Let's Make a big Alternate Electricity Generation Plan

In the early 1900’s American architect and urban planner Daniel H. Burnham said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.”

What’s your Energy Plan? Don’t have one? If you don’t have one why should your local, state or national government have one? Don’t have an energy plan? Why should your electric utility have one? I’ll bet you have an emergency plan for bailing out of your house if it catches on fire. I’ll bet you have a planned route to get to work. Most of us these days have a retirement plan. You probably have some plan for dinner tonight. You have a plan to educate yourself and your children. You may have a plan for what to wear to the office tomorrow. A plan. Hmm.

How would you like it if your local state or national government planned your dinner for you, or your route to work, or your wardrobe? Those of you standing in bread lines after the recent round of employment cut backs may think government planned dinners are a great idea. But let’s take it a step farther. How would you like it if your local government decided that all the people in your neighborhood had to do without electricity every Wednesday? It’s just one day a week for Pete’s sake, what’s the big deal?

Right now stop reading this and walk through your house. Don’t take paper and pen with you but just walk into each room and notice what uses electricity. I have gas heat so I’m all set you might think. Me too, but unless you have a gas powered fan or pump or a gas powered ignition switch, Wednesday means long underwear and winter parka day for both of us.

Ten years ago I did an energy audit for a guy that wanted to really cut his electric bill. My cursory investigation of his billing history showed a very low bill even in subzero high mountain valley January. I was intrigued. How was I going to help this guy save energy, he wasn’t using any. I pulled into the drive-way on the appointed day and as I pulled out my blower door and other equipment this quiet retired school teacher came out of the house wearing a winter parka, gloves with the fingers cut out, a wool watch cap pulled down over his ears, wool pants, insulated boots and a friendly smile. I discovered during my home owner’s interview that he was not dressed for the outdoors. He was dressed the way he always dressed in the winter – inside. He kept thermostats in back rooms at 40 degrees and his main living area thermostats were set at 50 degrees. His other energy saving tips included pulling every other light bulb out of any double bulb fixtures and replacing all remaining bulbs (except one reading lamp) with 25 watt incandescent bulbs. He thought those compact fluorescents were a little pricey. Every drape and curtain that wasn’t in full sun was closed tight. In a perfectly normal American home, I felt like I was creeping through a medieval mountian top monastery instead of a split level ranch house 50 yards off the highway.

Is this what is in store for everyone? Is this what Randy Udall meant when he said, “the challenge in president-elect Obama’s energy plan will be to maintain prosperity”? “We have to be very smart about what kind of investments we make in a new energy supply”. (Dawson, Crested Butte News, November 21, 2008)

Dean Kamen is very smart. The inventor of the Segway and expensive medical equipment, Kamen rules a three acre island off the coast of Connecticut that proclaimed energy independence. He has a plan. It includes the elimination of all incandescent lighting and the installation of wind and solar power.

Samso, Denmark is an island community that’s 40 square miles and a two hour boat ride from the main land. After ten years of community and government collaboration they are closing in on their goal, 100% energy independence. They have a plan. A summary of their plan includes a section on implementation appropriately titled, project design and planning. Their plan included every citizen, and every agency on the island.

“No man is an island, no man is an island…..he’s a peninsula” – Jefferson Airplane

Could your community make an energy plan? Sure it could. But, let’s not make the same mistake we did in the 70’s with our energy planning. OK gas prices are going down and Jim Carter lost the election – problem solved.

Recent headlines blarred, “World Publics Strongly Favor Requiring More Wind and Solar Energy, More Efficiency, Even If It Increases Costs. Most Think It Will Save Money in the Long Run". While some may have cheered the recent findings of the World Public Opinion.org survey I was not impressed. As you read the details of their findings you discover that most people think their government or utility companies should solve the problem.

This problem will never be solved as long as people think the solution is up to someone else.

The solution to meet the growing demands for electricity is not a problem to solve; it’s an ethic to be lived. It should be as much a part of our national ethos as “family values”. In fact it should be a family value. Can you make a difference in all of this? Of course you can. And, you don’t have to freeze in the dark to do it …. at least not yet. Let’s make better choices and better plans about using energy before it comes to that.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". - Margaret Mead

Energy Conservation Makes Me Panic

When I hear the phrase “energy conservation” my eyes glaze over; my pulse quickens and my stomach starts doing flip flops. When I hear that phrase, I know I am in for hours of boring lectures that might cover everything from how to drive my car to how to compost my vegetable waste. So, instead of talking about energy conservation, which can cover an infinite number of ways for me to feel bad about my behavior, I want to focus on saving money in two areas that mean something to me -my home electric bill and my home heating bill. I almost always feel better when I spend less money

I am not trying to dis the fine people working on the other parts of energy conservation, but to me, that phrase is too big. Its like have to wade through someone’s entire DNA genome description when all I want to know is, “what color is her hair?” A simple photo or a quick peak would do, right?

So, how do I get that photo or quick peak? Don’t Goggle “energy conservation”. You’ll spend hours looking at stuff that is really interesting but covers too much ground. You have to find a way to focus.

Adding the word “Home” to your goggle search helps focus the field of possibilities. Here is what I found from the first six choices searching for "Home Energy Conservation".

The first choice is powered by Chevron and it got really confusing for me. It went right into MPG and stuff that has nothing to do with my electric or heating bill.

The second choice must have happened because I’m in Indiana. It’s more about donating money than it is about saving money.

The third choice from the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association gets me a little closer to what I want but it’s more about how to build an energy efficient home and I am stuck with the one I have for now – so again, not real helpful.

Finally with the fourth, fifth and sixth choices, I got what I wanted.

Home Energy Saver claims it’s the “first web-based do-it-yourself energy audit tool”. Type in your zip code and start learning what it takes to save utility expenses right away. I liked it and there were lots of other links to get more information on remodeling ideas, “no/low cost” conservation actions and more.

The Home Energy Saver site above is run by the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which sponsors the fifth choice in the Goggle search, the EERE: Energy Savers Home Page. The side bar on the left takes you to details about your house that can help you get a handle on actions you can take to cut your utility bills.

The sixth choice takes you to HOME ENERGY MAGAZINE ONLINE. At first glance it looks like one more request for a subscription, but dig deeper. If you click on the Magazine link at the bottom of the masthead, you get into articles about specific topics utility saving steps. I clicked on the November/December 2008 Thermostat Setbacks- Do they really work and found coverage of a detailed study from Canada that answered every question I ever had about setback thermostats.

I think it’s great that so much attention is landing on the idea of reducing my carbon footprint. But, if ‘m going to make foot prints anywhere, I need some traveling cash. I get my travel money by reducing my utility bill payment footprint. And, I help save the world at the save time.

© 2008 Mark R. Daily