I was inspired to write this after reading this excellent diary: I'm a Petro-holic by ASiegel
My name is Cathy, and I’m a fossil fuels addict. I was born into a family of addicts, in a nation of addicts, and I adopted this lifestyle quite naturally. As I got older and learned more about the concept of sustainability, I began to rethink my lifestyle. At various points in my adult life, I tried to kick the habit. I lived car-free for several years, walked and took public transit, and used very little electricity. But inevitably something would happen - a move, a new job - and I’d fall back off the wagon.
Then, a few years ago I finally got help.
Like anybody trying to recover from an addiction, I needed a support group. I turned to some other mom friends who were also trying to live more sustainably, and we formed our own EcoTeam. Every two weeks we would meet, and while our kids ran and played, we talked about garbage, water, energy, transportation and consumption. We weighed our trash and tracked our household gasoline consumption. We toured our local landfill and learned where our water came from. We had in-home energy audits to discover not only how much energy and water we were using but also how we were using them.
Most importantly, when our group met, we talked about solutions - practical things we could do in our own households. Each section of our EcoTeam workbook had detailed lists of action steps. We chose what we wanted to try and spent the next few weeks making those changes. Most of these actions were things I had known about for years but had never quite gotten around to doing. We discovered that the power of having a group of friends all working towards this common goal motivated each of us to make changes that we never though were possible.
In my own household we cut our garbage by 75%, our water usage almost in half, and our gasoline by about 30%. We cut electricity consumption by 25%, and then we installed solar panels, which now generate enough power to cover all of our usage.
The biggest lesson we learned from our experience is that fossil fuel addiction is not something we can face alone. We’re all in this together. Yes, we need the car-makers to create automobiles that run on renewable fuels. We need government to start a green job corps, invest in mass transit and help build a 21st century power grid. We need our scientists and engineers to refine our existing green technologies and to discover new ones.
But that alone won’t do it. Each and every one of us also has a role to play. We need to support one another and work together as we overcome our addiction, and this is why I’d like to propose my plan for recovery:
Fossil Fuel Addiction 5-Step Recovery Program
Step 1: Assess
Just like you wouldn’t start a diet without first weighing yourself, you can’t recover from fossil fuel addiction until you know how bad your problem is. In this first step, we determine that. Here’s how it might play out in our country…
In Washington D.C., the Obama family will televise the White House home energy audit. We’ll be with them as a professional team shows them how to check their insulation levels, look for air leaks and discover the best setting for the hot water heater and the refrigerator. We’ll watch as they pore over their energy bills to see how much energy they are using.
Across America, The Green Corps will join with community volunteers to conduct in-home audits in homes, apartments and businesses. People will learn how much energy they are using, and they’ll find out how they are using it - i.e. what percent is for heating and cooling, what percent is for lighting, and what percent is for appliances and electronics. They’ll see how much they spend on energy costs each year and will calculate how much they might pay over the next 10 years if they continue with their current usage levels.
As a nation we’ll start talking less about our expanding waistlines and our favorite reality television shows and begin talking more about our eco and carbon footprints. We’ll see that it’s not just the electricity and the gas we consume that’s a problem, but it’s also the food we eat, the water we use, the things we buy, and the garbage we create.
Step 2: Set a Goal
Just as you wouldn’t start a diet without a concrete goal - e.g. I’m going to lose 10 pounds by Christmas - we will need to set clear goals for the transition away from fossil fuels. We can’t quit this thing cold-turkey, so the best plans will be implemented in a phased approach. Here’s how this step might look…
In Washington, The Obama family will televise their goal setting meeting. In the first year, they’ll commit to reducing overall electricity, water and natural gas usage by 20%. Within 4 years, they’ll pledge to make the White House carbon-neutral. Another goal will be to purchase at least half of their food from local farmers as well as to plant a vegetable garden to grow some of their own food.
In communities across our country, families will sit down and set their own goals for reducing energy and water usage, gasoline consumption and even the amount of garbage they’re creating. Since we love competition, we’ll set up contests between neighborhoods, cities and even businesses to see who can reduce their energy usage the fastest. Cities will create Green Business Certification programs to reward businesses that meet certain standards for energy, water and waste reduction.
Step 3: Conserve
Conservation means using less of something, and it is one of the first steps to take since the cheapest and cleanest energy is that which we don’t use. Conservation measures generally cost nothing and can be implemented right away. They are behavioral changes and include things that our grandmothers likely taught us such as setting the thermostat at 78 or higher in summer and 68 or lower in winter, walking more and driving less, and keeping showers 5 minutes or shorter. Here’s how conservation measures might be taken in our country…
At the White House, the Obama family will go on television and show us what they’re doing to conserve. We’ll see the conservation stickers that Malia and Sasha created that hang throughout the house. By the light switches they say: “Save a watt, turn me off,” while the ones near the faucets read “Every drop counts, use water wisely.” The wastebaskets are small and next to each is a recycle bin. In the kitchen there is a compost bin to collect food scraps.
In communities across the country, the Green Corps will be joined by community volunteers to hand out “conservation kits.” These kits will include things like shower timers, clotheslines, conservation stickers, smart power strips as well as a list of simple conservation tips we can each take at home and at work. At community meetings, people will share ideas, set up carpools and offer one another support.
Instead of being annual events, Walk to School Days or Bike to Work programs will now become weekly and daily occurrences. Cities will receive grants to build more walking/bike friendly lanes and to upgrade their public transportation systems. We’ll start to rip up lawns and replace them with native landscaping and vegetable gardens.
Step 4: Get Efficient
Efficiency means using a device that will perform its function using the least amount of energy possible. While conservation would mean turning a light off, efficiency would mean replacing an older bulb with a CFL or LED so that when the light was on it used less energy. Here’s how this next step might play out…
In Washington, the Obamas will televise their home weatherization project. We’ll see Barack putting in some weatherstripping around the doorway, while Michelle adds caulk around the windows. We’ll watch as contractors blow more insulation into the walls and as older, leaky windows are replaced with new dual-paned ones.
In communities across America, the Green Corps and local volunteers will help homeowners and business owners install CFLs and LED lighting. Older refrigerators, which use a tremendous amount of energy, will be taken away for recycling and replaced with Energy Star models. Spare refrigerators, which cost homeowners about $25 per month in electric costs, will be taken out of garages as people learn that they can live without them. At businesses, older, inefficient computers will be replaced with laptops, which use 70% less energy.
More community workshops will be held where we’ll come together to celebrate the progress we’ve made and share our setbacks and frustrations. We’ll discuss tips for driving more efficiently so that we can maximize our fuel economy. Communities will begin curbside composting programs to close the waste loop and turn our “spoils to soils” and naturally fertilize our parks and gardens. We’ll install cisterns to capture our rainwater and we’ll plant green roofs to naturally insulate our buildings and prevent runoff.
Step 5: Go Renewable
Once we drastically reduce our energy usage through conservation and efficiency measures, we’ll be ready to make the switch to renewables. Here’s how that might look…
In Washington, we’ll watch as the Obamas install a solar hot water system as well as several solar attic fans to help keep the White House a little cooler in the summer. The next year they’ll put in a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, which will utilize the nearly constant temperature below the earth to naturally provide heating and cooling. Once the energy costs have been cut back so much, they’ll use the savings to install solar photovoltaic panels.
In communities across America, the Green Corps and local volunteers will help us make the switch to renewables. At workshops and meetings, people will share ideas about what works best in their communities. Together we’ll install daylighting at schools and businesses to bring in the natural light of the sun. In some communities we’ll put up solar panels on rooftops. In others we’ll add windmills. Contests between cities, regions and neighborhoods will continue as we now compete to see which area is the first to be run on 100% renewables.
……………
Do my plans seem far-fetched? I don’t think so. Yes, we are a nation of addicts, but we are also a nation of innovators, dreamers, entrepreneurs and achievers. When faced with crises before, earlier generations of Americans have pulled together and overcome the odds. This is the challenge for our generation, and as Al Gore says:
This crisis is bringing us an opportunity to experience what few generations in history ever have the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose; a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise.