The Chambers County Commission recently approved a partnership between Schneider Electric and the county that would replace lights, windows, doors and air conditioning systems with more energy efficient alternatives.

This is an excellent move for them to make for multiple reasons.

The most obvious aspect of the project is its economic impact to the area. While the initial investment for this project is a hefty $1.7 million, the yearly savings the county will see will be upwards of $133,000 a year, hitting nearly $3 million in savings over a 20 year period. 

What is less obvious and definitely less thought about by the general public, though, is how good for the environment conserving energy at this level will be.

Utilizing the energy required for everyday living uses a lot of natural resources even at a micro level, say a home or a small business. When it comes to the macro level — in this case, multiple government facilities — the environmental impact is multiplied several times over.

The electricity that powers our lives comes at a premium cost to the world we live in. The power plants use natural resources. The burning of these resources creates harmful emissions. These emissions create unhealthy air and an overall more unpleasant environment.

It’s a cycle that we are quite a way’s off from stopping, but by making small changes like the ones made by the commission, we can definitely slow it down.

The decision in changing to a more energy conservative plan relieves tension on financial factors for the area and helps the environment at the same time. It should also act as a lesson for us, the citizens of this county.

Saving money on monthly electric bills is enough of a reason to think about energy more conservatively, but we need to realize that this thinking can also improve the world we all share. Switching from standard to LED lightbulbs or keeping the A/C running a few degrees warmer during these summer months
may seem like a minor change, but the impacts it will have in the long run are significant.

The Chambers County Commission represents the way we think about politics, let’s let them represent the way we feel about the environment too.