Community Is The Solution

Posted by Sonja Ebron

By far, the best part of my job is visiting with community organizations and seeing the great work they do to help people better their lives. Whether they’re working on housing, health, education or women’s empowerment, the people in these organizations choose to spend their working hours and careers improving the odds for other people. There’s an obvious cultural difference between for-profit corporations and nonprofits, and it shows up clearly in the attitudes and enthusiasm with which people in community organizations do their jobs.

I’m typically all business on such visits. blackEnergy supports organizations working in Black communities, and most of our utilities customers are referred by our nonprofit partners. So my interest is usually to evaluate a potential new partner or to motivate an existing one. Another benefit of the relationship is to help the organization talk about energy with its constituents. With energy all over the news these days, starting a discussion is easy. People want to know what they can do to save energy and what to expect in terms of costs in the days to come. I get to educate people about our national energy infrastructure, to tell them how electricity, natural gas and gasoline get to our homes and gas stations, and to share my perspectives on the mess we’re in.

I’m almost always asked to explain whether and why Blacks pay more for utilities. We tend to rent our homes, and landlords don’t care about their renters’ light bills. The major appliances in rental units are often old and inefficient, and there’s often shabby insulation in the attic and holes in the ductwork. African Americans tend to receive fewer messages on energy efficiency than the general public, so whether we rent or own our homes, we often don’t know the value of a little caulk and weatherstripping. And even I am guilty of — let’s call it carelessness — when it comes to saving energy. I’ll sometimes drive with the windows down and the AC on, and I sometimes leave a room without turning off the lights, just because I feel like it.

They’re always surprised to hear how everyday items are made with oil as a primary component, from tires to disposable diapers to nylon carpets to crayon. So when the price of oil rises, the cost of everything goes up with it. These discussions never fail to get people thinking of the impact of energy on their lives. People working in community organizations are especially motivated to think about the impact of energy costs on the people they serve. That’s a very good thing, because the real solutions are going to come from the community, from the ground up. The more we talk about energy within our communities, the more educated we all become and the more options we might begin to develop.