With troubled investment portfolios nationwide, a local tourist economy not keeping pace with inflation, and concerns over the availability and price of foreign oil, many people may be anticipating changes in America’s long-held level of prosperity. What people do now to respond to potential changes could make all the difference to communities such as Cook County, according to one man.
Bill Mittlefehldt, northeast coordinator of the state’s Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), is expecting those changes and believes they could be “catastrophic” or “synergistic,” depending on how we anticipate and respond to them. “What I’m talking about is a process so significant that it’s going to require that people respond to it,” Mittlefehldt said. If you don’t anticipate problems, he said, you’ll pay the consequences.
The CERTs office in Duluth is available to assist nine northeastern Minnesota counties deal with what they believe are significant climate, energy, and economic changes coming down the pike. Mittlefehldt’s job is to find and build civic teams interested in sustainability. We won’t run out of oil, Mittlefehldt said, but it is going to get more expensive. He believes that communities will need to collaborate in ways not seen since our forefathers pooled their labor and goods in the early days of America. “We need to turn the clock back maybe 150 years,” he said.
Mittlefehldt believes Cook County has a head start on bringing eco-friendly energy to the area, and he would like to tout it as a shining example of a community working together to meet challenges. “There’s a new kind of communication going on in Cook County,” he said. He also believes Cook County’s energy initiatives could make it a leading competitor in the race to attract “eco-tourists” looking for “green” vacation destinations.
Mittlefehldt has a cabin on Hungry Jack Lake and has been attending numerous meetings at which new innovations have been discussed. The Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP), begun in April 2008, has five committees working on bringing energy alternatives to Cook County through biomass heat and energy, solar and wind power, and transportation and energy efficiency initiatives. He also outlined his belief in proactive community involvement at a recent discussion of the social capital survey completed in 2008 and the community book read that took place earlier this year.
The Duluth CERTs office wants people to see how the community has been working together to bring new energy alternatives to the area, and toward that end it is holding its regional summer meeting in Grand Marais on Monday, July 20, 2009. The half-day event will bring local citizen leaders and energy experts together to share their vision for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects throughout Grand Marais and the region, and the public is encouraged to attend.
The event will begin at the Cook County Community Center at 11:00 a.m. and will include a visit to a home that uses solar collectors, a CCLEP panel discussion of its five initiatives, a walking tour of the potential distribution route of a biomass-fueled energy plant under consideration, and presentations by other local entities making use of alternative sources of energy.
” Because a free lunch will be provided, registration is requested. To register, go to www. eventbrite.com/event/380023661 or contact Lissa Pawlisch at pawl0048@umn.edu or (612)624- 2293. Theevent will end at 3:30 “with music and sharing of visions by the Shore of Possibility,” Mittlefehldt said.
“One of my bright lights is Grand Marais,” Mittlefehldt wrote in a July 10 email to the Cook County News-Herald. He believes the community exemplifies “tremendous citizen leadership.”
“This is a very hopeful event and community,” he wrote. …The civic synergy there is exemplary. …[Cook County] could easily emerge as a regional leader for how we can develop more sustainable communities.
“The risks confronting many similar communities in our region could unite our young and old, liberal and conservative elements,” Mittlefehldt continued. “Indeed, if we do not unite, the risks deepen.” Mittlefehldt hopes for broad participation from Cook County residents and looks forward to capturing local stories and sharing them with other communities. The Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) are a joint program of the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, the Southwest Regional Development Commission, the Minnesota Project, Officeof Energy Security – MN Department of Commerce, and the Green Institute.
The CERTs program brings together team members from diverse backgrounds including farmers, utility representatives, state and federal government staff, educators and academics, small business owners, members of non-profit and environmental groups as well as individuals interested in energy issues. Together they work to identify and implement community-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state.
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