provided to The Santiva Chronicle
SanCap Resilience will host the next community program, “Getting Energy Resilience Right: The Role of Clean Energy Technologies in Our Community’s Future,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at the Sanibel Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way. Admission is free of charge, but registration is required and can be done here. The program is made possible by support from the ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Society, a founding partner of the SanCap Resilience coalition.
The presenter for this program will be Bob Moore, Chair of the SanCap Resilience Steering Committee. Moore is a retired businessperson currently focused on facilitating adoption of sustainable and resilient development practices in Southwest Florida. In addition to his work with SanCap Resilience, he is co-chair of the Sanibel-Captiva Renewable Energy Working Group, a coalition of city, business, environmental, and academic groups focused on promoting green energy practices. Bob is a trained member of the Climate Reality Project Leadership Corps. He and his wife, Ariel Hoover, are co-founders of the Lee County Chapter of Climate Reality.
“As consumers, we don’t generally think a lot about where our energy comes from. We just switch on the lights and expect things to work. But faced with a major storm like Hurricane Ian when the power is out for weeks at a time, the issue comes more into focus,” Moore said. “Virtually all of the other aspects of our community resilience depend on reliable power: emergency response, shelter, health and safety, drinking water, waste water, communications, government and business operations, and more. It only makes sense that we shine a light on this critical issue.”
The program will address these key questions:
• Why focus on energy resilience?
• What are the issues with our current reliance on fossil fuels?
• Are there feasible renewable energy options and are they practical economically?
• What makes sense for me as a homeowner or business owner?
• Where do we go from here?
• Why focus on energy resilience?
As we look more closely at how to prepare for the future impacts of climate change, it becomes clear that adaptation alone will not be sufficient to become fully resilient. “Business as usual” scenarios put Sanibel and much of Southwest Florida underwater in the next 100 years. If you agree that is not an acceptable outcome, come hear how Sanibel can be at the forefront of solutions that are resilient, sustainable and economically viable.