Late last month, 2nd Green Revolution detailed how cities and municipalities have implemented innovative energy conservation measures to save money and balance budgets. States are not immune either, as tough economic times have hit them hard. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 47 states are experiencing budget shortfalls. One area where states can save money is by reducing energy consumption. Various projects have been implemented or are currently under consideration to help trim energy usage. Many of these rely on expensive and at times intensive education. Projects currently underway include weatherization, energy conservation, and cutting back hours of operation at places such as schools and post offices. By scaling back from five days a week to four, many schools reduce their energy consumption, especially with regard to fuel for buses. Several rural schools instituted these measures last fall to reduce fuel costs in the face of $4/gallon diesel. American Public Radio’s Marketplace carried a story stating that schools saved tens of thousands of dollars as a result of the cuts.

Last summer National Public Radio’s Richard Harris reported on Vermont’s efforts to reduce energy consumption. The state instituted the program nine years ago and currently spends $46 (US) per resident on measures aimed at energy conservation. Through Efficiency Vermont, “the nation’s first statewide provider of energy efficiency services,” the state reaches out to consumers and businesses alike. Efficiency Vermont is “operated by an independent, non-profit organization under contract to the Vermont Public Service Board. . . . Efficiency Vermont provides technical assistance and financial incentives to Vermont households and businesses, to help them reduce their energy costs with energy-efficient equipment and lighting and with energy-efficient approaches to construction and renovation.”

According to New York Times’ Green Inc. blog, other states are taking energy saving steps as well. California’s per capita energy use has been relatively flat over the past 35 years. During the same time, the national average has increased nearly 50%.

“Advocates often credit energy-efficiency measures taken by utilities, at the behest of the state. In particular, California pioneered the concept of ‘decoupling,‘ or separating a utility’s profits from the amount of energy that it sells. This encourages utilities to offer incentives for saving energy to customers, like better prices on compact fluorescent light bulbs.”

All of these measures, from conservation to efficiency, have a major impact on a state’s bottom line. In addition, they reduce the consumption of nonrenewable resources, an added bonus to desperately needed cost savings. This provides yet another example of how steps that are now grouped under the “green umbrella can benefit both the economy and the environment.

- Eric Wilson