into ODOE. Energy held tremendous social organizing power. The growth in the 1970s of energy research and development projects, as well as public education and participation in energy policy, was unprecedented. Energy became a public obsession, moving into the forefront of social concern and daily conversation. Institutions and public interest groups, journals and computerized data bases by the tens, hundreds and thousands were created. Energy changed our way of perceiving ourselves. In 1977 physicist Amory Lovins' now-classic essay, "Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" appeared in Foreign Affairs. In it, Lovins sought to clarify the energy debate by describing what he saw as our two mutually exclusive choices for the future: a "hard" path emphasizing expanded use of centralized nuclear and fossil fuel-generated electricity or a "soft" path emphasizing conservation and rapid development of a variety of renewable energy sources "matched in scale and quality to end-use needs." Lovins argued persuasively for the soft path on social, political and economic grounds—and the discussion touched off in large part by his article led to a number of later energy studies, including Oregon's Alternate Energy Development Commission Report. Governor Victor Atiyeh formed the Alternative Energy Development Commission in 1979. The Commission was comprised of task forces charged with developing comprehensive resource development strategies on each of six renewable energy sources: conservation/ solar, wind, geothermal, alcohol fuels, biomass and hydropower. The Commission's final report, published in August 1980, summarizes the potential of renewable energy in Oregon: The Department of Energy predicts non-transportation energy demand to grow by 3700 AvMVJ of electrical energy and 93 trillion BTU per year of thermal energy through 2000. Although estimates would seem to suggest that alternative energy sources could more than meet Oregon's requirements, the costs and constraints convince the Commission that no single renewable resource option could be expected to contribute a substantial share of projected demand. Collectively, however, the contributions from all these resources can meet a significant portion of future energy demand. The city of Portland responded to the energy crisis by obtaining in 1975 a $225,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to study the sources and uses of energy in Portland's residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and transportation sectors. The study presented methods of conservation which would result in a 34 percent energy savings, saving the city a potential one billion dollars per year by 1995. Shortly after the study's completion, the City Council appointed 15 citizens to an energy policy steering committee to review the suggested conservation action and to develop a comprehensive energy policy for the city. The policy finally developed—and adopted as Ordinance 148251 on Mayor Neil Goldschmidt's last day in office— contains six major policy areas: 1. The city shall implement conservation actions directly within city government and encourage conservation actions by the private sector. 2. All building in the city shall be made as energy efficient as is economically possible as determined by the costs of conservation actions and the price of energy. The retrofit of existing buildings for energy conservation shall be accomplished through voluntary actions, with mandatory requirements imposed five years after the adoption of the policy. 3. The city shall develop land use policies which take advantage of density and location to reduce the need to travel, increase access to transit, and permit building configurations which increase the efficiency of space heating in residences. 4. The consumption of nonrenewable resources for residential and business use shall be reduced by encouraging the applications of renewable and alternative energy sources. 5. The consumption of nonrenewable fuels for transportation shall be reduced through actions which increase the efficiency of the transportation system within the city. 6. City bureaus shall reduce energy consumption by investing in energy conservation opportunities and changing operational procedures to the most energy and cost-efficient extent possible. The passage in early 1981 of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, otherwise known as the Regional Power Bill, may put us in an enviable position for the development of a more locally controlled economy. Substantial evidence exists that a strong effort to implement cost-effective conservation and small-scale renewable energy would be fully capable of meeting the region's future power needs. If we succeed in holding the federal government strictly accountable in implementing the conservation and renewable energy provisions of the Regional Power Bill, it is conceivable that the Pacific Northwest could become the first region in the country to make the commitment to a renewable energy future. Although many of the early settlers in this region were self-reliant, many others, and many more who barely set foot on this land of ours, have invested in the resources of the area. The founding of Oregon's basic life support systems (energy, water, food) has been a game of monopoly. The state can be viewed as a colony, with invested interests bartering our resources in international marketing schemes. The result of this outside investment coupled with imported energy is a thin economic base, controlled by decisions made far from here. The conclusions of the Oregon Alternative Energy Development Commission and Portland's energy policy steering committee move us a step closer to a locally controlled renewable energy base and a locally controlled economy. When the people affected by our energy and economic decisions are the ones who make those decisions, our degree of community self-reliance, and our ability to control our own lives, will vastly increase. —Steve Johnson Food/Agriculture The energy crisis of the early '70s made a substantial impression on the American psyche well beyond the shortage of oil. The entire issue flew in the face of the myth of plenty and the false security that had been a generation in the making. Americans suddenly saw the price of food soar while once-overflowing store shelves grew empty. But it wasn't 48
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