The Church: Religion, God, and....Energy Star?

Ever since interning for ETM, those day to day mundane experiences of driving or walking around town have become a LOT more interesting. My mind is now wired to detect every single south facing rooftop-with minimal shade- on the face of the planet, and there is no end to this is sight. Epic visions of all solar-eligible American homes and buildings covered with photovoltaics occupy my mind, day and night. When other people share my enthusiasm for renewable energy going mainstream, I get even more intoxicated with happiness, like when my sister told me excitedly the other day that, "if only 6% of American households had solar panels on their roofs, we could supply 100% of the nation's electricity demand!" Yes, Yes, now we just more people to realize this!

I've been quite doubtful of many "conservatives" jumping on to the environmental bandwagon any time soon. However, out of all the eco-friendly tree-hugging mumbo jumbo out there, energy efficiency/conservation is the first that makes sense to social and economic conservatives. This is because integrating energy efficiency measures into your home saves money in the long-run.

When the EPA announced this week the debut of its new Energy Star Toolkit for Church Congregations, I felt one of those waves of enthusiastic intoxication. This is quite an accomplishment for the environmental movement, because it shows how times are changing: the church-going demographic is traditionally more conservative and therefore a bit less likely to be overtly concerned about the environment, yet we've reached a point in our society where "going green" is no longer just a fad among the liberals, but a mainstream practice that can save everyone money and energy.

Its funny: I've always thought that out of any institution, The Christian Church (Protestant and Catholic) had an obligation to promote the environmental integrity of this planet. Yes, the first book of the Bible, Genesis, tells us to have dominion over all living things. But when you look at the big picture, Christian religions are based on the teachings of Jesus, who preached compassion for all things, simplicity, an aversion to materialism, and being stewards of the land.

Recently there has been a movement stirring within Christian congregations in this country, which promotes the idea of an environmental ethic within Christianity. They have been active in many grassroots rallying days to spread the word about global warming. John Hougton, an active Christian and avid defender of the planet, is also one of the chairs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Regeneration Project and Interfaith Power and Light are leading the ministry devoted to educating people about the connections between religious faith and the principles of ecology and conservation. Faith-based environmentalism is truly becoming more widespread, if the recent EPA decision to cater to congregations is any indication.

Not only do faith and the environment work well together, but so do church rooftops and photovoltaics. Compared to other types of buildings, churches usually have high, incredibly spacious roofs, with little shading issues. Wendy and I have looked at many a church rooftop with awe and envy on our way to site surveys. Now its all finally starting to come together, and our dreams for installing panels on church rooftops will no longer be a distant wish.

The most promising aspect of the religion and environment initiatives is that it isn't just about saving money: people are switching to renewable energy because they know its the right thing to do. There is something great, something fundamental, at play here. This is our only planet-- lets take care of it.

-Andrea, ETM intern.

Hydropower: Clean Energy?

"Renewable energy" is an umbrella that covers non-polluting and sustainable forms of power generation, like hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuel. Of course, by now, we're all aware that coal and oil are being rapidly depleted and causing some serious pollution issues, namely greenhouse gas emissions. But are all renewables completely benign?

Hydropower: You dam a river and integrate turbines into the structure that rotate as water flows over them, thereby creating electricity. The United States has dammed almost every conceivable river in the nation since the early 20th century, not only for power generation but also to re-allocate H2O to water-thirsty communities. No greenhouse gases are emitted: it must be eco-friendly, right? The truth is that the environmental and social impacts of dams can be astounding.

From an economic standpoint, dams cost millions of public dollars to build and can quickly become obsolete, as sediment build-up behind the dam wall is incredibly costly to remove.

Let's talk more about sediment: the flow of soil and nutrients downstream is crucil for the success of ecosystems, particularly agricultural terrain. The ancient Egyptians relied on annual floods to spread nutrients over their farmland. The damming of rivers in modern times has altered this natural pattern and deprived downstream ecosystems of vital nutrients.

Blocking a river creates an enormous pool of water behind the dam--the inundation of miles and miles of land alters once-pristine habitats. Keystone species often found along rivers can be wiped out once their habitat is submerged in water. Aquatic species like salmon that rely on travel to specific locations along the river are particularly effected.

Watch Out For Community-Wide Solar

Marin County in Northern California has one of the most successful neighborhood-wide solar purchashing programs in the nation. With collective bargaining, residents come together for lower prices, thereby making clean energy options more affordable for everyone. Marin's program, called GoSolarMarin, leverages an average 25% lower price for its community members.

SolarCity is a solar equipment provider that arranges lease agreements for Marin and similar neighborhood projects, including 30 other community solar programs throughout California, Arizona and Oregon.

In Colorado, an organization called Neighborhood Solar organizes homeowners into collective purchasing groups in the Denver area.

One location that has taken sharing to a whole new level is the neighborhood of Drake's Landing in Alberta, Canada. Over 50 households pool together their energy generation from the sun, where it is stored and distributed evenly to all residents. Pretty cool. Since 2007 when the program was launched, each home gets 90% of its energy from the sun.

Who knows, maybe the Southern Tier, NY, is next?