Solar Energy | The Final Piece of The Puzzle
By: Beth Powning
JANUARY 2021
In 1970, at the first Earth Day, my husband Peter and I became aware of the environmental crisis facing us. As twenty-somethings, we were inspired and motivated, and sought a way of living that would lessen our impact on the earth’s resources.
Although we always had large gardens and grew much of our own organic vegetables, as well as being vegetarians from the age of 23, over the years we lost the sense of urgency that had inspired our move to New Brunswick in the spring of 1970. Our priorities changed. We were busy bringing up a son, developing our careers, travelling, and enjoying what, in 2020, now seems a privileged and expansive life.
“Sometimes a book can change your life.”
In 2005, while working on my second novel at the Banff Centre, I read Tim Flannery’s book, The Weather Makers. Fifteen years ago, he wrote these prophetic and by now wearily familiar words: We are at the tipping point. We must act now. Our very existence lies in the balance. At the end of a deeply disturbing book, in which he drew upon science to demonstrate the truth of these statements, he wrote: You can, in a few months rather than the fifty years allowed by some governments, easily attain the 70 per cent reduction in emissions required to stabilise the Earth’s climate. All it takes are a few changes to your personal life, none of which requires serious sacrifices. And then he provided a checklist.
Sometimes a book can change your life.
An interview with Peter and Beth Powning
We took the check list seriously. It changed our goals, our way of living, and the way we spent our money.
The first thing we did was to exchange our 4-wheel drive Subaru for a Smart Car. We installed solar panels to heat our household water, and exchanged all our whiteware (freezer, refrigerator and washing machine) for energy efficient models. That summer, we undertook a construction project to insulate our 1880’s farmhouse, which entailed removing all siding and sheathing from the exterior of the house, spray foaming with polyurethane, and replacing the old clapboards with Hardy Board. We installed triple glazed Pella windows. With regret but determination, we sprayed over the leaky fieldstone foundation in the cellar, although we left one corner with the original rock walls for storing root crops. Our wood furnace was exchanged for mini splits, and all our lightbulbs were replaced with LED bulbs. We ramped up our food production, adding another vegetable garden, a greenhouse, and a second freezer. Both Peter and I work from home, so commuting was not something we had to deal with, although living in the country requires driving to everything; last year we acquired a 100 % electric Hyundai Kona, along with a battery powered whipper snipper, chain saw and lawnmower.
Now, the final piece of the puzzle is in place—a NOREASTER® solar array in the field behind our barn. Producing 28,660kWh of energy every year. This will bring us to net zero for both house and business, the goal we’ve been working towards ever since reading Tim Flannery’s call to action.
My only concern about the project was the visual impact for our neighbours across the valley, but as soon as it went up, they contacted us to say how thrilled they were to see a “beautiful solar array” and to ask how they could get one too.
We felt that we had to make these choices for the sake of our grandchildren and for all the future generations of this planet; as Tim Flannery says, “..we are now the weather makers, and the future of biodiversity and civilization hang on our actions.”
about the author
Beth Powning is a best-selling author who lives in New Brunswick with her husband, Peter. Since moving to New Brunswick in 1970, they have committed to living a life together which revolves around environmental activism, and self-sustainability.
The Smart Energy Company™ has had the privilege of helping Peter and Beth reach Net-Zero carbon emissions for their home, as well as their business, Powning Designs.
