Maintaining Strength and Innovation in Our Community

The cost of energy still appears to be swelling, and as such many people are being put into situations of having to decide if they should drive less, not eat out, or buy medicine. The choices are difficult but not insurmountable. The most difficult part of our rapidly changing world is the speed at which it is happening. Not years, but rather months and weeks are going by with major changes in the cost of energy.

These times call for every person in town to begin thinking "outside of the box" to make those changes that reduce not only our energy consumption but dramatically change the way we use energy. For many this will mean selling the gas guzzler and purchasing a car that has higher energy efficiency, for others it may mean renting out part of their very large homes, installing energy efficient technologies, or trading down to a more affordable smaller home.

No matter what each person ultimately decides, know that if you are not economically faring well than you must do all that you can to avert a potentially devastating situation. Hard times call for hard solutions, and often struggling to hold on to what you can no longer afford can have more dire consequences than if you reach an early epiphany.

For the first time in my memory a shocking 80% of Americans feel our country is headed in the wrong direction, and we must now take matters into our own hands and not rely on our national leaders to fix the insurmountable problems that have taken decades of bad monetary policy and poor legislation to occur. I am hopeful that these problems will be sorted out at some future point when we elect better leaders. However, I am not hopeful that this will happen fast enough to keep many people out of the "red."

This national rut the country is in should be viewed as our opportunity to reinvent ourselves into being a town that creates new opportunities locally and within our state. This is the time to start using the best tool we have our minds and passion to succeed; consequentially inventing new ways to trade locally and create basic jobs.

One thing I thought about recently is that this must be one of the greatest times to be a provider of energy conservation technologies, and local organic farming. As times change, new opportunities emerge and I challenge everyone here in town to find and embrace those opportunities. Success will bring about emulation, or in my opinion the highest form of flattery.

Nicholas Pritchard, 10, waters heirloom tomato seedlings growing... (Photo From CT Post)

Such gardening programs are available for beginners at Eisenhower Park in Milford CT, many have found this to be a fun way to grow food learn farming and save money.