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KUFM Commentary- February 2007 --------------------------------------------------------- Changing Our Energy Habits by Brett Tallman
About a year and a half ago I walked into an impromptu meeting where about a dozen citizens from around the state were forming a committee of sorts to begin a dialogue about energy. The gathering came on the heels of the 30 th annual meeting of the grassroots organization known as AERO – the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. Our meeting was drawn together to discuss what options were available in Montana such that we might avoid the digging up and burning of more coal and the burning of fossil fuels in general. What sprang out of this meeting was the idea of putting together a somewhat comprehensive and forward looking document that would be a tangible guide pointing the way towards both energy independence and economic stability. And thus was born AERO’s “Blueprint for Homegrown Energy Self-reliance .
In a charge of enthusiasm, eight of us in the room raised our hands to volunteer to write sections of the blueprint based on either our expertise or our passion for a given topic. Having little or no expertise in the energy production fields, I chose to work on the conservation and efficiency section; as a builder and as an energy purchaser – that is, consumer - I can be passionate about these things. What we thought at the time would be a somewhat modest and concise document of about thirty pages has since blossomed into nearly a hundred pages of examples, ideas and arguments for a cleaner and more effective energy future for our state. Many thoughtful, intelligent individuals have leant their wisdom and expertise in making this blueprint a model for positive change.
In the year and a half since the conception of the Blueprint, I have spent a great deal of time thinking, writing and talking about energy and conservation. One thing that keeps reappearing is the word habits. Why habits? It seems that energy related habits – both personal and cultural – are, in a way, burning up our future. Whenever we have the possibility of making our lives easier or more comfortable, we will. And comfort usually has an energy tag that means something was burned in the process. Comfort also has a way of becoming habitual, a sort of subconscious notion about the way things are. The problem with this is that when we get comfortable we don’t want to change. We ignore certain inevitable facts such as the limited supply of natural resources and the maximum capacities for living systems to absorb our waste. We might also overlook certain macro-economic effects and our own role in the process.
Here’s an example:
I live about 10 miles from town in the farm country of Flathead Valley. From my house I can see maybe 50 houses in the surrounding area on roughly 500 subdivided acres. Each house has at least two vehicles – some as many as 4 or 5 – and I’m guessing that each travels to work or school or to the store at least once per day. A quick yet rough calculation shows that in a year’s time, well over $100,000 will be spent on fuel by my neighborhood at current rates. This will also generate roughly 400 tons of CO2 from auto emissions. Moving concentrically outward from centers of commerce exacerbates these costs. When duplicated many times over throughout the state, year after year, this type of scenario presents a huge economic and environmental burden. Yet because we have developed a certain complacent comfort about “the way it is,” our elected officials are also complacent about analyzing the true economic and environmental impacts of these remote developments. Despite all the evidence for a more costly energy future, for some reason we continue to build out of town and at a pace that belies a certain common sense.
Habits are the repetitive actions we take without being fully conscious, things we do without really thinking; I often wonder if we are thinking honestly about our impact on the future. Have we become a culture that has developed the habits of over-optimism and perpetual postponement? Are we only interested in the short-term reward? Optimism is important but only through pragmatic solutions will we achieve the long-term rewards which benefit us all.
Life is but a dream: we dream it up, we imagine what life can become and then we set about making that imagination a reality. Change the dream and we can change the reality. Someone once said, “Philosophical truths mean nothing unless you incorporate them into your life.” Incorporating the ideas from AERO’s Blueprint would be a good first step. Check our website or phone us to order your copy of the blueprint which will be available after February 20 th. I’m Brett Tallman for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO welcomes your comments and perspectives. AERO is a grassroots membership organization working to help create farm, food, and energy solutions for communities throughout Montana. For more information about our programs call us in Helena at 406-443-7272. Our website is aeromt.org.
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