Gathered around 15 large, round tables, more than 200 Eugeneans gathered to discuss sustainable energy and future energy plans for Lane County on Tuesday night at First United Methodist Church at 1376 Olive St.
The round table discussions were the second part of the Lane County Energy Round-Up, a series of public energy forums aimed to get people talking about local, renewable and sustainable energy options.
County Commissioner and 2006 gubernatorial candidate Pete Sorenson introduced the discussions and briefly recapped the first forum, which was held in January and included several expert speakers on global warming, solar energy and future energy sustainability.
“Maybe it’s time for us to make Lane County energy self-sufficient,” he said.
Whereas the first public forum was aimed to inform people and get them talking about energy issues in Lane County, the second forum was designed to allow citizens to brainstorm, discuss and have their ideas heard.
Although the round table discussion topics ranged from biofuels to green building to peak oil, the overwhelming message of the night was conservation. Like at the first forum, people stressed the importance of conserving first and then working to find other solutions.
Rob Roy, an energy management program supervisor at Eugene Water & Electric Board, said that conservation is the cheapest way to meet growing energy needs in the community. Roy works with customers to help make homes and businesses more energy efficient.
“You can pour tons of money into renewable energy, but if you’ve got a leaky house it’s a waste,” he said.
Sue Supriano, a longtime activist and facilitator of the peak oil discussion table, recently moved to Eugene from the Bay Area because she felt her voice could be better heard and the community was more progressive in energy issues.
“We do know that living sustainably and doing things differently starting now can make a difference. We certainly cannot continue the lifestyle that we have now,” she said. “The most important thing is to let our legislators know what we think.”
“People will really get to speak up and tell policy makers what they want to do,” said Anand Keathley, a volunteer who helped organize the event. “One of the issues is what do we do for the policy makers.”
Keathley got involved in the Energy Round-Up after attending the first forum and posting ideas in the discussion forum on the forum’s Web site. He was then asked if he would like to help organize the event.
Keathley said he has been involved in energy issues for many years. He is an avid bicyclist, riding his bike to and from work and almost everywhere he goes. In fact, he first came to Oregon while riding his bike up from Southern California in 1979.
“It’s been obvious to me as a bicyclist the energy issues,” he said. “You don’t want to be riding behind a car’s tail pipes.”
The third forum will be a more informal discussion and gathering. The energy transition brainstorming session will be held Sat., March 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Cozmic Pizza, which is on the corner of W. 8th Ave. and Charnelton St.