The end of the fossil-fuel age

Editor’s note: The first of three parts.

In Maine, we have been at a significant disadvantage throughout the fossil fuel age. Our state is relatively cold and rural. Thus we use more energy per capita for space heating and for transportation than other places. We spend a large proportion of our money on energy, and, as the price of fuel increases, we become ever more disadvantaged. Unlike Alaska, Montana, Norway and other cold, rural areas, we have no indigenous sources of coal, oil or gas. Every dollar we spend on fossil fuels immediately leaves our state.

But the fossil fuel age is coming to an end. Coal, oil and gas will be important fuels for many decades, but sustainability requires a shift to renewable fuel sources. Global warming is the first reason-virtually the entire membership in the National Academy of Sciences agrees it is an obvious problem that threatens future life on this planet. Second, pollution from fossil fuel use is ruining the environment and damaging our human health. Third, many experts think we have reached the end of the era when oil and coal were easy to extract. Oil production is in decline in 33 of the 48 largest oil producing countries, yet energy demand is increasing around the globe as economies grow and nations develop. We simply must look ahead to a renewable energy future and move toward it as fast as possible.

Americans use twice the energy of Europeans per person to maintain virtually the same quality of life. There are many ways we can reduce energy consumption without giving up modern comforts. Such opportunities include replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (10 percent home electrical use reduction), lightweight hybrid cars (50 percent gas savings), improved home appliance efficiency standards (20-30 percent electrical savings), and more energy efficient building standards (10-25 percent home heating savings). In these and other ways, we can use our energy sources much more wisely.

But better energy efficiency alone will not solve our need to reduce or eliminate fossil fuels. We need to develop renewable sources of energy.

In this, Maine is actually better off than most people realize, as it is blessed with significant renewable energy sources. Some, like hydropower, have already been exploited to a high degree. Others, like wood for home heating, grew rapidly in the 1970s but fell out of favor as oil prices dropped. Today Maine’s extensive forests are a major source of energy for industry; wood in chip or pellet form can be used to heat Maine homes on an equally large scale.

Perhaps the greatest new renewable opportunity in Maine is wind energy. Wind power technology has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. There is tremendous potential to install large, efficient wind power plants in Maine’s potato fields, blueberry barrens, ridgelines and even offshore sites. Some of these sites may be controversial, but it is reasonable to expect that 25% of our electricity will come from wind in the next decade. Developers already have proposed projects to achieve half of this amount, and with high fossil fuel prices, wind is very competitive.

The cost of other renewable energy sources such as solar and tidal power are holding them back from development in Maine today, but technological improvements will likely change those economics in the next few years.

It is time for Maine people to pull together behind a vision for our energy future that brings about energy efficiency improvements and develops renewable, indigenous sources as soon as possible. Investing in all of these changes is imperative, and Conservation Law Foundation is working to accelerate these changes.

The state’s economy will benefit because our dollars will be invested in Maine businesses, not sent overseas. We will improve our air quality with these investments. We will buffer the effects of rising oil prices and the risks of overseas entanglements. We will slow the trend of global warming. It is high time to get moving in this direction.

Maine people are smart enough to see these obvious advantages, but we have not yet marshaled the collective will to make them happen. Our legislature will consider bills to improve building standards, to raise energy efficiency in home appliances, to improve vehicle emission standards, and to demand more use of renewables in our energy mix in the session that begins in January. I urge our legislators to vote for these improvements.

We must also look favorably on wind power development and other investments in our energy infrastructure. Our economic and environmental future depends on aggressively pursuing these changes.

Rob Gardiner is vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation.