Creating a National Institute for Sustainable Technologies on BNAS Land
by Rosalie Tyler Paul
In the event of the de-commissioning of Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS),
Brunswick citizens are hard at work on proposed new uses for those 3000 plus
acres, uses which could become models of economic and environmental
sustainability for community development around the United States.
In the last issue of PeaceTalk, we introduced a proposal by Herschel
Sternlieb to create a world-class garden on part of that land. Hersch and a
growing committee of supporters are putting together the arguments to show
how the Garden would be beneficial to the community in terms of jobs and
economic development, within sustainable limits.
This issue's proposal comes from Walt Rosen, who is retired from the
Commission on Life Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences. He has
created the idea for a National Institute for Sustainable Technologies,
which would promote research, education, training and demonstration of what
have been termed "sustainable" or "appropriate" technologies. These are
procedures and practices that utilize alternatives to fossil fuels and that
minimize or eliminate the production of heat-trapping chemicals such as
fossil fuels, which can cause global climate change. Some of them are toxic
to humans and other organisms. These alternatives utilize renewable energy
sources such as solar radiation, wind and tides.
It is proposed to make part of the BNAS site a national center for such
efforts. Properly implemented, such a center will provide jobs, training and
revenue to replace what would be lost to the state and the community by the
closing of the base. Demonstration projects and other training opportunities
will draw people from all parts of the country and beyond. The
Sustainability Institute, like agriculture colleges and the National
Institutes of Health, will be able to play host to graduate students and
senior investigators.
Institute activities would center around a model sustainable community. At
the heart of this proposed development will be a planned residential
community in which the objective in design and function will be maximization
of the use of renewable — largely solar — energy, generated on site. Systems
for the recovery of energy from biomass will be deployed wherever and
whenever feasible. Homes, and, where possible, public facilities and
businesses, will be furnished with biomass recovery systems (such as dry
composting toilets), solar space and water heating, fuel cell technologies,
and photovoltaics. Manufacturers of the required hardware will be given
incentives for locating on-site, thereby providing employment and training
opportunities for residents of the community.
Potential development and demonstration programs could include sustainable
agriculture, aquaculture, forestry; ecological restoration; glasshouse food
production; heating with biogas, generated on-site; wind farm; photovoltaic
hardware — production and research; hydrogen fuel cell research and demo;
biodiesel r&d; Stirling engine r&d; insulation research and demo; job
creation, r&d, and training in additional sustainable technologies.
Apart from resources like the National Center for Appropriate Technology
(NCAT), whose website provides information on programs, demonstrations, and
literature, there are many local resources which can be important to
planning and implementation, including Bowdoin College Environmental Studies
Program; Muskie Institute, USM; Chewonki Institute; Morris Farm; Wolf's Neck
Farm; Maine Center for Economic Policy; Maine State Planning Office; Office
of the Governor; Beth Nagusky, Director of Energy Independence; Maine
Housing Authority; and the Bath and Brunswick Housing Authorities.
The State Planning Office's 2003 Directory of State Energy Programs and
Resources reveals a wealth of relevant businesses and programs already
active in Maine providing a highly supportive environment for this project.
The implementation process could be stimulated by hosting a
national/international conference on global warming to explore the worldwide
crisis and how use of BNAS lands (reclaiming the concept of Brunswick
Commons) could best offer a laboratory for developing solutions.
Already, news of these ideas has sparked the excitement of others who have
wonderful ways of enlarging on this approach. If you want to offer an idea,
please contact Walt at 207-725-6045 or waltrosen@suscom-maine.net
Back to Peace
Talk Index, Spring 2005