A great piece by Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth, about localizing our power systems and how different tribes across the U.S. are leading the way. As major power companies make a last ditch push to build new coal and nuke plants during this fossil-friendly administration, we need to counter with a different vision:
Distributed power production, matched with efficiency, is the key. According to the Department of Energy, we squander up to two-thirds of our present fossil-fuel electricity as waste; we lose immense amounts in inefficient production, heating, and transportation systems.
We must reduce our consumption, then create distributed energy systems, where local households and businesses can produce power and sell extra into the grid. Relatively small-scale and dispersed wind, solar, or even biomass generation provides the possibility for production at the tribal or local level without involving big money and big corporations. That, in turn, allows for a large measure of local accountability and control—pretty much the definition of democracy—and an appreciation for where we are and where we need to go.




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