Watts Happening?

by Don Pettit for Peace Energy Cooperative

Busting Renewable Energy Myths:

arn near 20 years ago I wrote a column for the local newspaper called EnviroNews. In it I prophesied the coming of wind power to the Peace Region (I was right), and the revival of rail across North America (I was wrong). Perhaps the paper was desperate for ller, but over 300 EnviroNews articles were published between 1995 and 2001 on everything from backyard composting to TV addiction. Well, here I go again. This is the rst Watts Happening blog entry. It will be posted on the Peace Energy Coop web site and will be run in several regional newspapers every two weeks. Iceberg Still Dead Ahead A lot has changed in the last two decades, but also a lot has stayed disappointingly the same. Humanity continues to be in transition. As much as the powers that be would have us believe that business as usual will be just ne, thank you very much, such is not the case. Business as usual is eating itself, destroying the natural capital foundation on which it is built. It is not sustainable. The debate about how to arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic rages on, but our course is still set for that same iceberg, dead ahead. But there are ways to change course to a more sustainable world, and the good news is that its starting to happen. The media is so lled with a surplus of doom and gloom that theres not much room left for the REALLY GREAT STUFF, so thats what Im going to focus on in Watts Happening. Most of the big changes and big controversies we are seeing these days orbit around one thing: energy. Nothing is more destructive, polluting and harmful to nature and human health than how we presently extract, distribute and use (and waste!) most of our energy. Moving to a world run entirely on renewable energy, used e ciently and conservatively, is one of the really big things we have to do, and one of the most remarkable projects that humanity has ever attempted.

Author and photographer Don Pettit is de nitely upbeat when it comes to renewable energy. His book Power Shift chronicles the building of Bear Mountain Wind Park, a project launched by Dawson Creeks very own Peace Energy Cooperative. (Kit Fast photo) The Good News: we ARE changing course! The good news is that we not only can do it, we are doing it. But many of our energy choices will fall to you and I. Governments are in a tough position to lead so large a change: short time lines (the next election) and the in uence of immensely powerful corporate elites make their job very di cult. So we have to make our own choices: oil, gas, coal, wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear? Whats it going to be? A mix no doubt, but into which of these should we place our best e orts? In which direction does a sustainable future lie? The prosperity or hardship of our children may well depend on the energy choices you and I make today. Personally, Im big on renewables. Making

energy without burning fuel, but instead harvesting it directly from the wind and the sun, for instance, now thats pretty cool and seems like a commonsense way to go (no pollution, lasts forever, everybodys got some, things like that). Apparently, lots of folks agree, since renewables continue to be the fastest growing energy sector on the planet. This is really good news, since there seem to be some BIG problems with this fuel thing. Upcoming Myths to Bust: So Ill begin Watts Happening by busting a few myths that have collected around renewables, just to clear the air, so to speak. Future articles will bust some juicy myths like: Wind turbines are bad for birds. WRONG! We cant possibly power the whole planet with renewables, because there just isnt enough of it and renewable energy is intermittent and unreliable. REALLY WRONG! Wind turbines dont do anything to green their local area because the power just disappears into the grid. TOTALLY WRONG!

Electric cars dont make any di erence because the electricity they use was probably made in a coalred plant anyway. SURPRISINGLY WRONG! Solar hot water heaters, solar electricity and geothermal energy for my home or business are expensive and impractical. ALSO WRONG! Which reminds me: if you, oh reader, are using RE in any way, for any reason, I would love to hear about it. Send pictures! Email me via the Peace Energy Coop web site (www.peaceenergy.ca Contact Us). AND there are prizes send me something, practically anything, about RE and you will receive a FREE copy of my amazing book Power Shift. OH BOY, THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN! See you back here next week . . . Renewably yours, Don Pettit

Watts Happening? Quick

Fact:

Denmark Blows Big-Time: Denmark is now providing more than 30 percent of its electricity

with wind power, making their grid the most wind-powered in the world. Their goal is 50 percent by 2020. No problem.