Powering the Future and TOC

Priscilla Trinh

It is often said that money makes the world go around, but it’s actually energy that powers society. Energy is power — not only in the physical sense, but socially and politically as well.

When I first learned the pervasive role of energy (especially oil) in globalized, capitalist societies, I was struck by the simplicity and horror of that fragility hiding in plain sight. It then seemed so obvious to me that consumption levels and reliance on a few resources left us in a precarious situation. All the wars fought to secure oil and control minerals seemed to make sense.

Finite resources — like oil, coal, and gas — enable us to have magical things: long-distance transportation across land, air, and sea; 24/7 heating and air-conditioning; plastic for medical and food applications; products for everything from our faces to our floors. However, this version of existence has only been afforded to some and is temporary.

Fossil fuels and precious metals will not simply run out. Drilling will become increasingly expensive as we dig deeper to extract lower-quality material. After costs outweigh profits, we will see restricted supply. There will be shortages and more conflict.

The good news: many companies and communities are responding with renewable energy investments and policy, and sustainable initiatives. The bad news: many are still unaware of our enormous daily usage of energy, beyond turning on lights and powering automobiles. Even those who are aware may believe that plug-and-play renewables are a great substitute while continuing consumerism as usual.

In order to withstand future energy bottlenecks, major cultural and economic shifts are required of us. Across Minnesota, various organizations and movements are advancing positive change:

CURE MN, Great Plains Institute, and Fresh Energy are building coalitions across rural and urban regions to promote energy democracy.
Solar Commons is blending stewardship with Indigenous food sovereignty to model effective community-owned solar power.
Research is exploring less harmful industry standards.
Grassroots efforts are rebuilding knowledge to revive practices that are less energy-intensive but more emotionally restorative.

I hope you’ll be inspired by the efforts highlighted in this issue. If you want to work with Minnesota Women’s Press on taking stories into statewide discussions, sign up here:

With new White House cuts to federal tax credits for wind and solar energy, costs for the average consumer are expected to go up over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation. Many Minnesotans have been pushing for equitable systems that do not simply rely on consumers to bear the burden of increased energy costs.

Although we packed a lot into this issue, there was much more we could have shared if we were not impacted by increased shipping, paper, and ink costs. Some stories are online-only. Others are planned for a future special issue on ecofeminism that we want to create. Please support our efforts to go deep into challenges and solutions to pain points that Minnesotans are facing, in housing, caregiving, trauma, immigrant storytelling, and ecolution (our term for reviving local economies and ecosystems).

Become a Badass member, now with new tiers of support: womenspress.com/member

Correction: In July’s edition, we misgendered Natalia Mendez. We should have used the pronouns they/their. We regret the error.

“A society that allows itself to admit and articulate its nonmaterial human needs, and to find nonmaterial ways to satisfy them, would require much lower material and energy throughputs and would provide much higher levels of human fulfillment.”

— Donella Meadows

Education — How Research Is Helping to Solve a Problem in the Steel Industry

Perspective — Transforming Our Reliance on Limited Fossil Fuels

Turtle Island — Energy as Commons

Ecolution — Voices of Energy, Land, and Justice

Thoughts — Living Lightly on the Land

Pets Guide — Bringing Backyard Chickens to My Community

Healing Guide — Healing the Wounds of History