Standing outside in barely a coat in December weather, my video partner Kim and I hailed cabs until hypothermia set in. As fate would have it, a hybrid cab picked us up as our chariot to the most exciting and nerve-racking interview we were both about to face in our journalism careers.

While we were in the hybrid taxi, the driver informed us that we had the pleasure of riding the District’s first ever hybrid cab. It felt highly ironic that on our way to film our final project, we were riding in a hybrid and throwing around energy statistics that we had learned in class.

We finally arrived at our destination, the Department of Defense , in order to do a video interview with Rear Admiral Philip Cullom , director of the Navy’s Energy Task Force .

After an hour of his time, I sensed his true passion for being a part of change in the nation’s thinking on energy. He reminisced about the Kennedy years and the president’s challenge to get a man on the moon by the end of the decade. However, Cullom emphasized that we as a nation don’t have a decade, the time to start is now.

Alternative energy is the wave of the future. Every single person I have interviewed for Planet Forward has stated those words. And I’m convinced too. If we’re going to get people to listen, it’s necessary to keep the conversation going in an engaging and informing manner.

Our final mini-documentary attempted to do just that, to get people to listen about a subject that they normally wouldn’t pay too much attention to.

It’s about bringing people from all different backgrounds (whether you’re an admiral, a chemistry student, or an elderly scientist manning the only algae biofuel farm of its kind on the east coast) its about starting the conversation, taking what we’ve learned in the past, are exploring in the present, and applying towards the future.

From a solar roof on top of an ice skating rink in Rockville , to shooting a rap music video about energy waste from food, to standing like a fool on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a man on the street interview about the energy crisis (and almost being physically removed from the premises due to a lack of a permit), the past few months have been an invaluable experience.

My eyes have been opened to a subject that is so pressing and I hope I played a very small role in getting people to listen and act, or at least watch my rap video .