The alien craft had apparently landed!  As my trusty dog, Fritz, and I stepped out into the moonlit night we could see the glow of its lights and hear the roaring engines just beyond the trees.  We cautiously approached only to find that the craft was merely a huge multi-row corn combine disgorging its grainy meal into the waiting trailer.  A far cry from the 2-row Farmall corn-picker my dad pulled with the old Ford 960 tractor.

        The climate-controlled high-tech cabs on today’s huge harvesting machinery are emblematic of the technological advances we have made here in the 2nd decade of the 21st century.  Back then, Dad would come home from the fields to a drafty house warmed by a coal burning furnace.  Now, instead of corn, his son harvests solar energy to heat his home, power his appliances and propel his vehicle.  Dad would be flabbergasted!

        That coal-burning furnace and the other energy sources and systems employed in the 20th century brought great prosperity and convenience to us all.  But much of that technology is no longer suitable in today’s world.  A case in point is the transmission-line-triggered fires in California.  With the changing climate, our huge system of exposed overhead power lines that travel hundreds of miles over land is increasingly vulnerable to the rise in extreme weather (and to techno-terrorists too).  That system has to periodically be shut down to avoid additional fires.  It can no longer be assumed that this is the best way to provide reliable, economical energy.

        At least that’s what the U.S. Navy, the State of New York and many others think.  They’re building micro-grids as an alternative.  A micro-grid is a small-scale power system that produces and stores its own locally generated renewable energy from home-owner and community sources.  When the grid system fails, the micro-grid can function independently to keep the power on.  Meanwhile, it provides economic development, jobs, and innovation to local communities while reducing the need to expand the expensive grid system.

        Like it or not, the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line and the Badger Hollow Solar Farm have thrust Iowa County into the forefront of the energy conversation.  We can either let outside forces determine our energy future, or we can harvest and manage our own energy sources while growing our local economy.  Seems like an easy choice for our beautiful Driftless Area home where we’re forever… Earthbound.

        The approaching holiday season brought the old friends together to reminisce.  Now all in their “golden years,” the talk soon turned to questions of how each would be remembered once they were gone.
 
        Bea Quest said she intended to donate her extensive book collection to the local library.  “Who knows?” Bea hoped, “Maybe I’ll get a plaque on the reading room wall!”  Wealthy Pearson noted that her investments had done well. “I’ll be able to leave my children a tidy sum,” she boasted.  N. Dow Mennt intended to bequeath his antique furniture collection to the local museum.

        Liv Engwell sat quietly as she listened to the grand plans her friends had made.  She’d lived a quiet, modest life and wondered, “What have I to leave to future generations?”  With sagging shoulders she shuffled home.  “I’ll soon be forgotten,” she sighed.

        That evening granddaughter, Dee Sendant, stopped by.  She saw at once that Livie was troubled.  “What’s wrong Gram?” Dee asked.  Livie poured out the apprehensions she’d had since that afternoon’s conversation.

        “Gram,” Dee smiled, “your friends just have things money can buy.  But you have something much more valuable to give - your example of how to build a healthy, livable world.”  Dee reminded Gram how she makes a practice of Reducing her acquisition of stuff by borrowing, renting and sharing.  She Reuses and Re-purposes things instead of buying new, and then Recycles once things are truly beyond repair.  “And Gram, you’ve taught us how to eat lower on the food chain by mostly filling our plates with fruits, veggies and grains.”  Dee also reminded her that Gram was the first one in the neighborhood to have a home energy audit.  After completing the suggested improvements, her home energy use dropped dramatically saving her a bundle of money.

        Dee continued to list Livie’s prudent practices: minimum use of pesticides, harsh chemicals and artificial fertilizers, consolidating car errands to reduce travel, reducing her mowed lawn area, and on and on.

        “Gram, your friends will leave fine gifts to the future, but yours will be a far greater legacy.  As Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson said, ‘(Our) biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world.’  Gram, you’re living a life in harmony with those systems.  And that’s a blessing to us all, here on the only home we’ll ever know where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”

        Little Bucky loved the Halloween season!  After carefully brushing his coat Bucky donned his best cardinal red and white then headed out looking for treats. 

        His first stop was at Old Man Coal’s dusty door.  “Well if it isn’t my favorite little customer, er…I mean friend.  Looking for treats?  Let’s see what we have.  The usual I presume?”  Coal coughed up a lump of coal into Bucky’s sack.  The badger frowned as he turned away knowing that every year he traded a huge chunk of his $15 billion annual fuel budget for lumps of dirty coal.

        Bucky’s next stop was at Nat Gass’s fracking house.  “Come in,” burped Nat while seeping gaseous fumes with every breathe. “Well, if it isn’t little Bucky.  Here you go pal,” he hissed as he handed Bucky a gas-filled balloon representing another quarter or so of that $15 billion.

        Pete Rolium’s pumphouse was next door.  Pete filled Bucky’s flask with his best 87 octane gasoline.  “Always happy to take a generous slice of that $15 billion annual energy budget off your paws little Bucky.”  Pete gushed.

        As Bucky left Pete’s his spirit sagged.  “Just who is getting treats and who’s getting tricked?” he thought to himself.  “Sure, all these guys are happy to give me their energy goodies in exchange for my hard-earned cash.”

        As he shuffled down the road he stopped at Bette Erway’s gate and decided he’d try one more door.  When Bette opened her door she peered into Bucky’s sack and shook her head.  “We can do better than that,” Bette smiled. “Bucky, you have no buried fossil fuels or uranium of your own, so every year you send your money out of state to buy energy from others.  But remember, the sun shines and the wind blows in your state too.  With today’s technology you could be generating your own power while creating home-grown jobs.  Perhaps even more important, your Focus on Energy program (FocusOnEnergy.com) provides almost $6 in energy-saving benefits for every $1 spent.  Treat yourself!” Bette advised. 

        She dropped a shiny medallion stamped SWEBS into Bucky’s sack.  The medallion was to remind him that Solar, Wind, Efficiency, and Battery Storage combined would be the real treat freeing him from Coal, Nat, and Pete’s tricks.

        Bucky headed home assured that he really can save dollars while building a cleaner world right here where we’re all forever… Earthbound.