In case you hadn't noticed, there is an American green revolution that's just about to blossom.
The scientific evidence of climate change caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions now is more often accepted than ridiculed. The economic and geopolitical cases for ending U.S. reliance on foreign oil are driving a push to develop alternative energy sources here at home. If there is to be a federal bailout of the American auto industry, it will include a mandate to create more fuel-efficient, hybrid and plug-in vehicles. President-elect Barack Obama's economic plan is based in part on the belief that green energy efforts will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
There is no denying the movement. Hopefully, Monroe and Green County will be part of it.
A statement made at last Tuesday's Energy Efficiency webinar at the Government Services Building in Monroe by Green County Development Corporation Executive Director Anna Schramke aptly described the need for a more coordinated local effort to link energy efficiency with renewable energy.
"None of our communities are talking about it," Schramke said. And she's right, local communities and governments in Green County have been mostly silent about developing alternative energy efforts that combine conservation with economic development.
Chris Wellington, dean of the Blackhawk Technical College's Monroe campus, pointed to some of the individual institutional efforts to ensure sustainability through energy efficiency. "But people are all thinking individually, not talking together," Wellington said.
"If the county were to take visible and local leadership in sustainability ... all of a sudden it becomes a good idea," she said.
Southwest Wisconsin is part of a "biomass belt," presenting an opportunity to turn agricultural and environmental resources into alternative energy projects that create economic development. Private industry can take advantage of opportunities, but they are more likely to occur when spurred by government incentives and promotion.
All conservation is local. So is economic development. Which is why local leadership will be required to merge the two efforts in Green County. That leadership must come from governmental bodies - at the county and municipal levels. But it also must include conservationists, business and nongovernmental organizations and the county's school systems.
The seminar last week is part of a Building Communities Webinar Educational Series presented by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The series aims to encourage the development of resources and opportunities toward building an energy independent community. It's a valuable pursuit, one that we hope local leaders see as an opportunity worth seizing.
The scientific evidence of climate change caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions now is more often accepted than ridiculed. The economic and geopolitical cases for ending U.S. reliance on foreign oil are driving a push to develop alternative energy sources here at home. If there is to be a federal bailout of the American auto industry, it will include a mandate to create more fuel-efficient, hybrid and plug-in vehicles. President-elect Barack Obama's economic plan is based in part on the belief that green energy efforts will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
There is no denying the movement. Hopefully, Monroe and Green County will be part of it.
A statement made at last Tuesday's Energy Efficiency webinar at the Government Services Building in Monroe by Green County Development Corporation Executive Director Anna Schramke aptly described the need for a more coordinated local effort to link energy efficiency with renewable energy.
"None of our communities are talking about it," Schramke said. And she's right, local communities and governments in Green County have been mostly silent about developing alternative energy efforts that combine conservation with economic development.
Chris Wellington, dean of the Blackhawk Technical College's Monroe campus, pointed to some of the individual institutional efforts to ensure sustainability through energy efficiency. "But people are all thinking individually, not talking together," Wellington said.
"If the county were to take visible and local leadership in sustainability ... all of a sudden it becomes a good idea," she said.
Southwest Wisconsin is part of a "biomass belt," presenting an opportunity to turn agricultural and environmental resources into alternative energy projects that create economic development. Private industry can take advantage of opportunities, but they are more likely to occur when spurred by government incentives and promotion.
All conservation is local. So is economic development. Which is why local leadership will be required to merge the two efforts in Green County. That leadership must come from governmental bodies - at the county and municipal levels. But it also must include conservationists, business and nongovernmental organizations and the county's school systems.
The seminar last week is part of a Building Communities Webinar Educational Series presented by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The series aims to encourage the development of resources and opportunities toward building an energy independent community. It's a valuable pursuit, one that we hope local leaders see as an opportunity worth seizing.
