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ENERGY QUEST USA visits five very different American communities, from Alaska to the East Coast, and Portland to Fort Worth, where citizens are making smart energy choices based on economics and the environment. Their experiences chart a path every U.S. community can follow to take charge of their energy future and adapt to the challenges climate change may bring.
In Kansas, the 2011 “Take Charge! Challenge” pitted 16 communities against each other in an energy efficiency competition, with four prizes of $100,000 each for the winning towns. Nancy Jackson, founder of the Climate+Energy Project, says her goal is to reset th
ENERGY QUEST USA visits five very different American communities, from Alaska to the East Coast, and Portland to Fort Worth, where citizens are making smart energy choices based on economics and the environment. Their experiences chart a path every U.S. community can follow to take charge of their energy future and adapt to the challenges climate change may bring.
In Kansas, the 2011 “Take Charge! Challenge” pitted 16 communities against each other in an energy efficiency competition, with four prizes of $100,000 each for the winning towns. Nancy Jackson, founder of the Climate+Energy Project, says her goal is to reset the norm for energy consumption in the heartland, “putting the ‘conserve’ back in ‘conservative’” and promoting what she sees as a “win-win-win” proposition — save money, build local economies and insure a healthier energy future.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the city’s Sustainability Office launched a Neighborhood Energy Challenge with surprising results: last year, low-income Park Heights’ homeowners conserved more energy on average than residents of gentrified Carroll Park, saving as much as $1,300 a year through simple measures like weather-stripping and reduced water use. The message is an important one in the economic downturn, putting much-needed money in the pockets of people in hard-hit areas like Baltimore.
In Alaska — a state known for oil drilling — diesel fuel used to heat homes and keep native communities livable can cost up to a whopping $9 per gallon. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R), a member of the Senate Energy Committee and a strong proponent for oil and gas, shares why she is committed to making renewable energy — such as, low-emissions heating fuel created from wood waste, and innovative low-temperature geothermal turbines powered by the Chena Hot Springs — part of the state’s power portfolio.
Then it’s on to Fort Worth, Texas, a city that sits atop major natural gas reserves and has experienced a boom due to hydrofracking, yet is also invested in what locals call “cowboy sustainability.” From a Water Reclamation Facility that hopes to harvest 90% or more of its energy from the waste it processes, to beautiful LEED Platinum buildings, Fort Worth is a microcosm of America’s potential for positive response to its energy challenges and choices.
The final segment, filmed in one of America’s greenest cities, Portland, Oregon, underscores the tremendous payoff we’ll earn in the future from making smart choices now. Congressman Earl Blumenauer explains that decisive action three decades ago — trading highway funds for bikeway and mass transit funds, for example — achieved the sustainability that has stimulated a vibrant economy and given residents today such an attractive quality of life. In a political climate in which “going green” is often associated with a liberal agenda, ENERGY QUEST USA sends a strong message that, in the words of Republican Senator Murkowski, “We need to get beyond the political labels when it comes to energy opportunities.” Instead, we ought to get back to the all-American values of saving a buck, tackling problems head-on, working together in our communities, and looking out for the future of our kids and our country.
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