In response to a changing global climate, the Tenth Annual Chewonki Sustainable Energy Conference in Wiscasset on Saturday provided an arena for discussion on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy alternatives.
Workshops following a keynote address by Maine’s Dept. of Environmental Protection Commissioner David Littell focused on real life possibilities for consumers, such as wood pellet heat, electric thermal storage, residential wind and home energy.
In his address, Littell offered several reasons why Maine residents ought to be invested in protecting the state’s natural resources. Maine is the most heavily forested state in the nation, with over 20,000 species of plants and animals living in these forests. Over 75 percent of impact cold water fisheries on the entire east coast are located in Maine, he said.
Littell said the state has one of the strongest ecosystems in the nation, with comparatively clean air and water.
The state also has the least amount of aquatic invasive species in the northeast. People working to mitigate infestations have found 31 invasive species, including discoveries in Damariscotta Lake last year. While any invasive species in a water body can harm the local ecosystem, this number is small compared to hundreds of invasive species found in water bodies in the states and provinces surrounding Maine.
The coastal economy relies on a healthy, sustainable fishery, as do the migrating shore birds essential to the life cycle of local ecosystems.
The threats to various species, to the fisheries on which so many residents depend and to the state’s natural resources visitors come to see, photograph and otherwise experience, are real, Littell said.
Responding to an inquiry from a conference participant about the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Littell said it would have a significant impact on the fisheries and wetlands in that area. Cumulative impacts on the local ecosystems such as the oil spill, Hurricane Katrina and shipping channels plowed through wetland areas have devastating effects on plant and animal life. While they would not affect Maine directly, Littell said, they certainly would impact the fisheries.
While Maine’s air quality is healthier compared to other states, Littell said people need to continue to understand air pollutants, to mitigate and adapt to climate change. There are a number of factors to consider, including plant and animal life habitat loss, rising sea levels and warming global temperatures.
“Ecological impacts from climate change will be dramatic unless the trend of increasing greenhouse gas emissions is soon reversed,” Littell said.
Aquatic ecosystems that have evolved over tens of thousands of years will experience stress to the point where they will be unable to sustain and survive, he said. The oceans are turning acidic due to increased carbon dioxide levels and amphibious creatures are seeing their own hospitable environments shrink.
Littell said Maine’s climate change policy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using energy more efficiently. In an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, communities need to reduce carbon emissions and further improve air quality, for the ocean, the forests and for the endurance of an environment for the future.
Littell addressed some of the challenges facing the department and the state in the effort to conserve rapidly declining forests and wetland areas. The state has the challenge of convincing landowners as new rules are created to conserve the natural habitats, such as inland wading birds and waterfowl, and to ensure the sustainability of Maine’s forests.
According to Littell, the state reforestation plan over the last century has reversed itself and the Maine Forest Service reports that Maine loses 10,000 acres of forest each year.
Ensuring the sustainability of forests is important, not only for the species which inhabit them, but for flood absorption, clean air and water and sustainable wood harvesting. Littell said Maine forests contain over five billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalence. All forests in the United States collectively absorb 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
All of these factors come into play when consumers determine how their own activities impact the earth. Reducing one’s carbon footprint by driving less, buying more locally grown foods with less packaging, and relying on alternative energy sources will help to reduce the negative impacts human activity has on the environment.
The conference workshops offered participants realistic options for energy and alternatives for dependence on fossil fuels. Rich Silkman of GridSolar gave a presentation of his company’s proposal to use solar power to boost electric power for Maine’s cities and towns.
Part of his presentation focused on some of the misconceptions on solar power and GridSolar’s plan to boost electric power for the state. Silkman said the project would offer 20 years of fixed energy pricing at three cents per kilowatt-hour if everything works out to plan. In order to make such a promise a reality, the plan would involve avoiding expensive transmission investments, would take advantage of federal investment tax credits and depreciation, realize renewable energy credits and would sell capacity power into the northeast electricity market.
Sam Zaitlin of Renewable Energy Storage of Maine offered a workshop on heat storage. The idea is to use off-peak electricity rates and store heat for hot water during other times of the day.
John Rush of Evolo Energy Solutions gave a presentation on residential wind systems. There has been some resistance by residents in areas where windmills have been proposed, with concerns about noise and visibility issues. These technologies are improving in terms of efficiency, as well as noise and power generation. Residential wind systems are smaller, less noticeable by other residents and design improvements help cut back on homeowner energy bills.
John Logan of Water Energy Distributors Inc. offered participants an in-depth look at geothermal systems for the home. While the upfront costs for such systems are considered expensive, experts have said the long-term savings are worth the initial investment. These systems use underground temperatures to heat and cool water and air systems in homes.
Paul Kando and Topher Belknap of Midcoast Green Collaborative presented a workshop titled, “Energy and Our Home”. This workshop focused on increasing a home’s energy efficiency and reducing its dependence on heating oil. People learned how an energy audit can help homeowners find answers to heat loss problems in older model homes and how to increase heat efficiency.
Pat Coon from ReVision Heat offered a workshop on wood pellet boilers for the home. The price of oil is not expected to remain stable and, therefore, Coon said Mainers should shift away from dependence on fossil fuels.
Insulation, solar hot water and the use of a wood stove cuts back on dependence on fossil fuels. The pellet wood stove, as Coon described, is highly efficient and its fuel is renewable. Coon discussed his company’s carbon emissions effect on the atmosphere, which ranked low among heating oil, green wood chips and natural gas.
In addition to the workshops, participants in this year’s conference saw a traveling photovoltaic exhibit, electric bicycles on display and an electric powered car. The conference flyer states, “Climate is changing. Will you?” The extensive and informative program, presented by the Chewonki Foundation’s Center for Sustainability, is revisited each year and provides tools for preparing in a changing climate. For more information about the Chewonki Foundation, visit www.chewonki.org. or call 882-7323.
