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Energy & You
By Karl A. Parker, President & GM, Parker Family of
Businesses
The Truth Contributor
Happy Holidays from Dhahran, KSA! Welcome to the sixth
Energy & You column! As a reminder - this column will share
a variety of information to help our readers understand the
energy and sustainability landscape and provide guidance on
how to REDUCE energy costs.
REMINDER:
First Energy is suspending its energy efficiency program on
December 31, 2014!! This means that First Energy will no
longer offer rebates and incentives for small and medium
sized customers in 2015. Mercantile customers (large energy
customers) will continue to enjoy a variety of rebates and
rate discounts. However, First Energy will HONOR and provide
REBATES on ENERGY PROJECTS that are PRE-APPROVED before
DECEMBER 31, 2014!!
This means that energy assessments and projects that save
energy will be funded if carried over into 2015, as long as
they were approved before 12/31/2014.
Call 419-297-6139 or 419-486-9273 to receive assistance with
getting your project pre-approved before December 31, 2014.
What is Sustainability? Part I
According to Peter Senge, Ph.D, author of The Necessary
Revolution, sustainability is about meeting the needs
and aspirations of the present without compromising
society’s ability to meet the needs of our descendants in
the future.
Marc Epstein, Ph.D, author of Making Sustainability Work
provides a very similar definition, however, he integrates
economic development into the definition.
Basically, sustainability focuses on three critical areas:
social, economic and environmental systems. Some scholars
and progressive practitioners prefer to execute and
implement sustainability practices that impact the Triple
Bottom Line.
Sustainability in its truest form focuses on people, profit
and planet. One of the initial definitions of
sustainability emerged in 1987 (Brundtlandt) at the World
Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) meeting:
“Sustainable development is development which meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.”
Achieving ‘true’ sustainability requires that we (society)
meet all three goals, as a failure in any one the Ps is
perceived to threaten the others. (Injustice anywhere is a
threat to peace everywhere!) Wait! That is for another
article!
J
I was initially introduced to sustainability when I was
asked to serve on the advisory board for The Clean and
Alternative Energy Incubator at the University of Toledo by
my good friend Megan Reichert in 2007. As a member of that
advisory board I was introduced to a variety of emerging
technologies that were creating new green jobs during the 21st
Century Great Recession.
I received an education from scientists, entrepreneurs,
bankers, government officials and educators on new
low-carbon, renewable energy technologies that dramatically
reduce energy consumption and direct greenhouse gas
emissions.
Photovoltaics (solar), wind, biomass, nano, and other
‘green’ technologies were just some of the new things to
which I was exposed. Then I began to listen even closer to
this emerging green economy in 2008 when gas prices soared
and presidential candidate Barack Obama began discussing
strategies to mitigate climate change and energy
independence by embracing and investing in clean energy.
However, the tipping point for me occurred when I attended a
presentation by Melissa Bradley-Burns from Green For ALL in
June of 2009 sponsored by The Toledo African American
Chamber, at that time led by Vince Wiggins, in partnership
with Tina Wozniak and the Lucas County Commissioners.
Bradley-Burn provided a powerful overview of Green Divide
and educated the audience on how ‘green’ dollars would flow
from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aka
the ‘Stimulus’ package. Her presentation sent me to the
internet to research Green For All, Van Jones, the Green
Divide and the impact of the green economy on the African
American Community.
In February of 2010, I invited Megan Reichert to give a
presentation on the emerging green economy at the Second
Annual Electrical Industry Summit sponsored by Parker
Enterprises, LLC. After her presentations, 90 percent of the
attendees (90 percent were African American) indicated that
they needed to learn more about the emerging green economy.
(Yes this reinforced the Green Divide perspective that Van
Jones of Green For All spoke about often.)
I immediately came to the conclusion that we needed launch
an education series to ensure people of color were aware of,
had an opportunity to participate in and enjoy some of the
goodness that the emerging green economy was offering.
Thus, my team created The Urban Green and Sustainability (UGSF)
that we launched in partnership with the University of
Toledo in May of 2010. Subsequently the UGSF was presented
in Cincinnati, Harlem, NY and Hartford, CT. The content of
the UGSF focused on Employment, Entrepreneurship, Economic
Development and Education. Thought leaders from around the
world participated in the UGSF with the primary goal of
Bridging the Green Divide.
We will continue our discussion on sustainability and
climate change and what it means to you next time. Happy
Holidays!
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