Creation Care Mom

We need new systems. Not just tweaks to the existing systems, but truly new systems. New ways of being, of growing, for getting places, and raising families.

To get new systems, we can’t keep looking back. We have to imagine completely new. We need to dream. We need to innovate. We need to break the bad habits and build new ones. Create new social norms. Move beyond what exists and envision something better.

Here are some of my what-if worlds.

What if we decoupled energy production from energy transportation and storage? What if we paid our electric utilities to transport and store electricity more than for generation? Imagine mini wind turbines on every roof, paired with solar panels and solar water heaters. Most residences would produce plenty of electricity for their needs, but given the sporadic nature of sun and wind power would still need a grid connection. The grid would be responsible for storing extra power generated during the day for use in the evenings and drawing power from other parts of the country during extreme weather conditions. Obviously, this vision requires high levels of adoption of renewable generation at the residential scale, but as costs come down I expect residential installations to continue to grow leading to widespread distributed generation. A new fee structure for electricity will be needed to support the transmission and storage capacity necessary.

We could go even farther in this new world, forming a partnership with the electric utility. Using smart tech, we could co-regulate our electricity use. Allowing them to modify our home settings (for example AC), by a small percentage to soften demand peaks. Smart tech could help us run/charge our electronics when electricity is cheapest (at night) and sell extra power to the grid when demand is highest. By tracking the minute to minute fluctuation in electricity price, we would be better equipped to reduce our costs and soften our demand.

Or what-if we moved on from car culture?

What is we redeveloped our communities so that all necessary services were easily accessible by foot or bike once more? Schools, churches, medical services, post offices, grocery stores and restaurants all within less than a mile of residences. These micro communities created within the city with walkable streets would encourage the development strong social community bonds from seeing each other giving us the potential to share resources, ie not everyone needs to own a weedwhacker. Reducing our repetitive consumption of products. A side effect would also be an increase in physical fitness as we again use our body for transportation. Better mental health from stronger friendships and time outside are also possible. Ownership over our local place is high. Community gardens guarantee that everyone has the ability to meet their nutritional needs with fresh produce while enhancing the soil. When we need to travel to another part of the city, a robust public transportation system via electric buses is available since we spend much less money on maintaining road infrastructure. Bike lanes are common and e-bikes are available for rent in many areas. Using a personal vehicle is still allowed, but the costs often outweigh the benefits it provides so congestion is decreased. With fewer personal vehicles, we are able to reallocate parking lots to other purposes. Some are developed into mixed use housing/business parks. Others are remediated as city green space. Cities are becoming denser rather than expanding outward generating more tax dollars from the same city “footprint”. The increase in funds allows existing infrastructure to be better maintained.

What would your eco-friendly world look like? Do these scenarios sound plausible or agreeable to you?