In America’s Heartland, where many if not most are skeptical about climate change, a tiny nonprofit has successfully promoted energy solutions. While we certainly wish to change policy, we know that policy alone is not sufficient – the will to implement must be steadfast as well. So we have worked from the ground up and the top down to connect with citizen’s core values, to identify shared goals, to raise the voices of local champions, and to take action together. Our Take Charge Challenge – an energy efficiency contest between communities – harnessed the competitive spirit and transformed efficiency from “sacrifice” to “win.” Energy forums, an economic development tour, a workforce development survey, and booths at the Kansas State Fair in addition to legislative briefings and endless testimony transformed wind energy from “pipe dream” to “a key part of the energy mix.” The Climate & Energy Project seeks to set new defaults for energy use, identifying efficiency as the obvious first fuel and renewables like wind as cost-effective options that “just make sense.”

• behavior
• economics
• energy and climate policy
• energy efficiency
• energy ethics and equity
• energy policy
• environment
• green jobs
• impacts
• non-governmental organizations
• social change

Part 1: Miniseries on Energy Impact

Centuries of economic growth have boosted living standards, improved health and created opportunities for humankind – but global industrial development has also left behind tracts of contaminated land.

Cleaning up these "brownfield" lands is a complex, multi-billion dollar business involving agencies, responsible parties, consultants and other stakeholders. Businesses and communities face cleanup challenges and sometimes multiple options to re-use renewed sites, such as habitat restoration, industrial or commercial redevelopment, housing and renewable energy projects. But for many sites, cleanup and reuse are difficult or impossible using today’s technologies.

Chevron spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on environmental cleanup at sites of former service stations, oil refineries, chemical plants, oil fields, pipelines and other operations. The work is performed by Chevron Environmental Management Company (EMC), founded in 1998 to manage the company's legacy cleanup responsibilities. EMC focuses on cost-efficient, technically-sound remediation and on protecting the environment and public health. It works in partnership with communities and government on solutions that provide local benefit and are grounded in sound science, and invests in better remediation technologies. EMC promotes beneficial reuses ranging from condominiums to warehouses, and solar energy generation to constructed wetlands. Through a dedication to environmental stewardship, Chevron is committed to cleaning up the past, but we view our responsibility also as a major opportunity to create a better future.

followed by an Energy Social (details announced at the seminar)

No video or speaker slides available

• energy ethics and equity
• environment
• green jobs
• impacts
• industry expertise
• petroleum