Can We Talk ... And Dream Big?
The good people of Burlington, VT, decided to do just that in 2004 when the utility officials of the state’s largest city began discussing the feasibility of providing 100% of its electricity from renewable resources.
Within four years, those planners realized it was not only possible but economically viable to do so. This month, just ten years after beginning to kick around the idea, Burlington, VT crossed this threshold and now provides 100% of its electricity needs from renewable sources including wind, water, and biomass. This strategy fits beautifully within the statewide goal to provide 90% of Vermont’s overall energy needs (including electricity, heating and transportation) from renewable sources. Christopher Recchia, Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, commented that Burlington’s success shows that this goal can be done in a cost effective way that positions residents well for the future.
Moravians have always been excellent planners and executers of big ideas. What are we doing today to live out our responsibility to care for God’s creation as well as meet our daily needs by reducing and eliminating our dependence on environmentally harmful, finite fossil fuels? Is Home Church talking about such ideas? Winston-Salem? North Carolina? Where will we be in 2050 as regards our dependence on environmentally detrimental, finite resources to meet our daily needs? Let’s dream large and start talking. Who do you know in church, city and state governance that you can start talking to about these dreams to position the next generation to live well?
—Helen Bushnell Beets, Earth Stewards Team