David Roberts over at Grist.org makes an excellent point in this debate. We can transcend the whole issue by simply forgoing large renewable energy farms and capture the resources right where the energy is being used. As distribute energy systems become more efficient, and as communities begin to understand the true benefits of installing these systems, we will begin to see less and less need for large transmission lines leading to mega-wind and solar farms.

Mr. Roberts puts the final nail in the coffin with this quote:

“In such a system, it’s not just energy that’s distributed, it’s social and economic power. The result is more democratic and resilient (though such benefits rarely find their way into conventional price comparisons). If “consumers” become producers, managers, and innovators, perhaps the desert tortoise and the world can be saved.”

The social benefits of distributed energy are equally as important as the land resource issue. When we regain control over our energy resource we have more power to collectively go solve the rest of the world’s problems.

You can read the full article here: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/green-civil-war-projects-vs-preservation/

I’d like to thank Mr. Dick Riseling for having me on the show and introducing me to his incredible sustainably operated farm in Sullivan County, New York. Please, check out his farm’s website at http://www.applepondfarm.com/ . The farm acts as a working renewable energy education center to demonstrate that renewable energy technologies and sustainable living scenarios are practical in the world we live in today.

We started with a dearth of climate science completely and utterly backing up the assertion that humans are changing the climate of the earth. What we didn’t know was how much. Now, evidence is surfacing that the changes we’re having on our environment are potentially even worse than the pessimists predicted. Krugman notes a study by M.I.T. (it’s a college in Boston. I hear it’s hard to get into) which more than doubled the expected rise in temperature by the end of the century from 4 degrees to 9 degrees. I don’t know about you, but I plan on being around for at least another 60 years. And I don’t want to move to Florida when I retire. Nor do I want Boston to turn into Florida.

The evidence is out there. The conversation should be, how much is it going to cost us to mitigate the changes and potentially halt human-caused climate change. Instead, 212 members of our legislature refuse to acknowledge the glass on the table and have a productive debate. One called climate change a hoax, saying there is no scientific consensus. He received applause. Then he misquoted numbers on the cost of the bill to American families.

I have issues with the cap and trade bill. I have issues with some of the proposed ‘fixes’ to the climate crisis. But until we all agree that there is a big ol’ glass of water on the table, this conversation and the subsequent action, in whatever form it may take, will keep getting pushed to the next generation. I just hope I have time to teach my kids how to swim. Because the glass is getting bigger. And sooner or later the levees are going to break.

A Constant Shore

And through the ages of Impermanence
Through nations: rise and fall
Through long and short winters
The taste of Constancy has riddled our tongues

We have built our cities on a Constant Shore
We’ve driven the moorings deep
We’ve hung the heavy doors
Of Civilization, of Art, of Sanctity

Yes, we have built our city on the shore
So sure the waves would only offer sleep
Sure our White Cliffs offer support
And what’s more than the waters of the shore?
Seem to slowly creep to the feet of our beds

Creep into our lungs
Creep into our heads
Our cliffs fall into the sea

And what’s more than the waters of our shore?
As constant as the exhalation the neighbor seethes
As midnight black as the Back Country of Pennsylvania
Of Bethlehem, strong as steel
Of New York or London, weak-kneed by the soot

Main Street straddles the waterline
This is fine, of course, as long as there is Sanctity.
And the Maples have gone north to find their sanity
And the taste of constancy has gone quite awfully sour

We have built our cities on a Constant Shore
And by the end of the shortest winter of them all
The ocean licks the feet of our beds

Jared Rodriguez, 2002

The economy is so bad, there is not enough money for road salt. They don’t have enough money to protect their children?

I had to think: How can I help this woman?

Last week, traveling through Stony Point, New York, a friend and partner in Emergent told me that the local gypsum factory, an employer of hundreds of citizens in that small community on the Hudson River, is closing. This town is 30 miles north of Manhattan. Oil and electric prices have risen so high that the company is moving out of the state. The people of Stony Point will now have to pay twice the taxes to support the essential services in the community.

Similarly, only one year ago the large, coal-fired Lovett Power Plant was forced to shutter its doors by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – the plant was putting too much mercury and soot in the air in Stony Point. Mirant, the owner of the coal power plant, sued the town over taxes. . . and they won in state Supreme Court. The town and the local school district owed the coal power plant $300 Million. Taxes for residents in Stony Point quadrupled. And, now you can see hundreds of “For Sale” signs and dark windows (lost to bank foreclosure) all throughout the town.

While driving through Stony Point, I asked myself, when will oil be so scarce and so expensive that I can’t afford to drive my car to the grocery store? Can climate change flood this inland community? Or, when will the world economy be so bad that the only way to make competitively priced goods is to disregard human rights? Wait, isn’t this already happening?

I imagine if you’re reading this you’ve asked yourself the same questions before.

We’ve all heard of the factory worker being laid off, the farmer forced to sell his land to suburban developers, or the little boy that gets lung cancer from a coal power plant. The USDA says we can’t eat more than a pound of fish, any fish, per week – or we risk getting poisoned by mercury from coal power plant smoke stacks.

We feel empathy for the victims of unsustainable capitalism. We wish there was something we could do to ease their hardship and give these people hope for a better tomorrow.

As we feel sorry for other victims, we fear to even ask: Can this, or even when will this happen to me or my town?

Before, we had stood powerless to the economic and political forces at hand. But right now, in this precarious moment in our society’s history, with our unlimited access to information and our unyielding desire for change, we stand well-suited to really help the resident of the next Stony Point, New York, or the Town Clerk of the next Merrill, Maine.

By reading and writing this now, we have already won the first step in this fight for change – for real social, economic, and environmental sustainability. With a few mouse clicks we can build an army, a movement to educate those struggling communities and community leaders: There are ways to get out of this mess! There are ways to build a healthier community!

All we have to do is spread the word.

This word:
Sustainability.

Emergent helps communities sustainably prosper into the future. We absolutely need your help.

• We need to know when the factory at the end of your street is having trouble and jobs are at stake.

• We need to know when your school district is considering laying off 30 teachers.

• We need to know when the lumber company on the outskirts of town is considering selling out to a strip coal mining company.

• We need to know when Super Walmart wants to come into your town and tear down what’s left of your downtown for it’s parking lot.

• We need to know when your school is faced with either cutting after school programs or dismantling the music department.

• We need to know when your favorite vegetable farmer in town is having trouble paying the bills or his taxes.

We need to know these things because we can only be in so many places at one time. We don’t know your community, but you do.

You know your community, your neighbors, your town, and your friends.

Keep your eyes open. Keep your eyes peeled for people and organizations, who are just barely making it by, just barely paying their bills. These vulnerable folks have the opportunity to thrive by sustainably harnessing the natural resources they already own, with what’s already in their backyard. That’s wind, water, sun, trees, soil, and even trash. That’s motivated community members who want to join a cause.

Once you identify someone, or an entire community that needs help – and they are willing to listen and learn – give us a shout-out! Join our Posse! We can help you help them. So let’s get started with this movement.

Here’s what to do – and there’s a lot of different ways to get in touch with us:

Our website: http://www.emergentgroup.com/posse/

Join us on Facebook @ The Emergent Posse : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=80673874691

Twitter us @EmergentEnergy : http://twitter.com/EmergentEnergy

On your phone: Text ‘empower’ to 68398

There’s a Kansas bill up for vote soon, which will include allowances to build 2 700MW coal power plants in the state. Supposedly the green initiatives also included in the bill, in an attempt to make it more palitable, have been wattered down to the point where they will be ineffective.  The Governor, Kathleen Sebelius, has repeatedly vetoed coal fired power plants in the state in the last year. This one may have enough to override her (or her Lt. Gov if she joins Obama) veto… Stay tuned.

The federal bill was just introduced, so who knows how much it will change before it gets to a vote. For now it appears as if it is extremely ambitious. It includes a 25% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2025 and reductions in global warming pollutants of 20% below 2005 levels by 2020. It was sponsored by Senator Waxman and Rep Markey, so I’m sure it’s good and will push the envelope. The question remains, just how watered down will this one gets by the time they vote on it…? One more article here on the bill.

Preparing for Wind Power:

How the new Federal Legislation Affects You

With the introduction of new incentives by the federal government as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, wind power is becoming more and more financially feasible in the Northeast and throughout the US. Attend our webinar to learn more about the ways these new incentives are affecting wind power development and how to prepare for future wind power development in your community.

When: Wednesday, March 25th at 10AM
Where: online! register at www.emergentgroup.com/webinar

For more information

Phone: (617) 764 – 0206
Email: Jared Rodriguez at jrodriguez@emergentgroup.com

www.emergentgroup.com/webinar

“The economic malaise that plagued Japan from the 1990s until the early 2000s brought stunted wages and depressed stock prices, turning free-spending consumers into misers and making them dead weight on Japan’s economy.”

This article ultimately warns Americans of the dangers of saving their hard-earned money. I was taken aback when I fully realized the predicament our nation is in. How can we continue living in a society that rewards consumers for taking unnecessary risks? And yet, how can we revive our economy without consumer-driven growth?

In a time where the economy and sustainability are the two largest problems the world faces, there is an inherent contradiction that we have yet to confront. Japan has shown that conservation, while more sustainable, can pull us even further into recession. But at the same time, we cannot be environmentally-, socially-, or (in the long term) economically sustainable if we don’t heed the necessary calls to conserve.

The issue is something that hasn’t been widely addressed. For our GDP to sustain the relatively consistent growth we have seen since the industrial revolution, we need to continually increase consumption (and thereby increase pollution and environmental degradation). This growth, however, is limited to the boundaries of our natural environment. When we reach our boundary, the constructs on which which we built our economy on will collapse.

Ultimately, a system dependent on growth cannot grow forever.

I do not believe we have yet reached that boundary, the end of consistent growth. Growth will be temporarily restored in the near future as we retrofit the current system to be increasingly efficient. I do believe, however, that we must address this issue before we hit the limit of our growth. We must rethink how the system works. This is vital for both our economic sustainability and our environmental sustainability. Some experts suggest that we “power down” our society. We need to slowly return our society to a general way of life that requires much less energy, muss less material consumption, and includes much more time with family and being more self-reliant.

CNM is a tool  that can be utilized by community energy project developers to make a project more profitable. Traditionally, power generation capacity is built by large corporations in large chunks. A nuclear station here, a huge coal power plant there, lend a hydroelectric facility to the books and you’ve got a pretty good/maybe diverse portfolio. But in this equation, with a grid of transmission lines coating the country but only a few nodes of generation, there was never a place for small scale, community-based generation capacity – I’m talking everything from a roof-top solar array to two or three utility scale wind turbines behind the cement manufacturing facility. The problem has been regulation. These small generators didn’t have their own permitting and regulation categories so they fell into processes meant for 100 million dollar power plant projects. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in permitting fees and five years of public hearings kinda takes the fun out of a small wind turbine at the high school, right?

Now I’m obviously exaggerating there at the end, but the point stands that renewable energy has had trouble penetrating the market. And it makes sense from a business standpoint. Let’s think of an analogy. You’re a sock distribution company. There are four big companies who will supply you all the socks you could ever need. They deliver socks once a day in one big truck. There are also 1,000 small sock makers who offer the exact same socks. They also offer them at the same price. However, they each have separate delivery trucks. Would you, as the distribution company, even want to talk to these other smaller companies and bear the hassle or receiving 1,000 small shipments daily?  You’ve got all the socks you need and you only have to talk to three business partners and deal with minimal shipments. Sure, the socks are no more expensive, but the expense comes in terms of organizing an operating the receiving of socks.

These socks are electricity. The 1,000 small companies are solar roofs and residential or community-scale wind projects. The utility is doing what’s in their best interest. They are buying ‘bulk’ electricity and keeping their overhead down in terms of managing the electric distribution grid. So regulation must enter the sock sector if we want to give the smaller companies a chance to stand up to the big sock generators, or is that power generators?  Nevermind! Two points: First, yes, the costs to the utility go up because they have higher overhead. Second, we get renewable energy on the grid and achieve energy independence (avoiding price spikes, energy security issues, and, yes, save the planet from global climate change). Prices will eventually go down or level out when the market is mostly renewable-based, because there is no fuel cost for renewable energy generation and economies of scale will eventually bring equipment and installation costs down.

Sorry, back to CNM. Now, with CNM, the utility is required to do the following, based on the sock analogy. You want a sock from the sock maker that lives on your street? You got it. Support your local industry. Maybe you even have a financial interest in this particular, small-scale, mom-and-pop sock producer. If you buy 10 pairs of socks a month, that big distributor (the sock, I mean electric grid) is required to buy the same number from the producer on your street. The socks are all identical, remember, so who knows if you’re actually getting those. That’s not important. . .

The important factor here is that the distributor is required to support your local business, your local industry, and potentially your local financial interest (that means your local solar panels or wind turbines). Pretty cool, huh?