Goals for a greener Independence

Two of the greatest issues of our time will collide in the near future: the global climate crisis and the end of widely-available fossil fuels.  We must have a sensible strategy to avert the coming climate crisis while ensuring our ability to grow and prosper economically.

Renewable energy at the municipal level is a grass-roots approach to solving the global climate crisis, providing leadership on the issue by focusing within our own circle of influence: city government.  With a municipally-owned power company, the City of Independence is strategically positioned to lead the kind of stewardship that will avert the coming climate crisis.

Here’s a list of steps the City of Independence can and should take immediately to encourage energy conservation:

• Implement a buy-back program for homeowners and businesses who install renewable energy equipment and generate capacity in excess of consumption.
• Provide purchase assistance or discounts for homeowners and businesses who install renewable energy equipment to supplement or supplant their current coal-fired power consumption.
• Include provisions for bicycle lanes in all future road projects, and implement strategic bicycle corridors to encourage healthy, environmentally friendly transportation habits.

Along with those short-term steps, we need a strategic plan by the end of the decade to determine how we as a community will manage our carbon footprint.  Here are the key steps we need to take to build that strategic plan:

• Commission a comprehensive study of current municipal energy consumption in both vehicles and facilities, and devise a comprehensive strategy for optimal energy efficiency.
• Commission a study of current carbon sequestration technologies assessing the feasibility of implementing such technologies at its coal-fired power plant.
• Commission a study of the feasibility of wind turbine and other renewable energy options that supplement or supplant our current coal-fired power generation.