It seems like only yesterday that the idea of promoting sustainable energies and curbing our society’s addiction to oil brought scoffs and skepticism from a sizable chunk of our nation’s population. But now, even auto manufacturers, oil companies, and our president are jumping on the bandwagon of common sense. And with Sprague Energy’s recent announcement of a 40,000-gallon tank in South Portland dedicated to biofuel, it’s even easier for us Mainers to join in the movement.
    Last week, for the first time ever, my oil tank had the experience of being filled with a substance that will burn cleaner, heat my apartment more efficiently and that will support tyranny and war abroad a little bit less. The rattle and hum of my furnace has seemed just a little more upbeat ever since it started guzzling that twenty percent biodiesel concoction. 
    Sprague was not the first company to bring biofuels to South Portland. Frontier Energy already had a tank here and the man from Independence Energy who filled the tank at my place said he had a tank in South Portland too. These much smaller companies that were treading a new path in renewable energy a few years ago are now in the mainstream.
    One of the things most interesting and inspiring about the energy independence movement, in Maine and across the country, is that it is being pushed forward by small players and tiny steps. I recently heard Chandler Woodcock tell a group of environmentalists that it is naive to think that Maine could have any impact on the prevention of climate change. But all over Maine pioneering steps are being taken that will set an example for the nation and the world. College of the Atlantic just became the first college in the nation to run completely off renewable energies; the Chewonki Foundation has initiated a groundbreaking hydrogen energy project; the Governor has created an office of energy independence; municipalities and organizations throughout the state are using solar panels, hybrid vehicles, green roofs, and green buildings; wind and tidal energy projects are in the works; countless innovators and entrepreneurs are developing new technologies and policies that promise to find new ways to utilize and produce renewable energy.
    One innovative step that has taken place on a state level is the “Carbon Challenge,” an initiative aimed directly at reducing carbon emissions, but also promoting energy independence. Dozens of churches, businesses, municipalities and other organizations have signed on to the challenge, inventorying the amount of carbon emissions they produce and pledging to take steps to reduce them by a certain percentage by 2010. The city of Portland was the first to sign on, back in 2001 and they have since made significant progress in complying. Although companies within South Portland, like Fairchild Semiconductor, have signed on, the City of South Portland has not. Cape Elizabeth has not either. City and town officials should consider taking on the challenge.
    It’s clear by now that forging energy independence, in whatever forms possible, is accepted as a sign of innovation and forward thinking. Every organization or institution, no matter how small, benefits in countless ways from embracing its challenges. Certain members of the South Portland Planning Board consistently try to persuade potential developers to incorporate green roofs, solar energy, and energy-efficient designs into their projects, and that’s one good example of what can be done on the level of local government. But more could be done. Finding additional ways that South Portland and Cape Elizabeth can become known as leaders in developing energy independence is a goal that residents, officials, and business owners would be wise to keep in mind as they make energy-related decision.