By Gay Nicholson, Ph.D., President of Sustainable Tompkins
The theme of our recent Energy Fair was community energy security. Real energy security.
Most of us associate “energy security” with fossil fuel industry lobbyists who try to convince Americans that we will be more secure if we stop relying on imports of foreign oil and just let them expand drilling offshore or in the rural lands of America.
But is that really a plan that will make us more secure? Consider this:
Energy efficiency has never polluted the Gulf of Mexico or slimed the shores of Alaska.
Solar panels never gave a child asthma or blew off a mountain top.
Wind turbines have never threatened millions with cancer-causing radiation.
Energy conservation has never polluted drinking water supplies or destroyed a rural landscape.
We’ll never be really secure if we continue to base our economy and our way of life on fossil energy. We know it’s a tightening noose with constantly rising prices and amplifying environmental damages. Read the rest of this entry »
