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Apr 14, 2006 9:30 am US/Central
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Project Energy: Finding Alternative Energy Sources
by David Schechter
(WCCO)
In every Jewish house of worship, there is one light in the sanctuary that is always on.
"It symbolizes that God is present in this place and that we need to bring God's presence into our everyday lives," said Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, with Temple Israel in Minneapolis.
For Zimmerman's congregation, that small light has come to symbolize a larger "moral concern" about the energy that powers it.
Because America's reliance on coal and oil contributes to global warming, many religious leaders across faiths say it's time to move away from coal and oil and toward cleaner forms of energy.
As stewards of the earth, Zimmerman said it is our moral responsibility.
"People are beginning to understand that there's a different bottom line," Zimmerman said. "It's a moral bottom line."
There is an accepted path to cleaner energy, but it is actually more like a bridge.
The idea is to use the conventional energy we have today more efficiently so it lasts longer into the future.
And as Americans walk away from oil and coal, they will have time to build a new energy economy on the other side.
"It's a transition," said Michael Noble, executive director of Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy. "A gradual and systemic transition."
In the future he's talking about, there is no silver bullet, no single solution that fulfills all of our energy needs. Instead, Noble explains, it is a future of silver BBs.
"Each little shot is capable of solving part of the problem," Noble said. "We're going to need a range of technologies and a range of solutions."
Many of those solutions are available today, including efficient cars, such as hybrids, that do more with less. Other solutions include solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power and power from living things such as ethanol fuel from corn and animal waste.
On a farm in Princeton, Minn., one of the silver BBs is actually brown cow manure.
"Animal livestock has this wonderful thing called manure," said dairy farmer Dennis Haubenschild. "It's a renewable, non-depletable resource."
Every day each of his cows produces milk and electricity. His anaerobic digester converts manure into electricity. Inside a small building, bacteria and heat break down the animal waste into methane gas. The gas powers a generator, which makes enough electricity to power 80 homes.
Haubenschild said doesn't make electricity to make money. He just breaks even, but he does it because he believes it is the right thing to do.
"If we don't lessen the footprint, the amount of energy we're using per person, we're not going to be able to obtain the lifestyle we have," Haubenschild said.
Noble said it is time for politicians at the state Capitol to create a market for clean energy, so companies can make money here.
Last year, a bill narrowly failed would have required, by the year 2020, that 20 percent of our electricity come from renewable sources.
This year, the bill is being heard again.
"Twenty percent renewable energy is a good market for all the world's renewable energy businesses to compete for that opportunity," Noble said. "It's market opportunity. A market friendly policy to move us on this trajectory to clean energy."
Faith is not waiting for political action. It now leads the way.
Earlier this week at Temple Israel,
Innovative Power Systems, a solar power company, installed solar panels on the roof.
Now, the sun's energy will power the perpetual light -- not coal. It is one of those silver BBs and a 100-watt symbol of change.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)