Energy Conservation and Sustainability
Created January 17, 2009
Welcome to central Maine's sustainable community in 2020. We define
sustainability as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
needs of the future.
We, the people of the Kennebec, recognize that our survival depends on a
healthy and safe environment. We are part of an interdependent world of
natural resources, human communities, and economic systems. Our culture
supports sustainability in everything, such as use of local food, energy,
and transportation as well as preservation of our natural resources.
We are a strong regional community with shared interests. We collaborate in
making wise energy and environmental choices. We make public and private
decisions in terms of their environmental, social, and economic impacts,
including quality of life and employment opportunities. We have increased
the prosperity of the region. We have full employment at a living wage
through green services and green manufacturing.
People of all ages learn about sustainability throughout our communities:
at home, in schools, in the workplace. The youth in our communities grow up
safe and healthy, and are engaged in the process of achieving
sustainability.
We invest in the best available strategies and infrastructures for energy
generation, distribution and use. Where we use energy, we give priority to
local, renewable resources. Through practices of energy conservation,
generation and efficiency, we have reduced our carbon footprint and our use
of fossil fuels by fifty per cent since 2009.
Most of the food we eat is locally grown. There is an abundance of
locally-grown food available throughout our communities. For example, 80% of
food used in schools is locally grown. We have revitalized area farms and
reconnected our rural and urban economies.
Recognizing that the open-ended generation of "waste" is not sustainable, we
have learned to rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle, with the goal of
eliminating waste completely - every output becomes an input. We have
eliminated most landfilling.
We use our natural resources, such as wind, water, wood and sun, to provide
for the needs of everyone in our communities and beyond, while at the same
time preserving the integrity of resources for the future.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We need to do this, and we need everyone's help.
ReplyDeleteEmergency -
ReplyDeleteRecently, wholesale milk prices have plummeted to levels not profitable to dairymen, although supermarket prices remain just as high. Cows are being sold for meat, and farmers are being forced out of business.
Small scale, local milk processing must be started immediately for/by these farmers so they can afford to stay in business so we'll have them in the future to deliver milk to our doors like they used to when I was a kid. it came in returnable, glass bottles, but this time the deliveries should be via small, electric-powered delivery vehicles.
I know nothing about milk production, except that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, so I hope someone knowledgeable takes this idea and runs with it so we'll have local milk to drink, otherwise it'll just be water.
Thanks,
Bill
We have started meeting with the Education Group and I know that some of the others are meeting as well. We are meeting on the 15th at 11:30 at the Grand Central Cafe to create working groups and move the project forwards.
ReplyDeleteThese groups are in keeping with the prime constraint, which is energy conservation and production.
The three groups are:
1) Winterization education
2) Weatherization education
3) Greening the Curriculum
We need people who are willing to help make this happen!
We just had our second meeting for education. We are going to meet at our maple sugarhouse for the third meeting on March 15th.
ReplyDeleteFrancis Rodrigue is teaching classes on weatherization already, and is heading up the Weatherization Education group. They are working on getting classes going with KVCC and KVCap.
We're having fun too.