Philipp Muessig, of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, talked to the audience at the annual Back to Basics event about the formation of a Green Steps program at the state level that would recognize cities with best practices in reducing greenhouse gases and promoting sustainable development.

Bob McLean, chief operating officer of Hunt Utilities Group, left, introduced panel participants at Back to Basics. Also pictured are Jason Edens, with the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL).

Focusing on sustainability and conservation makes sense in our homes, communities and regions. And there is no time like the present.

That was the message shared, Saturday, at the fourth annual Back to Basics event in Pine River.

A panel of speakers kicked off discussion on "Warming up Winter, including comments on solar energy, a community green initiative and resources, all with ties to warmth.

Jason Edens, founding director of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, in Pine River, discussed how challenging it is for most of us to invest in renewable energy - but said there are significant benefits to doing so.

RREAL's programs are "to make sure that renewable energy and solar energy is accessible to people of all income levels," Edens said.

RREAL's solar assistance program provides solar heat for low-income families on energy assistance. The goal is to ensure that those families can stay warm but do so with clean energy.

"We can use clean, renewable solar heat to address low-income fuel poverty in the state of Minnesota," he said.

At this latitude, space heat accounts for between 50-60 percent of the energy people use in their homes.

"By addressing a portion of that with solar heat we can dramatically reduce the amount of money that we're spending on heating as well as the amount of fossil fuels that we are consuming to meet that need," Edens said.

Edens added that one of the advantages is that when you invest in renewable energy for the lifetime of a system you know what the energy costs will be.

"By investing in renewables we can mitigate fuel price risk and reduce the price of oscillating fuel costs."

Dan Frank, Initiative Foundation community development program manager, told the audience that very few communities are looking ahead at their energy future, and the greater Pine River area is doing that through its involvement with the Healthy Community Partnership Program.

One of the pillars of the HGCP is that efforts need to make sense financially for the long term. The Pine River area's focus on a healthy green community through various projects is aligned with that goal.

Frank highlighted the four key projects that Healthy Green Community Partnership participants are working on: Pine River dam park revitalization, community gardens, food co-operative and Green Steps community distinction.

Taskforces are already underway in each area and looking for additional participants. "We would love to get more people involved," Frank said.

The park revitalization taskforce is studying options to improve the dam side park downtown.

Chairs from the community garden task force have already initiated contact with the Pine River-Backus School Board over the possibility of locating a garden on school grounds.

The food co-operative taskforce hopes to collaborate with existing resources to provide healthier, fresh food in the community.

The Green Steps program is a pilot of a state program being developed for best practices in sustainable development.

Philipp Muessig, of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, told the audience, Saturday, that Pine River is one of several communities interested in developing a Green Steps program.

Muessig noted that we have gotten used to a rich energy environment and have found ways to produce energy that are cheap and easy, but not necessarily sustainable. We need to find a way to be sustainable and the Green Steps program hopes to match energy conservation goals with the enthusiasm of the community, Muessig said.

The Pine River-Backus School District has already done some remarkable things with energy conservation, waste and transportation, he added.

For more information on the local Green Steps taskforce, contact Quinn Swanson, sustainability programs coordinator for Hunt Utilities Group, at quinn@hugllc.com or call (218) 587-5001.