What a Powerful and Meaningful Site

Many students of Occidental College and residents of the surrounding area have had the opportunity to interact with the area known locally as "Mount Fiji." There are great trails that lead to the top of this "mountain" in our little community. At the top one finds great panoramic views of Los Angeles and on an absolutely perfect day a magnificent site of the Pacific Ocean. But what does this all have to with Oxy's plan to build the largest single solar array in Los Angeles?
Well many may fear that this proposed project would limit the ability for both residents and students to take advantage of this local mountain top. In order to put this notion to rest I myself traveled and explored the desolate area known as "Mount Fiji." After studying the proposed sites for the solar area I was able to grasp the idea of the proposed appearance and size of the solar panels. My trek to the top of this hillside was but just a mere dirt path, but this dirt path has been incorporated into the project and absolutely will remain. So all access to the hillside will not be deterred by this project. The site from the top of the mountain is still as wondrous as I had remembered. Looking down the south side, the proposed site for the solar array, I noticed that the desolate area can hardly be seen from my position. I also noticed that the accessibility to the site was currently very minimal. This reinforced my notion that this was a good site for the solar array. After taking a few minutes at the top I continued on to explore the actually site of the project. I noticed that once again the dirt path leading to the top was the only real route that ran through the area of the proposed solar project, and as I stated earlier this path will not be hindered by the project. Coming down the hillside I took a few moments to gaze at the land that might possibly supply our college with almost a third of all our energy needs. The site that would showcase Oxy as a sustainable and environmentally conscience college. The site that would become a trademark of the initiative our college took to ensure a better future for our world. Standing there with all these thoughts running through my mind I felt a great sense of pride about the direction our college wants to move. This moment was powerful and it truly clinched, in my mind, that this project was worth the immediate cost and was something that we didn't just need to do but something that we must do. I stood back and though what a powerful and meaningful site this will be.