Exploring and Expanding Our Power Possibilities
Nov 19, 2024
Power. It’s a packed word, packed concept. Those of us living in the Midcoast recognize a change in power when we see one: you sense a gradual dimming, then lights come back on line, strong and steady. Those brownouts are momentary, but unnerving.
Sometimes power fails. Those blackouts leave us with no energy. Some folks have auxiliary power sources to tap into—generators, or home batteries. Some of us start our wood stoves, or light a candle. Some wait in the dark and cold.
In these “modern” times, in the Global North, we eventually get power back.
Our recent national elections are also a power shift. We’ll feel its impacts—the dips, the failures, the spikes. At times we’ll feel powerless.
The power shift we’re now in won’t last forever. On the other side we might have improved our infrastructures, built strong communal grids, shored up our connections. Or we may have allowed our power structures to falter, fall apart, without rebuilding. The choice, as ever, is ours.
Locally we can build resilience so shifts in power don’t debilitate us.
We have ample power: the power of collective action; the power of enthusiasm; the power of imagination; the power of voice; the power of awe and wonder; the power of individual choice; the power of place; the power of people; and of course, the power of love.
Let’s use our power to make the most of these times.
Camden’s Power Consumption and Power Possibilities
At our 11/14/24 Camden Talks Climate event (listen to it here) we learned about the power of shifting municipal energy sources to 90-100% solar. Representatives of St. George, Lincolnville, and Thomaston explained how each of these towns built out solar arrays so they no longer have to buy electricity from CMP. Some towns are even considering building out more solar than their municipal governments use so that they can offer reduced electricity costs to their citizens.
That’s using power to improve citizens’ lives.
In Camden we have the opportunity to purchase the solar farm built at Sagamore Farm in pre-pandemic times, and to build more solar arrays to bring us closer to generating 40% of our own power. (Getting to 100%, as our neighbors have, will require us to both reduce our energy needs—the Snow Bowl uses a LOT of power—and get creative about siting solar arrays.)
CamdenCAN will be working with town staff and other helpers to further investigate how we can use power, and power generation, as a means to improve Camden’s bottom line, and also perhaps, provide reduced energy costs and 100% renewable electricity to those citizens who’d like it but can’t have rooftop solar for financial or other reasons.
(FYI: Maine consumers have a choice about the kind of power they purchase. Many of us just take the “standard offer” from CMP. Currently, that energy is generated from a variety of sources, including natural gas, hydropower, and fossil fuels. But, you can select a different energy source, eg., community solar. Then that company—eg., Nexamp—supplies your electricity. You’re then using renewable energy, and usually it costs less than the “standard offer.” You still have a “delivery charge,” expense [now $26] monthly from CMP; the solar supplier sends you their bill directly. Of course, if you build solar panels, you effectively supply some or all of your own electricity, and might even sell excess back into the grid.)
We can use our power choices to save money, and reduce our town’s use of fossil fuels. (Worried? Read why the economics of green energy will thwart attempts to stop it.)
Maine State Updates
Maine Climate Council. We’re fortunate to live in a state committed to tackling the multiple crises brought on by our warming world. This Thursday, 11/21/24 at 12:30 the ME Climate Council will unveil the updated Climate Action Plan. You can learn more and register to attend here.
Maine Department of Energy. Maine Energy Plan Pathways to 2040 Energy draft report. Open for reading and public comments.
Maine Infrastructure and Rebuilding Interim Report. Important reading, from a Commission created by executive order last spring (the photos alone are breathtaking). From the report:
“The dangers of unchecked climate change became undeniable in Maine over the past two years, as a series of extreme storms caused millions of dollars in damage and claimed four lives…Maine is now simultaneously grappling with an unparalleled eight major disaster declarations and one emergency declaration. This is a dramatic increase over recent decades when Maine had averaged just one disaster or emergency declaration per year.”
Camden Climate Action Plan
Our town doesn’t have a climate action plan. But we do have Watershed School’s suggestions to Camden, here [published 2015] and here [published 2020]. Five years later, we still need to:
- Adopt Maine’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets;
- Hire a Climate/Energy Action Coordinator;
- Weatherize existing homes for maximum energy efficiency;
- Transition to cleaner heating and cooling systems;
- Convert individual and town vehicle fleets to all electric;
- Develop EV charging infrastructure;
- Reduce vehicle miles driven by increasing public transit and pedestrian travel opportunities;
- Solarize Camden;
- Monitor progress and report to Global Covenant of Mayors; .
- Develop a community outreach and education program.We’ve added a few other suggested actions:
- Increase reliance on local, local, local—for food sources, material needs.
- Reroute our financial power—investments and pensions—away from fossil fuels (see Make My Money Matter, and the hilarious videos The Hidden Relationship and Oblivian).
- Reduce resource use in general—invest more time experiencing and joining with people, less on consuming material objects. Consider adopting a Zero Waste Lifestyle, or joining a Buy Nothing group. In your kitchen focus on reducing food waste that goes to the landfill, increase composting, and eat a plant-based diet.
- Protect wild spaces, plant trees, live lightly. Reconsider replanting your lawn as a pollinator garden to help restore lost insect habitats. Join us 12/12/24 to learn more (see “Wild Yards” below).
- Create and communicate an emergency hazard plan with yearly drills and community outreach. (Do you know where to go if your house gets flooded or if the power goes out for days?)
- Rethink our mindsets: Earth is not a resource for exploitation—Earth is a home we share. Rethink our economic system accordingly. For inspiration investigate The Great Turning or The Great Simplification.(For more inspiration, see 12 Things You Can Do Right Now to Fight Climate Change.)
The future is in our hands; the future is local.
Upcoming Opportunities and Events
12/5, Thursday, 5-7 pm, American Flatbread in Rockport, Midcoast Climate, Energy, and Green Building Happy Hour. We’ll be in the upstairs room and look forward to a round of (your) community updates and announcements. All are welcome to this local group of folks who work, or are interested, in climate, clean energy, green building, and related topics.
12/12, Thursday, 6:30 pm, Camden Public Library, Camden Talks Climate, on Wild Yards, with David Kibbe and Joline Blais. Look for more details in our next newsletter.
Second and Fourth Tuesdays, 5-6 pm, starting January 2025. Camden Public Library, CamdenCAN book discussion group on Retrosuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future. Details to follow.
Worth Reading
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans that Feed Them, Porter Fox.
The Rewilding, Donna M. Cameron. “A climate change novel that explores ecological possibilities.”
Concluding Thoughts
Don’t give up. We have the everything we need to create a thriving, vital Camden, for 2025 and 2030. We have the power to build the community we want.
We strengthen our power and resilience by joining with others.
If you’re curious about how to help create a thriving Camden in a warming world, email to see how to get involved.
