

According to Popular Mechanics, President George W. Bush backed hydrogen fuel cell technology during his State of the Union speech in 2003 with a 1.2 billion dollar initiative to improve this technology and bring hydrogen powered cars to show rooms. Seven years later, hydrogen fuel cell technology seems to be far from being ready for mass consumption. So what happened? Ultimately, four major hurdles have kept hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from taking off.

The first of those hurdles is the way that it is produced. Ironically, 95 percent of hydrogen in the United States is made using natural gas which is a fossil fuel. While hydrogen can also be produced using a method called electrolysis where by electricity is used to split water, the electricity that is used during this process comes from plants that also pump out green house gasses. Our electrical infrastructure would drastically have to change in order for this process to truly be green. Nuclear power could also produce hydrogen but any such production can only be proved once plants that support this process are built. Even then, nuclear power plants are a source of controversy due to public safety concerns.

The second major hurdle keeping hydrogen fuel cell technology back is storage issues. Even with methods to squeeze hydrogen in to a smaller form, a much bigger tank needs to be used in order to hold the equivalent power of a gasoline tank.

The third major hurdle is transportation of hydrogen. Distributing hydrogen through the rail and highway systems would be extremely inefficient. A vehicle that can carry enough fossil fuel to run 800 cars can only carry enough hydrogen to run 80 cars. Also, hydrogen pipelines that could transport the hydrogen without the need for vehicles are too expensive to make. The only viable solution would be to make the hydrogen on site. Who wants a hydrogen plant in their back yard? The answer is no one.

The fourth major drawback of hydrogen fuel cell technology is the way that it would be used. The fuel cells themselves are expensive and not many companies believe that it is worth investing in the technology because the drawbacks limit the technology to only being useful in applications that involve company use rather than residential use. It is a significantly smaller market than gasoline sales.


Electric Vehicles

So what about electric vehicle technology? Is it any more economically feasible than hydrogen fuel cell technology? Electric vehicle technology is rather simple. There are batteries in the car. When one plugs the car in to an electrical source, the batteries charge and provide energy that powers the car. Unlike combustion engine vehicles, there are very little moving parts which means that there is less of a chance of something breaking down which could save electric vehicle owners money in the long run. There is also no exhaust which means that there are no emissions. However, as was mentioned earlier in this paper, the majority of this nation’s electricity is produced by plants that pump out green house gasses. There may be less green house gasses produced by electricity plants than all the gas guzzling cars on the road today, but it still would not be a truly green technology unless the electricity that powers electric vehicles was obtained through renewable resources. Most opposition towards electric vehicles is based on this fact. However, this may soon be the only drawback as the future for electric vehicle technology looks very promising.

Some of the current drawbacks to most electric cars are their speed, their range, the infrastructure, and how long it takes to charge them. However, one of these problems may have already been solved. According to The Truth About Cars, a new lithium battery technology would allow electric vehicles to charge in five minutes. While this is slightly more time than it takes to fill a tank with gasoline, it shouldn’t be too much trouble for most people to grab a cup of coffee while their car charges. According to Business Insider, a McDonald’s in North Carolina will be adding an electric car charging station to their property. Fast food is very popular in the United States. If more fast food restaurants were to follow the example of this McDonald’s, electric car charging would become a lot more convenient. Many grocery stores offer gas stations just outside their stores. Why not offer electric car charging stations as well? Some people, such as those who live in apartment complexes, have no convenient way of charging their vehicles at home. This would make electric vehicles a viable option to most everyone.

Yet what about the charge stations themselves? Are they economically feasible? The answer is yes. Aside from the initial cost, the only other cost would be the electric bill. Companies could make this money back by charging a relatively modest fee for every vehicle charged or through other methods. There is no need to resupply them using transportation. The power grid provides the electricity needed for these stations to operate.

So what about where the electricity comes from in the first place? Most electricity in the United States today comes from burning coal which is another fossil fuel that pollutes the air. Are there alternatives to this? Yes. The Electricity Forum lists nine planet friendly ways in which the United States could produce electricity. These include using wind turbines, solar technology, water turbines, machines that capture the energy produced by waves in the ocean as well as the ocean tide and the geothermal production inside the earth, or methods of harnessing landfill gasses. Most of these methods of producing electricity are already being used around the world today, so why is the United States still reliant on coal for producing it’s electricity needs? According to Seeking Alpha, only seven percent of the world’s energy comes from environment friendly sources. By 2030, those environment friendly sources are projected to grow by only three percent. Why is this? According to guardian.co.uk, it’s because renewable energy sources are not reliable enough to meet societies massive energy needs. For instance, wind turbines can only produce energy when there is wind. Storing energy from renewable energy sources is another problem that needs to be solved before it can become economically feasible. However, a new battery technology which uses gravel inside a large battery could solve both of these problems. It would allow for more reliable and controlled energy production from renewable energy sources.

Also, Tesla Motors currently makes sport class electric vehicles. These vehicles are fast. Tesla Motors’ mission is to eradicate the notion that electric cars have to be slow and compact.


Hybrid Vehicles

Seeing as how the United States as well as the world is likely going to continue to be dependent on fossil fuel for some time to come before new technologies make their way on to the market and in to production plants, the focus these days has been mainly towards using less fossil fuel than in the past. This focus can be seen in the popularity of hybrid cars, particularly in the popularity of the Toyota Prius. According to hybridcenter.org, hybrid electric vehicle technology works by combining both a fossil fuel combustion engine with electric vehicle battery technology. The result of this technology is that these vehicles run on less fossil fuels than a purely gasoline powered economy class vehicle. Most of these hybrid electric vehicles achieve this with a technology called regenerative breaking which harnesses the kinetic energy of the car’s wheels as the car is drifting to a stop. These hybrid electric vehicles not only cut down on carbon emission and help to conserve the world’s oil supplies; they also save the owner money at the gas station since they do not need to be refueled as often as purely combustion engine vehicles do. There are also hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. However, these vehicles suffer from the same crippling drawbacks that purely hydrogen fuel cell vehicles suffer from. Thus, these vehicles have not become as popular as hybrid electric vehicles have become. Hybrid electric vehicles hold more promise for the near future.


So What Now?

The United States as well as the world’s dependence on fossil fuel has become a huge problem. Despite advancement in technology, advancement in ways to curb our dependence on fossil fuel has been slow out of the gate. However, current and conceived technologies are on the rise. Americans are becoming more and more aware of the global problem of pollution. Despite pre-conceived notions of the limitations of environmentally friendly car technology, we could be on the verge of a boon in environmentally friendly energy production and consumption thanks to new breakthroughs from radical thinkers. The adoption of these breakthroughs won’t come easy. Many are still vexed by the limits of the environmentally friendly modes of transportation from the past and present. Compared to gasoline powered vehicle technology, electric vehicle technology has been slow to develop. When gasoline vehicles first hit the market, there was nothing to compare them to. Much will need to be done to eliminate people’s fears of new sources of power and to send us in to the future.

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About

The Journal Anima was created for one purpose and one purpose alone: to provoke and encourage thought. Too many times in our lives we are told what to believe about ourselves and our surroundings. This is largely due to traditional media.  Journalistic integrity has been hard to come by these days. How many times have you turned on the local news only to watch so called journalists being biased of their own internal beliefs and projecting those beliefs on to others? The Journal Anima is not only about the paranormal and paganism. It is about opening one's mind to the universe one thought at a time. Instead of telling you what to believe, The Journal Anima aims to provoke and encourage thought from it's readers.