I often find that when the religious community speaks out about the importance of protecting the environment and conserving energy, people are surprised to hear the clergy advocating for these issues. They should not be.
More than 30 years ago, when the scientific community was just beginning to grasp the facts of the global environmental decline, my friend Carl Sagan sent an open letter to the religious community urging us to take up the environment as a fundamental issue of faith. He realized that if we spoke out about our theological teachings that require each of us to be stewards for the earth, the religious community would have enormous potential to change people's behaviors on conserving energy and protecting our natural resources.
This same opportunity for change challenges us today, too. Now, more than ever, there is a need for the religious community to speak out more forcefully for clean, safe energy resources and energy efficiency. As made powerfully clear by the nuclear accident in Japan and continual turmoil in the Middle East, our economy, our quality of life and our protection of the earth's natural resources are at risk. As clergy, I believe our role should be one of providing education and new awareness on ways that all members of our community can make a difference on energy consumption and environmental protection. This week, as the Obama administration pledges $250 million to upgrade the electrical grid, that opportunity may be in educating ourselves on the potential benefits of the smart grid.
The smart grid uses digital technology to upgrade the century-old electrical grid in our country, in ways that will transform how we use and consume energy. Nothing like this has happened before. What makes this technology particularly appealing is that the smart grid can become a tool that will empower people with information to make decisions about their energy use and energy costs.
For example, with the information displayed from smart meters and smart thermostats, we will have the ability to monitor our energy consumption -- daily and hourly. We will be able to run appliances at a time of day when electricity rates are lower and reduce our utility bills. The smart grid will allow us to harness and distribute energy from renewable sources like wind and solar, both of which would lessen our dependence on fossil fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it will help to facilitate greater and easier use of electrical vehicles, thereby reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
While the smart grid will take years to build, it is already available in some form in more than 40 states, including California, Ohio, Oklahoma, Indiana and Washington, D.C. Many of us will be connected to the smart grid soon. That is why it is important to educate ourselves now about the wide range of benefits of this technology, so that we can help catalyze real, tangible change in how we use energy. There are a number of resources that offer this education including smartgrid.gov and smartgridcc.org. And soon the National Council of Churches will be providing a toolkit that will explain the smart grid for clergy across the country in the hope that they in turn will educate their communities.
On the face of it, the smart grid appears to be an odd topic for a religious sermon but in our increasingly interconnected world, the partnership between the environment and religious teachings provides a powerful way to bring attention to new ways to take control of our energy choices.
While there is no single answer that will solve the environmental challenges, we need to consider all possible new opportunities to making sure that energy is affordable, safe and available to everyone. Simply put, by understanding of how to participate in and benefit from the tools of the smart grid, we each have an opportunity to take control of our energy use and make a huge impact on how we care for our precious resources. Each of us is a steward of the earth.
Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell is the Director of Religion at the Chautauqua Institution, and serves as chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women. An ordained minister, she is the former executive director of the U.S. office of the World Council of Churches, former general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and a founder of the National Religious Partnership on the Environment.
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If religion wanted to take a stand, I could see standing against excess consumerism, a word that covers a lot of ground.
Churches today should have olympic sized swimming pools and gyms. Take a stand against greed (overeating fits in here, as do other addictions). We need help here, not more of the same.
"""Subsidy-suckling” and “regulatory robbery" is the new mantra at the old line war profiteers. GE spends $18 million a year on lobbying to do things like getting legislation passed that outlaws the old, cheap low margin lighbulbs for the new, pricier, high margin Green bulbs. And the science? Bought and paid for expert opinions and distributed by green lobbyists to your local representative.
There isn't a major product line at GE or UTC that doesn't have a lobby and government strategy team to push a green regulatory and tax credits angle to increase corporate profits. Strategizing away to create a need for congressional committee hearings on a specific environmental issue needing a complete industry over haul of the infrastructure. """
http://claycord.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-pg-smart-meters-good-or-bad.html
I, and many others that I talk to are up in arms over the large increase of our pg&e bills since having the smart meter installed.
I now heard this morning that people have begun to file law suites over this matter. As for me, I have installed double pain windows, replaced every light in the house with fluorescent, and offed my washer and dryer for energy star units.
My bill is now more expensive than it was before making all of those improvements.
I would love to know how many other people in the area are suffering the same effect.
I save 20% every month for $100
http://www.electricsaver1200.com/
The reason you will be able to "monitor usage hourly" is because you will be billed the "actual" cost the the electricity you used that hour. These meters are being placed to allow for that.
Initially, the customers' bills will skyrocket. Double, easily during the summer. After a person gets a $1000 electric bill, they will educate themselves on the costs of using that air conditioner when it's hot.
Manufacturing will be able to take advantage of nearly free electricity between midnight and 4AM so a lot of jobs are going to be switching to night shift. That saves the freeways also! Your electric car will be nearly free to fill up at night also. But during the day, and during HOT days...God, are you going to PAY!!!!!!
After the raw economics force people and businesses to shift hwo they do things, we will save a lot of energy and also make ou grid much more efficient because we use it more evenly 24/7 instead of having these huge peaks in power usage on hot summer days.
Let's take one past scenario. Al Gore wanted to wire every house for networking as far back as 1986. Long story short it can be argued that by 2020 the US will be a *wireless* mecca, not wired with fibre optic as proposed in 1986. The 2020s will be spent updating rural areas to ensure total wireless coverage at speeds 4 times faster than the average broadband today. Suggesting a one size fits all government program built at taxpayes expense as the best and only answer is pretty much accepted as one of those fortunate failures in public policy of the Clinton administration, Look into the history of Global Crossing as an example of what hppened to free market companies that underestimated technical change and the glut of fiber built in many cities as bandwidth speeds increased beyond any reasonable expectation.. Nationally it would be Gore's Waterloo had he won legislative backing.
What I see happening with the smart grid is similar. There are those opposing it now for many of the same reasons. On paper, it's great under today's technical conditions. By 2020? A breakhrough in either solar or fuel cells or hydrogen efficiency could make it the worse ROI of many other alternatives for green power. The gradual roll out without government subsidies makes more sense.
There are those argiung that an infrasructe that can move power from across the grid with the least loss possible is necessary to take advantage of solar and time zone differentials to balance usage. The Smart part is of some limited value compared to moving West Coast energy East in the AM
And so on......moral of the story. Beware of any national infrastructure programs. The science is for sale
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I know that prayer hasn't really helped much with these matters in the past, but it is so important to have faith in His love for us and to praise Him for his unceasing vigilance on our behalf and his unbounded mercy.
So remember – KPFP for a better world. (That's Kneel down, Pray as hard as you can, always have Faith & shower Praise, the more liberally the better).
They talk about slaying the "Green Dragon" and how thinking and working "Green" is a bad thing.
The buying and selling of the science of Ethanol grain subsidies is a perfect example. Green lobbyists are everywhere in Washington these days looking for program credits to "go green". Buried in that sales pitch are some questionable motives and profiteers pushing popular science and specific legislative wording to maximize their tax credits by way of abstraction.
Will GE ever pay taxes again? Or UTC?
"Subsidy-suckling” and “regulatory robbery" is the new mantra at the old line war profiteers. GE spends $18 million a year on lobbying to do things like getting legislation passed that outlaws the old, cheap low margin lighbulbs for the new, pricier, high margin Green bulbs. And the science? Bought and paid for expert opinions and distributed by green lobbyists to your local representative.
There isn't a major product line at GE or UTC that doesn't have a lobby and government strategy team to push a green regulatory and tax credits angle to increase corporate profits. Strategizing away to create a need for congressional committee hearings on a specific environmental issue needing a complete industry over haul of the infrastructure.