Climate Action and Energy Efficiency: What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been!

Climate Action and Energy Efficiency: What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been! I’ve been working in the energy efficiency field for almost 40 years.  Over that time, I’ve written countless reports, journal articles, standards, and codes…and I think I’ve been pretty successful.  But as I’m wrapping up my career—just a few years till I retire—I’m starting to think about my legacy.  What impact has my work had? How will the world be different because of the work I’ve done?  How can I spend the next few years having the most possible impact?

What is Impact?

So I’ve started thinking about impact in a different way.  Some might think that maximum impact means that it impacts the most people…like with broadly published and implemented codes and standards.  But I’m starting to think that for me, maximum impact might mean having the most meaningful impact, even if it’s on only a handful of people.

My work with Cool Davis gives me the opportunity to have that.

The Path to Sustainability

Through the Make-A-Plan workshops—in which I have been a core presenter—we have focused not just on specific actions we hope that people will take, but on how it feels to embark on the ongoing (life-long?) process of pursuing sustainability.  No matter how much or how little a household has done to lighten their load on the planet, they are really just somewhere on a path.

• Some people may have heat pumps and electric vehicles and heaps of insulation and windmills and goats…, and be tempted to rest on their laurels, confident that they have done everything that they can to save the world.  But they still have steps to take on their path.  In their case it may be helping to bring others along, through advocacy and storytelling.
• Others may be intimidated by those goat people.  They know they aren’t anywhere close to that and think that they can’t possibly attain that, so they are afraid to even start.  They need help and encouragement in just stepping onto the path.  Once they take those first few baby steps, they will realize that it’s not so hard and that there are others on the path with them who can be counted on to help.
• And most others are somewhere in between…they have embarked on a few projects.  They encountered barriers to be sure, but they emerged unscathed, and pretty proud of their accomplishments.  Those people need to be encouraged not to lose momentum and to take the next step on their path.  They also need to be encouraged to share their successes with others by telling their story, and by starting to engage in advocacy to remove some of those barriers so others will have an easier time.

“Making a Plan” is a phrase Cool Davis has used to refer to this path.  As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Nothing ever really goes according to plan, but if you don’t have a plan it’s hard to get from point A to point B without being distracted by squirrels.

Home Improvement Projects are Bumpy Paths

As anyone who has done any kind of a home improvement project knows, there are a lot of stages in a project:

• Watching Home and Garden Network and thinking “Wow, it would be so cool to do that!” 😊
• Struggling to find a contractor who does projects like that. ☹
• Finally finding a contractor who is a kindred spirit and who shares your vision. 😊
• Getting their quote and realizing that it’s outside your reach. ☹
• Finding out that there are rebates and tax credits that will enable you to move forward.  Starting your project!  😊
• Encountering supply chain constraints, permit delays, and all the realities of anything to do with renovating this old house (“Hey Norm, you didn’t know there was asbestos in there?”).  Cooking from your bathroom a month longer than you were expecting. ☹
• Seeing your plan become a reality!  😊
• Realizing that some of your neighbors could benefit from this type of improvement but that they don’t know about it or know where to start.  ☹
• Sharing your story with others and helping them through the same challenges you faced. Building community! 😊

Cool Davis Helps our Neighbors Navigate that Path

Any kind of project will have ups and downs like these.  The work that Cool Davis does—and that I have been honored to participate in—helps households in Yolo County to venture onto a path towards sustainability, to keep moving forward despite all these ups and downs, and to bring others along for the journey.  The support of the community is critical in so many ways,  from helping their neighbors to financially supporting Cool Davis in its essential programming.  And the next step on your path might even be joining me in volunteering for the Cool Davis programs that have such a meaningful impact on the lives of our neighbors and on the planet.

Thank you for all your actions every day!

Kristin Heinemeier

Kristin Heinemeier has been a volunteer with Cool Davis since showing up to help with the 2011 Cool Davis Festival.  Since then as a Interfaith Alliance member and Home Energy Task Force Co-Chair she has helped lead numerous educational events and the Home Energy Task Force activities.  As a member of the board since 2019,  her leadership as Board Secretary, Home Energy Task Force and Program committee chair has ensured solid educational content and commitment to excellence.  

Cool Davis is building its Board for the future, looking for new members from around Yolo County. It has 4 active committees that always need new members – Governance (Strategic plan, Board Development & Policy), Community Relations (Fundraising, Coalition, Partner and Sponsorships), Programs (Cool Solutions Programs & Task Force activities), Operations (Finance, Facilities & HR) – contact the board at board@cooldavis.org if you are interested in serving on a board committee! Come join us!