One of my all-time favorite lyrics comes from the song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”  Lamenting the destruction of “old Dixie” the singer wails, “Take what you need and leave the rest…” It’s a simple, yet profound lyric - much easier to advocate than to actually live by.   Alas, our wants so often exceed our actual needs.

        Recently, while skimming through the daily feed of on-line articles I nonchalantly skipped over one entitled “Want to fight climate change? Here are 7 critical life changes you should make.”  A twinge of guilt kept me from clicking open the link.  I’d just flown (a BIG carbon emitter) back from a family visit on the west coast and wasn’t eager for some eco-guru to poke that sensitive spot.  One week went by then another.  The article lingered on the desktop unopened.  Finally I relented, desperately hoping moose tracks ice cream hadn’t made the list.
       Here’s the upshot of this recent research:

• Buy a high mileage car, drive it with a light touch (no hard acceleration or braking), keep your speed down, and own it (and everything else) until it turns to dust.
• Limit flying. (Although depending on circumstances it may be better than driving solo for long distances.)  Fly coach and try to book non-stop flights.
• Turn the heat down a bit.  And raise the AC.
• Eat low on the food chain i.e. more like a vegetarian.  Even lowering meat consumption by just 1-2 meals a week makes a difference.

       Whew, not so bad after all.  I’m not feeling too deprived!  
       With increasing evidence that we’re approaching several so-called climatic tipping points, it’s incumbent upon each of us to consider our place as responsible members of the planetary community and make at least some adjustment in energy use.  And here’s the good news; we’re already doing it.  Although Wisconsin has the highest electricity rates among 8 upper Midwest states, we pay less than the average Midwesterner because we’re 19% more efficient (and smarter?) than our neighbors.  Are you feeling electrically deprived?  Me neither.

        No one of us is going to either save or ruin the environment by our consumption habits. But if we all “take what we need and leave the rest” our finite resources will be sufficient.  Because there is no “Planet B.”  The only home we’ll ever know is right here.  We’re forever…Earthbound.

      Remember the old Stone Soup folk tale?  A stranger comes into the village looking for food.  Everyone he meets claims they have none.  He starts boiling a pot of water then adds a few stones.  Intrigued, the villagers come one by one and add a bit of this and a bit of that until the pot full of “soup made from stones” bubbles with goodness enough for everyone.

            Wisconsin is somewhat like that village.  A stranger looking for an energy source in our state would be met with claims of, “No energy resources here; we import all our energy to the tune of $12 billion annually.”  And that’s pretty much the way it is right now.  But just like the stashes of food the villagers had squirreled away, we too have the resources to create a pot full of energy goodness.  Just a little nudge could uncap all that potential.  How to create this energy feast?

            Wind – Wind power in our five closest upper Midwest neighbors has grown a promising average of 45% since 2011.  Here in Wisconsin… a mere 3%.  It’s not for lack of wind resource; we have plenty.  While our neighboring states are creating jobs, generating energy, and breathing cleaner air we’re missing out.  Fortunately, it looks like we may be ready to catch up.  In Lafayette Co. negotiations are in the works for a nearly 50-turbine wind farm.  Another 44-turbine installation is being considered in St. Croix Co.

            Solar – another ingredient for the “energy pot.”  A simple on-line calculation for rural Iowa Co. shows that Focus on Energy subsidies and federal tax credits create a 10 yr. payback for an average home-installed solar photovoltaic system.  The owner earns nearly 10% interest on the investment which comes out to a nifty profit of about $1,400 over the lifetime of the system!

            Energy Efficiencies – Investments in intelligent thermostats, improved lighting, high efficiency water heating, and the elimination of “vampire” electrical loads in our homes can reduce energy usage by 30 – 40%.

            Those stones in the folk tale were free as is energy from the sun and the wind.  With a little initiative from each of us we can create economic and environmental security from a homegrown mix of energy goodness.  Clean energy for a cleaner world because we have no other place to call home.  We’re here forever…Earthbound.