Inventing Our Future

Weekly Planet by Elizabeth Courtney
This article first appeared in the Sunday, December 11th edition of the Times Argus/Rutland Herald

Irene and the May floods have shaken our lives and our confidence—many have doubt and fear about the future. But what if we could prepare for what’s coming and ensure a smooth transition into its unknown by—well—inventing it?

I was with a group of citizens and state leaders on December 3rd in Fairlee, Vermont who together, were inventing the future, right before our eyes.

It was a day-long Community Energy and Climate Action Conference at the Lake Morey Inn. The participants included the Commissioner of the Department of Public Service, Elizabeth Miller, director of the effort to develop a Comprehensive Energy Plan for Vermont (CEP) the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Deb Markowitz, who heads the Governor’s Climate Cabinet, our US Senator Bernie Sanders and many members of the 100 town Energy Committees across the state who are working at the local level to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was an impressive gathering of the “grasstops” putting their muscle together with the “grassroots”.

The keynote speaker, Vermont actor and environmental activist, Kathryn Blume, humorously bemoaned the fact that climate change, energy security, and disaster relief are difficult topics to speak about since they are neither sexy nor funny. Yet she skillfully navigated her way through a brilliant presentation, leaving the crowd of 250 inspired and in tears. We have a narrow window of opportunity to write our future, right now, Blume suggested, as she advocated breathtaking change as opposed to the incrementalism of the CEP.

Whether you take the breathtaking or step-by-step approach to inventing the future—one thing’s for certain—we are about to make an historic investment in infrastructure across an Irene-soaked Vermont and we have to make sure it lasts in the face of continued severe weather events. The infrastructure investments, from resizing culverts to redirecting roads and relocating homes and businesses, means that we will frequently need to not only ‘move it’ but ‘improve it’.

It won’t be easy.

For instance, let’s face it, taxpayers are subsidizing the purchase of foreign oil to heat poorly insulated homes some of which are being rebuilt in the same floodplain they were in when Irene hit. This strange behavior brings to mind the old adage: The definition of insanity is to keep on doing the same thing, expecting different results. Surely there is a way to plan for a better location and improved insulation for these homes with the very dollars we would save in dramatically reduced fuel costs as a result of a weatherization initiative. It might well be a complex logistic to pull off, but one we should be ready to tackle, assuming we’re not all insane.

What is needed right now is what was happening at Lake Morley on December 3rd—an energized citizenry teaming up with the heads of government, ready to work together to transition into a changed world where we know resources are limited. We need something close to a patriotic movement—leadership from the heads of state and leadership from the citizens of the state—getting behind the effort to transition gracefully and thoughtfully into a new world of finite resources that are deployed strategically.

At the Conference, Commissioner Miller told the story of a student from the Barstow School in Chittenden. The self-described “loyal citizen of the Green Mountain State”, wrote asking, why not make it a law to at least, every other week conserve energy? Another student opined, five minutes to unplug won’t kill you. From others at the conference the message to the state leaders was, “ Take bold action, we’ve got your back and we’ve got your feet” (which we’ll hold to the fire). It was a friendly reminder that democracy is alive and kicking in Vermont.

When the leaders of the state close the loop with the communities and the youth of the state—when the grasstops connect with the grassroots—inventing the future can be breathtaking.