AMANDA WOODS

An essay contest sponsored by a leading U.S. environmental organization asked students at colleges and universities across the nation to draft a renewable energy plan for America. Hundreds did so, and on Earth Day 2008, the entry from Florida State University student Amanda Woods was declared a winner.

Woods, 19, of Jacksonville, Fla., a soon-to-be sophomore political science major at FSU, was one of three top essayists announced on April 22 by the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy (PFRE), which sponsored the competition. The other two hail from Princeton University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Each will earn a $10,000 cash prize from PFRE.

Although Americans comprise just 5 percent of the world's population, they consume 25 percent of its energy production. Renewable energy is any resource that replenishes itself in a relatively short period of time, such as hydropower, solar energy and wind power.

In her award-winning essay's four-point plan, Woods lays out her ideas for developing and promoting cleaner, renewable energy sources in the United States over the next five to 10 years and beyond that will minimize the country's dependence on non-renewable sources.

"My plan includes installing renewable energy infrastructure; leveling the playing field for renewable energy in the free market by federally subsidizing projects; encouraging less energy use while eliminating energy waste; and providing an easy transition period from our current fossil fuel based economy to one based on renewable energy," she said. "The details are in my paper, and I hope people will read it."

Most of her contest winnings will be going into a savings account for law school, Woods said. "I'd like to get into environmental law and take on the polluters of some of our planet's most pristine areas."

Woods called herself a "news junkie" who frequently scours a wide range of Web sites and blogs for new information and analysis. She wanted to enter the PFRE contest to help organize and solidify her ideas about energy issues and renewable solutions.

"Pretty much everyone has some opinion about our country's energy situation, but not many people have a four-point plan of action to help solve it," she said.

Each contestant was asked to convince a potential audience comprised of politicians, scientists and the U.S. public that his or her plan offered an original and optimal solution. That solution had to address the technical, economic and political challenges involved and do so in a concise, persuasive and compelling manner.

Woods' winning plan did just that. She and PFRE agree: Developing renewable energy sources is an urgent national priority.

"I've been interested in renewable energy for a while, but the war in Iraq, which many if not most people strongly believe is being fought primarily over energy access, definitely helped 'fuel' that interest," Woods said. "The war started my first year in high school, when I was just becoming interested in politics. Now, my first year of college has ended but the war still hasn't."

The Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy (PFRE), headquartered in New York City, was founded in 2007 to bring increased attention to renewable energy, sustainability and conservation in an effort to combat the profound and long-term impact of non-renewable energy on the environment, quality of life and even economic stability and national security. Last November in Los Angeles, PFRE co-sponsored a presidential candidate forum that was the first ever to focus on global warming and renewable energy. Learn more at <www.2008energyforum.org>.