[Originally published in the OTHER paper, Eugene, Oregon in March, 1999.]
Could green energy fund the library?by Wanda Ballentine
How about a solution to the library funding problem, that would not only be an educational and architectural enhancement for the community, but a model of sustainability and a tourist attraction?
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) founded by Amory and Hunter Lovins, probably the most knowledgeable people on the planet about resource efficiency, utilizes solar passive design in the snow-covered mountains of Colorado and contains all the necessary technology of modern business. To save 99% of space- and water-heating energy, 90% of household electricity, and 50% of its water, the total extra building cost was $1.50/sq. ft., or $6000. Compared with similar conventional buildings, the savings are at least $7,100/yr. Thus, the extra cost repaid itself in 10 months; savings accumulating since at about $19/day.
The utility bill is about $5/month -- but after credit for extra solar production, the utility sends them a check! The energy savings will pay for the whole building in 40 years. Furthermore, part of the energy system is an indoor greenhouse where vegetables -- and a banana farm -- grow year round. RMI was built in 1982, so the technology has greatly improved since then.
Information about this technology, and about RMI can be found in the 1997 book, Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use, which the Lovinses co-authored with Ernst von Weizäcker of Germany's Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy. In it, the authors do not report on all resource use techniques available; only on those described by the title -- those getting four times the bang for the buck.
With these methods, Eugene should not only be able to pay for the library of its dreams, but much more. The educational resources would not just be in books housed therein, but in its very structure; it would become a model, an icon, for the sustainability we've been talking about for years. Imagine it containing a community garden -- what a marvelous opportunity to feed the homeless -- a living learning in horticulture, social responsibility, and community building for children and adults alike.
Eugene has many resources for this endeavor -- the University's Solar Information Center and the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, EWEB, the Northwest Eco-Building Guild, Approvecho Center.
The value of such a project should be obvious and should attract visionary investors to be part of such a forward-looking, 21st century, problem-solver.
Rocky Mountain Institute's address: 1739 Snowmass Creek Rd., Snowmass, CO 81654-9199; 970-927-3851, Fax -- 970-927-4178; www.rmi.org.
©Wanda Ballentine, 1999