Energy seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. And it’s not just because we recently experienced a rapid shift to bone-chilling winter weather after the record-setting warmth of an endless fall. In fact, people are beginning to realize that virtually every facet of their lives is affected by the ways we produce and use energy in our homes, our businesses, our communities, and around the world.
The Hidden Price of Fossil Fuels
High prices of gasoline and home heating oil are stretching budgets to the breaking point for many, who see no end or solution on the horizon. Others suffer ill health from high levels of ozone and particulate matter in the atmosphere – the result of burning fossil fuels for power, heat, and transportation. Anglers, who have had to contend with their favorite lakes and streams rendered fishless by acid rain, now find that the fish they do manage to catch are often unfit to eat because they’re contaminated with high levels of mercury from coal burning power plants. Foresters notice that certain tree species, mainly at high elevations and in the western
Adirondacks
, are also suffering from acid precipitation and are not thriving. As if these problems were not enough, we are now able to document some insidious effects of global warming, which threaten to undermine the ecological and economic underpinnings of the
Adirondack
Park
.
A Time for Change
According to Mike DiNunzio, the Association’s Director of Special Projects, there is no single, or simple, way to deal with the constellation of problems associated with fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. “We committed ourselves as an organization to a comprehensive, collaborative, long-term approach to energy conservation, efficiency, and sustainable production when the Association launched the Adirondack Energy Initiative at our annual meeting in July, 2005,” DiNunzio says. “It’s now clear that each of us needs to do what we can to use energy wisely and efficiently. And we desperately need to begin a regional transition from the use of fossil fuels to clean, renewable, environmentally friendly energy sources like solar, geothermal, biomass, and appropriately sited and scaled wind and hydro turbines.”
Transitioning to clean, renewable, more local sources of energy is a monumental, intergenerational task that has been called one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. But meeting this challenge holds the promise of achieving true energy independence, purging a host of toxic substances from our environment, diversifying and sustaining our local economies, and strengthening the capacity of our communities and our democratic institutions to meet the needs of present and future generations.
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
Given the complexity and pervasiveness of energy issues, people tend to become overwhelmed and think there is nothing they can personally do to make a difference. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” asserts DiNunzio. “Everyone produces a measurable impact on the environment that results from burning fossil fuels used to heat and light our homes, run our appliances, and fuel our vehicles.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, fossil fuels produce about 85% of all the energy used in the country. They account for 2/3 of our electrical generation and virtually all of our transportation needs. The environmental impact that results from burning these fuels, commonly referred to as our “carbon footprint,” is measured in terms of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the combustion process. Carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas, which has risen to record levels in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. “On average,” explains DiNunzio, “Americans produce about 20 metric tons (2,200 pounds) of CO2 per person per year. In comparison, people in the
United Kingdom
produce less than half this amount.” Obviously, there is a great deal each of us can do in our homes, our businesses, and in the lifestyle choices we make, to reduce our carbon footprint. Helping people make these sorts of changes is a major goal of the Association’s Adirondack Energy Initiative.
Using energy more wisely and efficiently is the most cost effective, easiest, first step that all of us who are concerned with the future of the
Adirondacks
should take to reduce our carbon footprint. For example, we can avoid unnecessary travel, use vehicles that are fuel-efficient, turn off lights, unplug idle electronic equipment and chargers, turn down thermostats a few degrees in winter, add insulation to ceilings and walls, plug air leaks in our homes, and install energy efficient light bulbs, windows, and furnaces. Experts agree that by using such tactics, we can, rather easily, reduce our consumption of energy by about one-third, and perhaps by as much as one-half. This will result in immediate savings in fuel and power costs, and will keep those saved dollars circulating in the Adirondack North Country economy. But we need to do more, if we expect to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of burning fossil fuels and make the transition to an energy smart future.
Breaking Our Addiction to Fossil Fuels
Regardless how much energy we conserve and how efficiently we use it, rising prices and environmental costs will eventually lead to a shift from fossil fuels to clean, green, climate-friendly alternatives. The question is, what sorts of alternatives make sense for the
Adirondack
region?
Several hydropower facilities now operate within, and on the periphery of the Park, but specific laws and regulations that protect the Park’s unique, fragile resources limit opportunities for new facilities. For example, our State Constitution prevents new hydropower sites from being developed on the “forever wild” Adirondack Forest Preserve, and the State’s Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers Act controls many new land uses in designated river corridors on private lands. Nonetheless, there may well be opportunities on some private lands for hydro projects, especially “low-head” facilities that use water falling less than 30 feet into turbines with a capacity of less than 1MW, that could contribute to the demand for clean, renewable power in certain localities.
Similarly, wind turbines are making an increasing contribution to the regional power supply. But we feel that the 400-foot towers on which these turbines are normally mounted are not appropriate on the Park’s ridgelines and mountaintops, because other conservation values and Park policies would be compromised if this were done. Fortunately, as the remainder of this article makes clear, there are other clean, renewable energy solutions that do not threaten the ecological integrity and scenic beauty of the Park.
Individual homes and businesses will no doubt play an increasingly important role in the transition to renewable fuels by utilizing solar energy to augment electrical power and provide hot water for heat and domestic use. Likewise, farms and sewage treatment facilities can use methane gas for power and heat.
All these sources of clean, renewable energy will eventually become part of the regional mix of fossil fuel alternatives. But they are likely to be minor components of this mix, compared to the contributions derived from biomass.
For the most part, biomass refers to plant material that was recently living, such as trees, grasses, and agricultural crops. This material can either be grown specifically for fuel, or it can be a byproduct of a process such as the manufacture of paper or sawn lumber, or of food production. Since the region lies within a heavily forested landscape, wood fiber in the form of chips or pellets is likely to be the dominant renewable fuel that we eventually will rely upon to replace much of our heating oil and, to a lesser extent, to provide electricity. Emerging technologies that allow wood fiber to be used for the production of “cellulosic” alcohol also hold great promise, especially when this process is combined with the manufacture of paper and the production of heat and power.
Regional farmland must also play a key role in an energy smart future, mainly in the production of food for local consumption using conservation-based, sustainable agricultural systems. We will soon find that our current system of petroleum-based farming, which uses an average of between seven and ten calories of energy to produce a calorie of food, is untenable for economic as well as environmental reasons. And we may find we can no longer ship the food items on our plate an average of 1500 miles, as we do today, as rising transportation costs expose the absurdity of this wasteful practice. Despite current subsidy programs that favor the production of ethanol from grains such as corn, this scheme has been shown by detailed scientific analysis to use more energy than the ethanol contains. In addition, diverting grain crops to ethanol production has already resulted in significant increases in the price of corn and meat products on the world market, which raises serious questions about the ethical and social-equity dimensions of the practice.
The Power of Collaborative Action
Our goal should be to make an orderly, relatively painless transition from the age of cheap, plentiful, fossil fuels to a new energy regime. Achieving this goal will depend, in part, upon enlightened, far-sighted, coordinated action from all levels of government. We simply cannot afford to spend more time and money propping up the failed strategies of the past. Nor can we postpone making the changes in public policies, incentive and disincentive schemes, and in technical assistance, outreach, and regulatory programs that are necessary to achieve common goals. But governmental action alone is not enough.
We need to work collaboratively with the business community, the not-for-profit sector, academic institutions, public authorities, and others. “This is the approach that we are taking at the Association to help meet the energy challenge,” says David Gibson, Executive Director. “We have a long history of building strong, effective coalitions to achieve mutual goals.” With the strong support of its Board and staff, the Adirondack Energy Initiative has become a cornerstone of the Association’s program portfolio. “We are increasingly aware of the need to involve a diverse circle of friends and associates in this great work,” concludes Gibson. “And this is exactly what we are doing.”
To learn more about the Association’s Energy Smart Park Initiative, and how you can join us in this work, please visit our website: www.protectadks.org
Michael G. DiNunzio, Director of Special Projects
The Association for the Protection of the
Adirondacks
897 St. David’s Lane,
Niskayuna
,
NY
12309
518-377-1452 (Phone), 518-393-0526 (FAX)
www.protectadks.org
