Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

MITIGATION GOALS & STRATEGIES
SHORT­TERM (1­5 Years)
1. Conserve energy.
The first step in reducing vulnerability to power grid
failure is to conserve. It’s estimated that 50% of
household electricity use in the U.S. is simply wasted;
we can make huge improvements merely by identifying the points of waste and eliminating
them. 199 As Greg Pahl observes:
conservation is the least expensive strategy we have available and the least
harmful to the environment. . . .[R]eductions can be achieved through a
combination of initiatives, including the use of energy‐efficient building
materials, appliances, and other technologies, coupled with imaginative
thinking about living better with less. 200
Tips for energy conservation are widely‐available and include those offered by the City’s
Environmental Commission on its Bloomington Environmental Quality Indicators (BEQI)
webpage, “Energy‐Saving Tips.” 201 Residents can reduce energy costs by 10‐50% by
implementing relatively simple energy‐savings measures. (Please see Opportunities for
Citizen Action.)
199 Grant Smith, Executive Director of Citizens Action Coalition, personal communication, November 15, 2008.
200 Greg Pahl, The Citizen­Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis (Chelsea Green
River Publishing Company: White River Junction, VT, 2007), 29.
201 Bloomington Environmental Commission, Bloomington Environmental Quality Indicators Report,
http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=2987
Source: U.S. EPA
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force 163