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Celebrating Energy Independence

25, 2005

Remember your folks admonishing you to turn off the lights when you were the last to leave a room? Or how about “shower with a friend?” I recall driving at a maximum of 55 mph on the freeway—the w-h-o-l-e way on a trip (could be unsafe today). My Dad’s childhood was mostly in a house that had a single light bulb in each room. 1973, Australia, urban Sydney, in what we’d call a condo: a single space heater was carried from room to room and plugged in to radiate when Mum was chilled—lots of sweaters were worn during a Jacksonville-like winter.

Privations? Not really. Some adaptations to situation? Yes. Inconvenience? Compared to what?

Fast forward to 2005—we are a richer nation, for the most part. Technology has reduced the cost of photovoltaic power cells by more than a factor of 10. Water heating boosters are used widely and unobtrusively on many roofs—for domestic and commercial water heating. Fluorescent light bulbs are compact and produce natural-color light—at great savings. We have so many ways that one can help conserve energy use, reduce air emissions, lower cost and avoid need for another power plant to sprawl and spew over the countryside.

Let’s Celebrate Energy Independence! Let’s keep leading our major local power/water/sewer utility, JEA, to serve OUR needs. Let our city leaders & representatives and the JEA management team know that we welcome their innovation, their stewardship and their responsible management of the opportunities to keep our air clean, minimize/conserve energy use and reduce our dependence on import of energy supplies.

On Thursday, 30 June 2005, the Sierra Club Northeast Florida Group honors JEA for its ongoing efforts to improve the environment through innovative programs and its commitment to conservation efforts that help make the U.S. more energy independent. We commend JEA for its voluntary commitment to increasing the use of solar, wind and other renewable or ‘green power’ sources and promoting energy and water conservation, which does promote our energy independence.

JEA is the largest solar power generator in Florida. The utility also made a voluntary commitment, being counseled by the Sierra Club and its Energy Issues Chair, Janet Stanko, along with the American Lung Association of Florida, to generate 7.5 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2015. Despite a tight budget year, JEA continues to fund an innovative solar incentive program that offsets the initial costs of installing solar water heating systems and is devoting advertising dollars to energy and water conservation efforts. JEA is spearheading a local “Green Home Initiative” to promote the development of water/energy conserving homes.

Promoting conservation is important to all of us. Individual changes in our behavior ensure a more prudent use of our natural resources, helps us reduce emissions to improve our environment, and lessens our reliance on fossil fuels. At the Energy Independence Celebration, vendors that support JEA’s environmental programs set up booths to display solar technologies and other environmental programs.

Energy Independence Celebration — Jacksonville Landing — Thursday, June 30^th — 11am-1pm

Global Energy Independence Day is July 10, the birth date of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, and scientist, among whose discoveries was fluorescent light. He was a pioneer in conducting alternating current electricity. See more at: www.teslasociety.com

References regarding Energy issues and Independence (Google search of “energy independence” among web sites; a selection):
www.eere.energy.gov, www.energycooperation.org, www.energyaction.net, www.ourfuture.org/issues_and_campaigns/energy_independence.

From the Chair