League of Women Voters explores renewable energy
From staff reports
The League of Women Voters Leelanau County (LWVLC) Energy Committee will host a public forum on “Community Energy Resilience: How do we achieve it?” Tuesday evening February 25 from 6-9 p.m. in the Leelanau County Government Center. The League’s goal is to create community conversations related to saving energy, generating electricity, and learning how “less can be more”, all related to building resilience in the face of energy issues that are and will continue to impact our community.
From 6-7 p.m. there will be a Mini Energy Fair with exhibits, brochures and representatives from “green” community businesses and organizations with many action oriented ideas.
The Energy Forum begins at 7 p.m. and features presentations on accessing the “low hanging energy fruit” through efficiency and conservation; generating local electricity from solar and wind; and a first person account of richer living by living lightly with less consumerism. Presenters include Stephanie Mills, a Post Carbon Institute fellow and an internationally known writer and teacher; Steve Smiley , CEO of Smiley Energy Services and Leelanau Solar; Brian Beauchamp, Energy Program Director of the Michigan land Use Institute and Heatherlyn Reamer, Policy Chair of the NW Michigan County Farm Bureau. A question and answer period will follow.
The LWVLC Energy Committee has been researching the current and potential future energy resources as well as potential actions available for our area, especially in light of the emerging issues of fossil fuel depletion, climate instability, economic contraction, decline of biodiversity and contamination of vital water resources. all of which are Energy issues on this finite planet.
