“And God said, ‘Let there be light’! And there was light.” —Genesis |
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Ever since humans discovered fire, the energy we use has mostly come from the sun. Firelight is simply sunlight that was captured by photosynthesis, stored in plant tissues made from complex carbohydrates, and released by oxidation. Fossil fuels are simply the carbonized residues of ancient life. Even hydroelectric power depends on the sun to vaporize water and release it upstream as rain. And wind power captures some of the sun’s radiant energy that stirs the atmosphere. Now we are finding clean energy paths that take us away from the pollution of greenhouse gases and nuclear waste. Our journey toward a sustainable world is a lifelong pilgrimage.
In this issue:
Speaking of Faith: John Hancock and Dave Chalk share their solar journeys
Walking the Talk: Eric Burgmann describes Mt. Auburn’s new energy programs; John Hancock maps the path to reducing your carbon footprint
Take Action Now: Julie Malkin on useful web resources
Quick Escapes: Linda Ford checks out the Meldahl hydroelectric station
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January: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle.
We need your help!
Most of us have developed some household routines to “reduce, reuse and recycle”. Christmas holiday celebrations bring added challenges to our efforts with extra boxes, wrapping paper, and left-overs. While we may not gather for large holiday meals this year, we rely more than ever on online shopping and home delivery services. What do you do with all of that cardboard and packing material? How do you feel about utilizing home delivery services? What do you do with organic waste (from food scraps)? What do you do about food packaging, especially plastics?
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We invite you to send in your strategies for managing household waste so that we can feature them in the January issue of We Care/Earth Care. Please email us your ideas, thoughts, and stories. Maybe you had a humorous encounter with a store clerk when you tried to “liberate” vegetables from plastic wrap in the produce section. Maybe you had a “light-bulb moment” when taking out the trash. Feel free to include pictures or reflections. Humor is always welcome. And remember, no writing experience necessary! We just want to know what you are doing.
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Facing Down—Or Up To—Climate Change |
In 1973, when I was a student in architecture school, the Arab Oil Embargo first exposed our culture’s energy wastefulness, with all its costs and consequences. A few years later, Jimmy Carter was putting solar panels on the White House! But even though this progress stalled during the Reagan years, my understanding of our energy and environmental crises continued to deepen in professional, personal, and religious contexts.
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Soon after I began teaching at UC, the urgency of “energy-conscious design” returned. Although it was not my specialty, I learned a lot from my students, who rightly insisted on the primacy of this problem. After all, their generation was going to have to solve it! I discovered the many methods architects had begun using to promote smart design and energy efficiency: net-zero and net-positive energy systems, for example, or the criteria of the well-known “LEED” program and the even more stringent “Living Building Challenge.” |
In this first context, I was confronted with the alarming scientific facts of carbon-induced global warming, the levels and rates of its acceleration, the economics and politics of its causes, and the urgent and dire prospects for its mitigation.
The second context was a more personal one. Over many years, I had become conscious of our culture’s general crises of consumerism, sprawl, and waste and had tried, with limited success, to get these issues under control in my own life. A few years ago, anticipating retirement, Marcia and I had the opportunity to design and build a new house, and we committed to go as far as possible toward “No Fossil Fuels.” It was a steep learning curve, but our decisions about location, orientation, design, materials, and technical systems eventually led to a “LEED Platinum” rating. To our surprise, these features also brought us within reach (through offset purchases) of a fully “carbon neutral” way of life.
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This process sparked the realization that, of course: “becoming carbon neutral” is the first, urgent answer to global warming – at all scales, from households to institutions to cities to nations, and beyond. It’s so simple and clear, and yet so difficult because of… well, what exactly?
The final context was this church, where, a few years ago, several of us began raising the issue of environmental “sustainability” as an overarching ethical and justice issue. Mount Auburn has a distinguished tradition of advancing big causes, and Session soon made a bold commitment to approach carbon neutrality in our facility operations – no easy task. New lighting, new windows, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, and on-site solar electricity generation, are now in place. This work supports a commitment to “be the change we want to see in the world.”
This third context reflected that “witnessing to the world” on this urgent problem, or persuading others to change their energy habits, requires first proving that it can be done. The church was a setting where we could do so with the support of a community and in a context of shared spiritual and ethical reflection.
But there’s a more personal angle on this church context, too. I was serving on the Session in the 1990s when we adopted the Inclusion Policy (and managed its aftermath). It was a life-changing experience for all of us – eye-opening, heart-opening, gut-wrenching – and not at all easy. But we prevailed. Since then, I have reflected a lot on how that process unfolded, and I believe it offers a useful analogy for how we can witness on this next BIG PROBLEM – solving climate change.
We already know what to do: there are four key steps, and they are embedded in our own historical example:
First, learn the facts and scope of the problem; create the motivation to solve it. We heard the stories of how gays were being persecuted in the church (and society), many of us “getting it” for the first time. It became clear what needed to change. The equivalent now is: learn the facts of carbon and climate, the stories of the problem and its consequences; open our eyes to motivate action.
Second, begin doing the right thing immediately; don’t wait until it’s easy. We began ordaining gay and lesbian persons, made open declarations about it, and connected with the movement in the denomination and in the public world. It was a leap of faith, because there were obstacles ahead. The equivalent now is: become carbon neutral, period; transform our facilities and operations.
Third, engage the difficulties thoughtfully; use them to advocate for change. We worked persuasively, with much advocacy, wisdom, and patience, to overcome entrenched opposition both in the Church and in society. This became our dominant mission outreach. The equivalent now is: advocate for climate solutions and public policy action; oppose fossil fuel interests and economic disincentives.
Fourth (and throughout), strengthen ourselves in faith and hope, and in community. We deepened our spiritual understanding in support of the work of inclusion, re-reading scriptures and finding unexpected resources and insights. The equivalent now is: embrace environmental justice in all its meanings; expand our horizon of ethical action; and, as a church community, deepen our love and reverence for all of our planet’s life and processes.
Later on in this issue, you’ll find that the “Becoming Carbon Neutral” class took its shape from this sequence. We on the EarthCare Team encourage all to: Learn the alarming scope of the problem, resolve in faith to do the right thing now, let the obstacles reveal what needs fixing, and do all of this within communities that nurture hope.
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My Personal Journey to Energy Independence
Dave Chalk writes:
When I was a very young man, I dreamed of having a home at the forefront of energy efficiency and independence. In my early 20’s financial resources were scarce, but in my late 50’s after almost forty years of working and saving for retirement, I finally started my journey to realize my dream. I joined MAPC just as stewardship of the earth was becoming more important. I believe that our church is part of my quest to protect the resources of our earth.
After visiting the Cincinnati Home show for several years, James and I had really became interested in solar energy. Our house is conveniently situated to catch the maximum in solar radiation—on an east-west line with the roof facing directly south. Wind energy had not been developed for home use as widely or effectively as solar panels, and the magic age of 59 ½ meant that I could finally withdraw funds for the project without any penalty. Also, the federal government was still giving a 33% tax credit.
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Our first installation began in the summer of 2015, when 11 panels were added to the roof of our home, and the next year we added 11 more, bringing the total to 22. Still, I was not satisfied because the solar production did not cover our full usage. Our home is a total electric home; heating, cooling, and an in-ground pool all had to run off our panels. Still wanting to accomplish energy independence, we looked at two more cycles of adding to our solar array.
In 2019, James and I decided to install 16 more panels, but they had to be placed in the yard on a structure that would sustain 140 mile-in-hour winds. We also added two Tesla batteries for backup power during an outage (there is an App for that). Since July 2019, after the third installation took place, we have endured 25 outages lasting from five minutes to several hours.
Last March we added the final round of 16 panels for a total of 54. These supply us with all the energy we can use. We also added a third Tesla battery to our backup system, and a fourth battery will be added in early 2021, at which point we will hopefully have achieved energy independence. We will still be linked with the grid, but with the new technology from Duke Energy, our meter will run backwards when our system is producing more than we use. Our electric bill usually runs under 50 dollars per month on average, including several months when we were given a credit for future bills.
We invite any of our MAPC family to visit and look at our solar system.
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Becoming Carbon Neutral
John Hancock writes:
We all know that our energy choices—individually and as a society are causing climate change. Yet we all feel dependent on the “carbon economy.” How can we become part of the solution?
We CAN become “carbon neutral” – as individual households. It’s easier than you may think.
Last fall, “EarthCare” organized a class in tandem with Mount Auburn’s own facility plans to reduce its “carbon footprint.” We wanted to give everybody a way to become part of the solution to the catastrophes of climate change. Our monthly sessions were cut short by the virus, yet most participants were able to finish their individual “Carbon Neutral Plans,” by following five simple steps.
First, UNDERSTAND THE FACTS of carbon-induced global warming. To be motivated, we need to connect our own behaviors with the world’s changing climate. Every smokestack, chimney, and tailpipe is adding to the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced.
Extreme weather events—huge wildfires, monster hurricanes—are triggered by the warming of the atmosphere and oceans caused by our “greenhouse gasses,” mainly carbon dioxide. This is a scientific fact now as firmly established as gravity. For many thousands of years, the proportion of carbon in the atmosphere has stayed below 350 parts per million (PPM), but since the 1950s it has been skyrocketing; it is now past 420 and climbing by at least 2 PPM every year. Graphs of carbon concentrations and average global temperatures align precisely, creating lines that look like hockey sticks. They show millennia of steady, minor oscillations giving way to sudden, drastic increases over the past 70 years. The solution to stopping this increasingly dangerous process is for us to stop putting carbon into the atmosphere.
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Second, CALCULATE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. To measure your share of the problem you can work with online calculators to find out how much carbon is produced by each of your life choices. (See links below.) You will probably be surprised! The average American contributes a whopping 14 metric tons of carbon per year, from utilities, transport, food, and other purchases. That’s by far the highest per-capita in the world, and five times as much as a citizen of France—suggesting that we can retain our standard of living without continuing this grotesque level of emissions.
Third, COMMIT TO REDUCTIONS, and make them significant. The calculators will give you many ideas for how to combine small, short-term changes (like LED lighting) with plans for bigger, longer-term ones (like where to live), and let you estimate your declining annual carbon footprints over a multi-year plan.
Short term actions might include replacing light bulbs, adding insulation and improved window coverings, changing driving habits, adjusting your thermostat, or line-drying laundry. The calculators can show you the impacts of specific changes in terms of annual tons of carbon saved. Medium and longer- term choices could include changing your home, either by location (for example, to reduce car dependency), or by design or remodeling (for example, to improve solar access). Another option could be to change your vehicle to a hybrid or electric. You can compare the costs of making these changes to the long term costs of not doing them.
Fourth, COMPENSATE BY OFFSETTING your emissions. Once you know how many tons of carbon your life choices will create each year, you can offset the remainder to achieve “carbon neutrality.” That means investing to ensure future equivalent reductions somewhere in the world.
Global offset markets offer a wide range of projects you can support to equal the amount of carbon you are unable to eliminate from your own life. These include investments in new renewable energy capacity, natural resource and forest preservation, infrastructure programs in the developing world, and many more. The investment costs vary widely, but are surprisingly inexpensive – the average American’s carbon footprint can be offset for only about $300 per year.
Finally, ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE at all political and corporate levels. Of course, large-scale policy changes are also necessary. Tell our elected officials and corporate leaders to transition us out of the carbon economy as quickly as possible. But your advocacy will have greater persuasive and moral force if you have achieved “net zero carbon” in your own life.
The fossil fuel industry has been distorting our politics on this topic for decades. Their business plans and stock prices depend on continuing to sell their products and reaping government subsidies. Indeed, if their known current reserves were sold and burnt, it would raise global temperatures by a terrifying eleven degrees Farenheit before the end of this century. The call to “keep it in the ground” is therefore essential. Besides contacting elected leaders, we should be divesting from this reckless industry and eliminating our dependency on its products.
Your “Carbon Neutral Plan” can emerge from these five steps, and project forward over several years. A more detailed guide will soon be available in our new booklet, “Becoming Carbon Neutral.” For now, consult these links to learn more:
Cool Climate Calculator, out of UC Berkeley and recommended by Presbyterian EarthCare.
Cool Effect, an international, crowdsourced resource for understanding the offsets markets.
Project Drawdown, by Paul Hawken, an inspiring inventory of current, scalable climate solutions.
Our city’s “Green Cincinnati Plan” (inspired by Project Drawdown).
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Investing in a Just Future Earth Care Projects Update
Eric Burgmann writes:
Three projects are the foundation of MAPC’s commitment to becoming a carbon-neutral facility: a modern HVAC system for the office and education wing; new windows in the office wing; and a photovoltaic solar electrical system. While the latter is being financed from the utility savings, Investing in a Just Future provides funding for the other two projects.
Our solar power installation has just completed its first year of clean energy production! You can monitor system performance in real time or track cumulative results. Data collected so far indicate that we have saved 105,000 pounds of CO2. That’s the equivalent of planting almost 800 trees! Our electrical power usage from the utility company has been reduced by 63 percent, and we can expect further reductions as we complete the rest of the projects.
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Our new HVAC system features state-of-the-art efficiency and room-by-room zoning. This modern VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) heat pump design adjusts to match demand, pulling heat out of the ambient air at much lower temperatures than older heat pumps. Thermodynamically, it requires only a third of the energy it would take to create that heat from a fossil-fuel source. It enables us to remove the old window air conditioners, and we expect that once we have some experience with the system, we will be able to retire our ancient hot water boilers too.
The window replacement in the office wing is the final key to our energy savings. We’re installing double-paned, insulated, maintenance-free, aluminum-clad wood windows in place of the original windows, that are pretty tired after more than a century of service. The new windows have been chosen to match the originals and are the same models used in the tower window replacement project. At the same time, we will remove the window A/C units from the Education wing and replace them with insulated glass. The combination of new windows, without air-conditioners in them, makes an incredible difference in the natural light and openness of the office spaces.
It is immensely gratifying to be able to make these improvements to our historic facilities. So much of maintaining any old structure involves patching leaks and plaster, limping along with old systems, and just “making do”—efforts that often simply mark time until the next failure. These projects allow us to make a really substantial investment in our church home that will pay benefits long into the future.
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Financial Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Green Energy |
Julie Malkin writes:
We know it is the right thing to do, but there can be many barriers as we take the next step toward home energy efficiency. Not the least is the expense! NC Clean Energy Technology Center maintains an extensive list of federal, state and local incentives for renewables and efficiency. Here are some highlights:
Federal Tax incentive
The IRS offers tax credits up to 22% for solar, geothermal, wind and fuel cell installations. These must be installed by 12/31/2021.
Duke Energy Rebates
$200-$400 rebates for installation of certain energy efficient HVAC systems in existing homes; $300-$600 in new residential construction.
City of Cincinnati
The City of Cincinnati offers property tax abatements for residential or commercial buildings constructed or renovated to meet LEED certification standards.
Kentucky
According to cleanenergyauthority.com, Blue Grass Energy provides a variety of rebates to its residential customers for increasing their energy efficiency. This includes the Heat Pump Retrofit Program, the Button-Up Weatherization Program, and the ENERGY STAR Manufactured Home Program. Additionally, BGE provides the SimpleSaver program, which gives rebates to customers who reduce their use of air conditioners during peak times. BGE also provides the Community Assistance Resources for Energy Savings (CARES) program, which provides an incentive of up to $2,000 to households for weatherization and energy efficiency measures through their local Kentucky Community Action Agencies (CAA) network. For more information,
Southeast Indiana
Southeastern Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corporation (SIREMC) offers its residential customers incentives for making certain energy-efficient improvements. (Note that the incentives mentioned on their web site expire on 12/31/2020.)
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MOVING WATER! HYDROPOWER!
Linda Ford writes:
On the hunt for new places to explore? Why not ride east of town to investigate one of the hydroelectric plants on the Ohio River? Before you set out, spend some time learning about “run-of-the-river” power production, a fundamentally easy technology. Be sure to pack your binoculars and bird field guides, and if you fish, bring your tackle; I understand that there are striped bass to be pulled from the Ohio near the dam.
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The Meldahl facility is a 105 MW run-of-the-river plant that provides renewable energy to our region. The largest hydroelectric power plant on the Ohio River, it diverts water from the existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam through bulb turbines to generate an average annual output of 558 million kilowatt-hours. The site includes an intake approach channel, a reinforced concrete powerhouse and a tailrace channel, and the powerhouse contains three horizontal bulb-type turbines.
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The city of Hamilton retains the rights to 51.4% of the energy produced, and American Municipal Power (AMP) distributes the rest to 47 other participating members. Excavation and cofferdam construction began in 2010 and powerhouse construction began in August 2011. The plant reached full commercial operation in April 2016. Meldahl is the largest of four hydroelectric projects developed by AMP along the Ohio River, all installed on existing dams.
Here are some background information and resource sites to help you prepare for your field trip.
Good 3-minute video:
Good textual overview:
Good FREE educational resources on energy are available at www.need.org
Driving directions: Meldahl Locks and Dam is located about 30-40 minutes east of Cincinnati, OH. Take the New Richmond Exit from I-275 onto east US 52. The locks and dam are between Neville and Chilo OH.
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Please send contributions, ideas, and creations to your faithful editors Julie Malkin mlkjulia458@gmail.com and
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