For several months, an artist’s conception of the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies adorned the homepage of the De Anza College Web site. What was it doing there?

The centerpiece of De Anza’s homepage was an unbuilt structure; many visitors to the site, students included, may not have known its connection to our school.

“Just load my grades already!” you may have silently exclaimed.

Those in charge of the Measure E project currently estimate that the Kirsch Center will be completed in two years. It will be on the south side of campus, next to the tennis courts, where the environmental studies area currently stands. Until then, the building might not mean a whole lot to students. At the moment, however, that unbuilt structure is a very important one to our leaders in Sacramento.

President Martha Kanter, along with science instructors Julie Phillips and Patricia Cornely, were at the state capital February 15. There, they explained the significance of the new building to the attentive ears of state legislators.

While California remains mired in an energy crisis whose impact reaches beyond state lines, our government is weighing both short and long term solutions to the problem. [Arizona, Nevada, and other neighboring states are dependent, at least in part, on California to power their homes and businesses.]

As the cost of power increases for non-California residents as well, the state government is shouldering blame for the crisis from people and businesses outside of their constituency.

Our government is looking to reverse the apparent error of deregulation for political reasons as well as economic. After hearing the presentation on our future environmental studies building, legislators likely realized its potential to fulfill both ends.

Because of the energy crisis, this building may catapult De Anza into a new spotlight.