“Spotlight Action”

Switching power is easier than ever!

Depending on where your home or business is within Pennsylvania, you may be able to save money on your electric bill by switching your electric supplier. In PA, you can choose the company that generates your home or business's electricity — also known as your electric supplier. This means that you have the power to choose to switch to a competing supplier that can offer the lowest price, best price or provide a specific service you want, such as green/renewable energy.

Need some help finding a plan? Watch the video below for a tutorial on using the site!

See

Shelter and energy play an enormous role in the current impact on our world from greenhouse gas emissions. With an estimated twenty-one percent of energy going to residential housing and forty-two percent of that being used for heating and cooling, there are innumerable opportunities to reduce impact and increase efficiency within the residential home. This is not a problem that is unique to the United States, but it is a problem that is most easily seen here. The average annual electricity consumption per capita in the United States is 12,900 kilowatt-hours kWh. This, compared to Europe at 6,000 kWh and China at 2,600 kWh (1), both typifies the importance of our personal action and shows our potential for being global leaders in emission reduction and personal environmental stewardship. It must always be kept in perspective that, globally, one in seven people still lack access to electricity, according to United Nations estimates (2). The path to sustainable living is one that must eventually be taken by all, but it starts with you taking your first step.  

The United States electricity market is a vastly complicated web of interconnected utilities and corporations which generate and distribute across one of the oldest and most complicated semi-interconnected grid systems in the world. We both benefit and suffer from the existing paradigm as, like any other industry of its scale, change is slow and resisted by existing interests. While renewable energy has become a larger and larger portion of the market in recent years, traditional “brown” power continues to be the largest portion of the market.

Energy use varies enormously between states, with not all trending toward sustainability. These graphics show what types of power dominate in each state (3).

How is that energy used ? It is sometimes difficult to understand where energy goes. No one sector dominates energy use, but this also allows for moderate gains to be made in all areas. There are various ways within the residential sector where energy is consumed, and thus various places where it can be saved. One of the greatest areas for potential improvement is in the ‘leakiness” of a house.

Discern

What is wrong with the status quo? Why are we obligated to make changes in our life to reduce our energy usage, the majority of which is used in our homes? Because there will be consequences to inaction and these consequences will be felt personally, in our communities, in our states, in our country, and in our world.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

The two goals most pertinent to the discussion of shelter and energy are goals seven and eleven.

The impacts of a business as usual mindset can be seen using any number of reliable and verified climate models. Climate Central, an independent organization of scientists and journalist researching and reporting the facts about the changing climate and its impacts on the public developed an interactive map which compares cities across the United States on how they will change if action is not taken. Take a look and see how your home will be affected.

So why take action?

There are many universal and interrelated principles that should guide every person in how they interact with the world around them, especially in regards to activities and actions that have the potential to have a disproportionate impact on those less fortunate than themselves. These principles are areligious, apolitical, and cross-cultural and national borders. When deciding on whether or not to take action in your own life and take that first step toward sustainable living, consider if these four principles that we have identified have meaning to you.

Human Dignity

Our fundamental worth is not earned but is inextricably part of being human and inherent in each person.

Common Good

Common Good is the measure of our collective progress towards creating conditions that allow everyone to flourish.

Solidarity

Solidarity is the firm commitment to the good of each person and of all because we are all deeply interconnected and interdependent with not only each other but all of life.

Subsidiarity

Subsidiarity is the belief that matters are to be handled at the lowest level possible and the highest level necessary, in order to allow each part of the social order to receive its due so it can carry out its proper function.

If these principles are in line with your beliefs and identity, then how can we not take action?

Act

Each of us have different resources that we can bring to bear when taking action. We may be students living on a university campus, single working parents, or retirees, each person willing to make a change in their lives will begin their own personal path.

Personal

While the impact of our actions are felt by our communities, nations, and world, many of the actions we take are personal changes to our behavior and conduct. For those who are willing to make personal changes, we have identified three routes of action through three new “R”s:

Reduce, Replace, Renewables

Renewables - switching our home energy to renewable sources

There are a number of renewable energy solutions available to the average consumer. While some will have the resources to purchase and install photo-voltaic or solar panels on their homes, many will be unable to do so, be it because they are renters or lack the required resources. One avenue available to almost everyone in Pennsylvania is the PA PowerSwitch program, which the official electric shopping program of the Pennsylvania public utility commission. In PA, you can choose the company that generates your home or business's electricity — also known as your electric supplier. This means that you have the power to choose to switch to a competing supplier that can offer the lowest price, best price or provide a specific service you want, such as green/renewable energy.

For those who are willing and able to invest in rooftop solar systems, there are many resources available to help with the process.

Reduce - Trying to reduce the energy used in our homes and Replace - Replacing old appliances with better, more efficient versions

When identifying the areas of your home that will benefit from attempted reductions, it is important to understand where unnecessary energy is being used.

Here are a few options (some simple and others difficult) to reduce the energy footprint of each the seven big categories of home energy use.

“Spotlight Action”

Switching to higher efficiency bulbs can save a lot of money in the long run. Here are some quick facts about CFL and LED bulbs!

The Net-Zero home is an unattainable goal for many of us, often due to circumstances outside our control. It is, however, a goal toward which we can strive, and will ultimately be achieved through small acts along the sustainable pathway.

Communal

Transformational

Follow Through!

LET US KNOW WHAT ACTIONS RELATED TO shelter and energy YOU HAVE TAKEN!