We live in a culture that extols instant gratification, and as fiercely autonomous Americans, we generally look for quick and easy ways to take charge of uncontrollable factors in our lives — energy...

I sat at my desk at 4:30 a.m. marveling at my newly acquired Spidey senses and making a mental Etch-A-Sketch of the crevices on my wall behind the computer screen. And it was at that point when I began...