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AERO on the Air

Repower Montana

April 26, 2012

Last September in Philipsburg, AERO—the Alternative Energy Resources Organization—facilitated the third of four summer and fall public renewable energy tours generously sponsored by NorthWestern Energy. During that tour a group of about 20 participants learned about Philpsburg’s two micro-hydro generators installed on the town’s municipal water supply line. That line plummets well over 2,000 feet from Fred Burr Lake, at about 7,600 feet in elevation, to the town. The generators supply the power for several municipal buildings at a rate typically 10% below the utility’s.

This is a big deal for Philipsburg. These hydro generators save the town considerable money, which translates into saved jobs and funds for service equipment. The system and savings span decades.

Standing near one of the generators that day, my Lego-loving, inner engineer was keenly interested in the technical details—the kilowatts and kilowatt-hours, flow rates and turbine blades. But the more captivating story was—and still is—the personal one about how those installations ever came to be. The key character in which is one Walter Johnson, affectionately known as “Tiny,” though the city operations manager with a smile assured us that the name was not to be taken literally.

As I recall the story we heard while standing next to one of the humming generators on the steep hillside, it was Mr. Johnson—a local teacher—who had one of those “ah-ha” moments. He saw the potential to generate electricity for the town by taking advantage of that gravity-driven flow of water. Simple physics is often a beautiful, thrifty thing.

I do not know all the details of the countless steps in between the birth of Mr. Johnson’s idea and the ultimate installation of the systems. But the gist is an idea was conceived, followed by typical discussion, skepticism, and delay, and ultimately, success—success owing to confidence in a good idea, effective communication, persistence, and courage.

There’s a student scholarship in Philipsburg awarded in the name of—in the words of the local foundation—“much revered teacher and local historian & activist Walter (Tiny) Johnson” who passed away in 2007.

I wish I’d known Mr. Johnson. It’s a really great story.

And it illustrates what AERO members and friends have come to know over 38 years of energy tours and workshops, New Western Energy Shows, and annual meetings: there are countless energy success stories across Montana.

Over the years we’ve introduced thousands of people to energy efficient homes and businesses with cost-effective conservation measures. We’ve toured solar, wind, and geothermal installations large and small across the state on schools, homes, farms, ranches, and my personal favorite: breweries.

But it’s become ever clearer that the personal stories are as important—perhaps more important, in fact—than the actual renewable energy installations themselves and their associated costs, incentives, simple payback, and megawatt hours. Personal stories inspire us. They can engage, entertain, and educate. And they put a face on what is all too often overly technical and impersonal. The facts and data are necessary, certainly, but not sufficient.

With that in mind, AERO recently launched a campaign we call Repower MT: Energy Success Stories from across Montana. The central hub of the campaign is an interactive online forum where folks across the state can share their stories in words, photos, video, geography, data, and dollars. It’s a public resource for sharing experience, knowledge and results.

Montana is filled with innovators, and the solutions they’ve deployed have been earned through creative thinking, experimentation, trial and error, some luck, and an indomitable can-do spirit.

These aren’t just energy engineers and technical experts. They are business owners like Dale Brackman and his auto repair and service shop in Helena with his 6.2-kilowatt solar system. Or Brian Patrick, the former Superintendent of Townsend School District whose leadership brought solar, wind and biomass to Townsend’s schools to reduce costs and serve as educational tools. Or the good folks at Garden City Harvest and their solar tracker at the PEAS Farm in Missoula—where every dollar saved on utility costs is a dollar that can go to their community gardens. These are the Walter Johnson’s taking action across the state—whether the projects save or generate kilowatts or megawatts.

We built Repower MT to get these stories out to a wider audience than the 20 folks who attended that tour in Philipsburg—to make them available throughout Montana and to help others help themselves.

So, please add your story to the mix. Share it. Get on the Repower MT map. We’re here to help.

In Missoula, I’m Bryan von Lossberg, AERO’s executive director. AERO has been linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit online and add your story to Repower MT at aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on April 26, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

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Values-Based Food Supply Chains in Western Montana

March 30, 2012

There is a sense of change in the air and it is not just spring coming. There is a change happening and it is about the food we eat. The Montana local food movement is shifting gears and is moving into the mainstream of Montana’s food economy. This shift is the result of a decade of work from committed farmers, ranchers, markets, cooperators and organizations.

Western Montana’s local food movement is creating new economic opportunities for our Montana communities. According to Ken Meter, a regional food analyst, if western Montana consumers purchased only 15% of the food they need for home use directly from the region’s farmers, this would generate approximately $66 million of new farm income to our farmers and ranchers.

In response to this challenge, last winter the Five Valley Food and Agriculture Summit was held where farmers, ranchers, consumers, institutions, coops and others gathered to look deeper into how we can work together to strengthen our regional food system and open new opportunities for food commerce and business development. Values based food supply chains and food hubs were explored by the participants as alternatives to traditional business models. In traditional business models relationships often are framed in “win-lose” terms. Relationships are seen as competitive, even adversarial (companies seek to buy cheap and sell as expensively as possible) and farmers, and ranchers are often interchangeable suppliers of “raw materials.” In contrast Values based food supply chains are viewed as long-term networks or relationships of partnering business enterprises who work together to maximize value for the partners and consumers of a particular product or service creating a win-win situation for all. In values based food supply chains there is an emphasis on shared vision and commitment to the welfare of all participants, including fair profit margins, fair wages, & business agreements of appropriate length (that persist over time). There is the priority of sustainability of the land, energy, water, and other resources and producing food with sustainable practices to ensure region’s ability to produce food in the future which equates to regional self-reliance.

These models offer a new way of doing business and offer opportunities in building a regional food supply chain. Western MT has examples of such businesses that are growing and expanding – Western Montana Growers Cooperative, Charlie’s Produce, Mannix Beef, Kalispell Creamery, University of Montana and a growth of new market farmers that are responding to the increased opportunity for creating value chain partnerships. New enterprises are emerging such as an on-line food coop, and a farm to school value chain between local growers, local schools and the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center. As one participant of the Summit noted “I envision a network and cooperative of local growers forming to pool resources in order to better facilitate movement of food products into mainstream local markets”

These developments will take our local food economy to a new level – where local food is a mainstream in our grocers and a broader base of the community will enjoy the benefits of the freshness, higher nutrition, and the deeper community values such purchases can bring. Values such as community engagement, preservation of local farmland, environmentally sound practices of small farmers, and the list goes on.

I am excited for what the next decade will bring and I urge you- If you already buy locally grown food then buy more, and if you aren’t then it’s time to start now. Be a driver in our emerging food economy.

In Polson I’m Jan Tusick for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO has been linking people with sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit us on line at aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on March 29, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

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A Community Partnership for Local Foods

March 2, 2012

As a MTCC VISTA serving with the NCAT FoodCorps Team, I work with the Red Lodge Area Food Partnership Council, helping the school purchase local food, and educating students about how their food choices affect their health, the environment, and their community.

The Food Partnership Council formed last year after a forum on “Improving Community Well-Being through Food,” which brought in over 200 participants, and as a result the group came together to promote a sustainable food system within the community. The forum pushed the community to ask challenging questions about our local food system. How can we connect producers and consumers? What will it take to grow food at an altitude of five and a half thousand feet? How can we bring healthy, local food into the schools? Can we inspire our friends and neighbors to also get involved?

And instead of just asking these tough questions, the Food Partnership Council took action. They set up task force groups to work on community gardens, the farmers’ market, producer-consumer connections, nutrition education, and farm to school. They applied to host a FoodCorps member, and I arrived in July, as one of nine FoodCorps members who are now working in rural communities throughout Montana.

Just like the Food Partnership Council, Montana FoodCorps began because a passionate group of people took action to address an identified community need.

The program got started in 2006 from a partnership between Montana Campus Compact’s VISTA program and Grow Montana, a statewide coalition of organizations working on food and agricultural issues. The Alternative Energy Resources Organization, or AERO, is a founding member of the coalition and has been working on developing renewable energy and sustainable food system solutions in Montana for over 37 years. AERO and the other Grow Montana organizations saw a need for on the ground volunteers who could work with schools and youth throughout the state to make food system changes on the local level.

I’ve only been in Red Lodge as a FoodCorps member for seven months, and the Food Partnership Council has only been in existence for one year, but it’s incredible how much has already been accomplished. Since getting started, the Food Partnership Council has worked to vigorously promote a sustainable food system within our community. We are connecting producers and consumers, improving school meals, organizing food related events, and setting up community and youth gardens.

Yet even with all this great work that is happening right now, I still can’t escape the notion of how connected we are to the past and the future. The students and I examine how all of the food we eat links back to the soil, a resource that must be preserved and recycled from one generation to the next. And we discuss how some of the crops they hope to plant in the new youth garden are perennials; they’ll come back year after year. Some plants will produce seed we can save after one year, and others after two. Our agricultural systems are inherently linked to the generations that came before us, as well as the many generations to come.

Breaking ground for the new Community Youth Garden in Red Lodge means that this younger generation will become the next integral link connecting the community to our local food system. Not only through their direct involvement in bringing healthy, local food into their cafeteria, but also through the excitement and curiosity they bring to the new projects.

Even in the depths of winter there is proof that Red Lodge youth are up to the challenge. Whether they are coming up with brilliant ideas for the garden, asking me if they can munch on a few more of the radishes I brought in for a taste test, suggesting that we get some worms to improve the quality of our soil, or waving me down on the street to exclaim that the spinach and basil we planted inside just germinated, these kids are the ones who constantly give me hope.

They give me hope because they remind me that the Food Partnership Council’s work to support our local food system not only looks to a past that was rooted in sustainable practices and stewardship of the land, but also to a future that will be shaped by the enthusiasm and curiosity of our youth.

So yes, the Food Partnership Council is celebrating one year of incredible work around local food in our community. But we’re also celebrating, and working to reinvigorate the local agriculture that once fed this entire region. And we’re celebrating the next generation of food leaders who are already planting the seeds of healthier eating in indoor garden boxes this winter, and who will continue to plant them in the youth garden this spring.

In Red Lodge, I’m Alyssa Charney for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO has been building sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit us online at www.aeromt.org.

This commentary aired March 1, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

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Fueling a Sustainable Energy Future

February 3, 2012

In the summer of 1974, a small group of Eastern Montanans sat on a porch discussing the North Central Power Study. This study by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed 42 coal burning power plants across the Great Plains, 21 of which were destined to dot the landscape of eastern Montana. Sacrifice. That is what the study proposed for eastern Montana – that it could be sacrificed for energy development and all the impacts that came along with it. In their discussion this group of Eastern Montanans asked – was it necessary? To scar the landscape, to pollute their air and water, to sacrifice the quality of their communities? Or were there alternatives?

Indeed there were alternative solutions, and this is how AERO – the Alternative Energy Resources Organization- was formed, with a group of people deciding that sometimes there is a responsibility when saying ‘no’ to one thing to say ‘yes’ to something else. Yes to aggressive energy efficiency and conservation! Yes to dispersed wind, small hydro, solar power systems! Yes to biofuels!

For the last few years many communities have had to face similar questions in regard to the Keystone XL Pipeline, an oil pipeline transporting crude oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast through hundreds of communities. What risks does this pose to my health and safety, the land and water, the community I love? Is this the energy economy we want for our nation? And – is there an alternative?

A couple of weeks ago President Obama rejected TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline application. However, it is clear that the President’s recent action represents only a delay at this point—not a final rejection. This delay provides time for review of the concerns of the people and communities living on the proposed pipeline route. What do the people of Circle, Nashua, Fort Peck, or Baker Montana want? What will they sacrifice?

The President’s announcement came at the same time as an announcement from ExxonMobil stating that July’s disastrous Silvertip pipeline spill into the Yellowstone River was actually worse than they had projected – 50% more oil than their original estimate had spilled. Only 1% of that spilled oil has been recovered. In the meantime Keystone I pipeline, which currently transports crude oil from the tar sands through the Dakotas, leaked 14 times in the past eighteen months.

So with this in mind, what is the sacrifice being asked of Eastern Montanans? What is the emergency response plan for Keystone XL? Is the thickness of the pipe consistent, or is it thinner in rural areas? What is the lifespan of the pipeline considering the abrasive oil it will transport? Is it true it will be abandoned in place at the end of that lifespan? These are the questions being asked by citizens along the pipeline that need to be explored before the next TransCanada application.

The U.S. has decreased our oil consumption in the last few years. With new fuel efficiency standards, transition to flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles as well as investment in biofuel research and development this could continue. Americans can do more to conserve fuel and reduce pollution, but stopping the Keystone XL won’t accomplish either goal. Driving less and using vehicles with better fuel efficiency will do much more to protect our environment and would save Americans money, too. Producing our own fuel in our own communities will spur local growth, as well as give communities a stake in the energy economy. A system such as this encourages local decision-making that can mitigate sacrifice of land or quality of life.

In Montana there are alternatives to a centralized energy system that benefits the bottom lines of large corporations at the expense of small communities. There are projects around the state that benefit local communities and provide fuel in a sustainable way. At MSU-Northern’s Bioenergy Center in Havre researchers are creating bio-based jetfuel for the Air Force. Recently they received a grant to assist in biofuel research so companies can test their products at their facilities. The project will pair the university with local investors, as well as local farmers, to grow oilseed crops and process them into biofuel. In Chester, Earl Fisher is producing and selling biofuel made from oilseed crops grown in Montana. In Big Sandy, Bob Quinn runs his tractor on biodiesel he makes using oilseeds he grows himself. Projects such as these are working towards a sustainable future for Montana communities and are an alternative to sacrificing safety and health.

AERO believes that the best way to affect change is by empowering people in their own communities to work towards sustainable solutions. However community is one of the first things to go when energy is centralized, concentrated, and wastefully used. The further removed we are as a people from the resources we use; the less likely we are to use them wisely. As we plan the future of energy let us consider alternatives to our consumption of oil and alternatives to community sacrifice.

In Helena, I’m Sarah Lesnar for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization. AERO has been building sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit us online at aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on February 2nd, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

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A Cleaner, More Affordable Energy Future For Montana

January 6, 2012

We’ve all been aware for a long time that renewable sources of energy like the sun and wind are better for our health and our planet than fossil fuels like oil and coal. But many have also assumed—and fossil fuel industries have certainly claimed—that renewable sources are more expensive. Fortunately, this is NOT true, and we now have an excellent resource to prove it.

Northern Plains Resource Council joined the Civil Society Institute this month in releasing a major new report that outlines a realistic and affordable path to a cleaner and less expensive energy future. Yes, you heard that right: A clean energy future can be a more affordable energy future for Montana and the rest of the United States.

We see the economic and environmental benefits of this approach every day in the Northern Plains offices on South 27^th Street in Billings. The combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy from solar panels has resulted in 79% lower utility bills to heat, cool, and light the building compared to current energy codes. And the renovation of the 1940s building was achieved with a construction budget that was 20% lower than constructing a new building to current energy standards. We KNOW it works!

While fossil fuel industries would have us believe that renewable energy costs consumers more, the claim has never been based on any kind of comprehensive study of future energy resources. The Synapse report, recently published by the Civil Society Institute and available to the public at www.civilsocietyinstitute.org, is a first in examining the whole lay of the energy landscape. And it persuasively makes the case for phasing out all coal-fired power by 2050 and replacing it with aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

The United States always has been less than focused on market-driven principles with respect to its energy policy. All levels of government have sought, for instance, to shift financial and operational risks of coal plants from private industry to the ratepayer and taxpayer. This also goes for oil and natural gas drilling. Although renewable energy companies and energy efficiency technology have received some taxpayer and ratepayer largesse, they pale in comparison to the historic bias toward fossil fuels.

How do we get beyond this unproductive pattern? Rather than shift the risks—and very real costs—from private business to the public in order to force construction of older and dying technologies (such as coal-fired power plants), we should be looking at which energy resources offer the least design, construction, and operational risks to both the public and private investors and that also can meet electric energy demand reliably.

The report compares status quo trends—the Business as Usual Scenario—with a “Transition Scenario” that maps out a much cleaner energy future by 2050. The Transition Scenario is superior to Business As Usual in terms of cost, public health, water usage, and carbon dioxide emission reductions. And it also creates jobs.

The greatest savings achieved in the study is in the cost of generating electricity. Significant savings are achieved by not building new coal or nuclear plants and systematically phasing out all coal and a portion of the nuclear fleet. This is done with off-the-shelf technologies and efficiency, and makes no assumptions about as-yet-unreleased innovations currently in research and development.

The Transition Scenario also harbors other benefits that would reduce cost and health risks to private investors and the public. If implemented, the Transition Scenario would reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the electric sector by 81 percent. Under the Business As Usual Scenario, they would rise 28 percent. There is also far less water use in the Transition Scenario.

Finally, the study estimates the creation of 310,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the first decade of the transition to a more sustainable energy sector. The manufacturing base would receive a much-needed near-term boost with investment in energy efficiency.

There is something for everyone in this approach. Some people will like the fact that net savings over 40 years are projected to be a whopping $83 billion. That’s great news for consumers! Others will embrace the notion that eliminating pollution from dirty coal-fired power plants by 2050 will mean roughly 55,000 fewer premature deaths over the next several decades.

The bottom line for Montana is clear: the public interest as well as the private sector is best served by investing our limited financial resources in energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy that will never run out rather than in dirty, finite fossil fuels. This is the cleaner—and more affordable—approach.

In Billings, this is Ed Gulick for the Alternative Energy Resources Organization and its allies, Northern Plains Resource Council and Civil Society Institute. AERO has been building sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974. Visit AERO online at www.aeromt.org.

This commentary aired on January 5th, 2012 on Montana Public Radio.

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Montana FoodCorps Plants Seeds in Rosebud…and Beyond

December 9, 2011

This piece was written by Anina Estrem, who is a Communities In Action VISTA, serving as part of the Montana FoodCorps team. First there were seven, then eighteen, then thirty-six, now forty-one! Tucked away in the Rosebud school greenhouse, five tiny tomato plants have emerged from the tray planted by the 8th graders to join [...]

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The Bread We Eat

November 11, 2011

Last year my wife and I decided to include a plot of winter wheat in our little homestead garden outside of Bigfork. We devoted about two thousand square feet to getting an authentic taste of what goes into the bread our family eats. Mild weather last October was perfect for the planting, and a carpet [...]

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Community Supported Innovation

October 21, 2011

Three and a half years ago, my husband and I did something that still sort of shocks me. We packed up our little house in Missoula, left our jobs and career opportunities and moved home – to rural north-central Montana — to start Prairie Heritage Farm (www.prairieheritagefarm.com). We grow organic vegetables, ancient and heritage grains [...]

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Weatherization Has Come A Long Way

September 28, 2011

My name is Jim Baerg. I work at the Montana Weatherization Training Center in Bozeman. My job is to help train energy auditors, crew chiefs and crewmembers on the most effective techniques to weatherize low-income housing around Montana. The Weatherization program works to reduce energy consumption, increase comfort and guarantee safe living conditions for the [...]

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Cultivating Community

August 19, 2011

As an AmeriCorps VISTA member and recent transplant to Montana I was introduced to this great state through its community gardens and the people who are passionate about community gardening. My VISTA assignment description (by the way, VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service to America) used the word ‘community’ no less than sixteen times but, [...]

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