I'm a first time commenter, so please excuse any breach of blog etiquette. I am with the Dow Chemical Company and we are a major sponsor of the Power is in Your Hands Campaign and the Six Degree Challenge. Why? because we use energy in 2 ways: as both a fuel and as a raw material for everything from milk jugs to building insulation. In 2005 our total energy and energy-derived raw material costs were $20 billion. In 2002 that cost was $8 billion. Optimizing our use of energy, and moving to a more sustainable energy future is both a business and social imperative. We have practiced energy efficiency for a long time. In 2005 we exceeded a 10-year goal to reduce our energy use per unit of product by 20%. We have, as part of a broader set of sustainability goals, committed to achieve another 25% energy efficiency improvement by 2015.

Yes, as we seek to improve our own energy efficiency, we also make products that help others to do so as well. Everything from building insulation to light weight plastics for more fuel efficient cars. We are supporting this campaign because energy efficiency is everyone's job. If the entire U.S. joined us in improving the overall energy efficiency of the economy by by 25% by 2015, we would save the energy equivalent of all our oil imports from the Persian Gulf. Make a pretty good dent in greenhouse gas emissions too.

The Six Degree Challenge is a great way to get everyone involved doing some very simple things to save money, and reduce their energy footprint.

At first glance the list of allies looks a bit unlikely. But that's what it's going to take if we want a sustainable future.

A quick googling of Dow Chemical Company and the environment brings up the following:
Dow produces various pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and now genetically modified seeds.

Dow was the sole provider of Napalm to the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

In the 2000s residents of the Tittabawassee River area in Michigan filed a class-action lawsuit against Dow for dioxin contamination.

These are just a few of Dow's offenses. I'd encourage everyone else to post information they find on Dow. We'd be doing the environment and ourselves a bigger favor by boycotting Dow's products. Tell me, Peter, do you eat fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed with your company's chemicals? Or do you buy organic for your family?

Dow as an ally? -- Get real, it's a chemical company.
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Thanks for the comments Nina.

I'd like to emphasize that the focus of this post was on energy conservation and the view was intentionally forward looking. I mention this not to brush aside issues you bring up, but to encourage all of us to keep our eyes on the biggest issue of all, the one that all agree most significantly threatens the future of earth: Climate Change. If we can agree on shared strategy for mitigating climate change then there will certainly be room to work on the other issues together. If on the other hand we can not: well then we might as well live in the science fiction fantasy of drinking the water on Mars.

My name is Robert Adams and I work for the National Association for State Community Services Programs, one of the partners in the Alliance to Save Energy's "Power in Your Hands" project. Simply stated, energy is used by everyone and conserving it is everyone's responsibility. Whether you are a single mother living on assistance in Detroit or the Dow Chemical Company, energy is vital to your survival and must be available and affordable.

Our organization, NASCSP, represents the state offices responsible for operating federal programs like the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The WAP helps low-income families save energy by installing an array of cost effective measures on each home, thereby reducing the family's energy use by an average of 21%. These savings translate into money not being spent to pay for wasted energy and can be redirected by the family to pay for food, clothing, medicine, better housing, or other related expenditures. And these savings recur each year. The WAP operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and on select Native American reservations. Over 900 local agencies serve every jurisdiction in the country.

We teamed up with the Alliance to Save Energy, DOW Chemical, insulation manufacturers, utility companies, federal departments, and national organizations for this project so we could add our voice and the collective voice of over 30 million low-income families in America to say that energy conservation and energy affordability is vital to the future of this country and our very existence. There was a time when energy was optional - perhaps 100 years ago. Today there is no option. Everyone needs energy. And affordable energy is something every family, every manufacturer, and every business needs.

Something to consider - when energy prices go up, businesses can pass that cost onto their consumers. When energy prices go up for a low-income family, their energy burden rises at a much faster rate than their middle and upper income counterparts. Their incomes aren't likely to increase to meet the need to pay higher energy bills. To cover the cost of higher energy, you and I might skip going out to dinner one night this week or not take that trip to see our friend in the next town. For a low-income family on fixed income, that increase means they may miss a meal, or two, or three. Or that medicine dosage is cut because the prescription can't be refilled, or the house goes dark because the bill wasn't paid and the utility shut off the power. These low-income familes are hit a second time when manufacturers and businesses pass on their energy cost increases to the consumers. That means bread, milk, cereal, gas to get to work, and all household costs rise.

If the Power in Your Hands Campaign can help even one family avoid shut-off, conserve energy to make life more affordable, or teach them how to access help from the utility company or the government, it is worth every effort being made. Please support this Campaign and encourage those you know to tune in and use the information to help all of us. Energy prices aren't likely to decrease anytime soon and the need for energy world wide will drive prices even higher. Renewable sources are improving daily but not fast enough to keep pace with world demand. Conervation is the only viable solution we have right now and we can all find some way to participate. The "Power" to change things is really "In Your Hands"
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Thank you Robert for helping us keep the less fortunate in our thoughts.

Dow isn't perfect, nor are they claiming to be. But why can't they try and better themselves? Yes it is a chemical company, so what. The world needs chemicals, always has. If large companies like Dow turn around and realize they need to act better, that is a good thing.

To John and Other Treehuggers --

Thanks for writing about our campaign and giving us the opportunity to talk about the Alliance to Save Energy. Our goal--to promote energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security--is shared by all of our partners. Whether you're running a power company, a chemical plant, or "just" running a home, if you want to cut your energy costs, energy efficiency is the quickest, cleanest, cheapest way to go.

Throughout its 29-year history, the bipartisan, nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy has brought together diverse -- and often unexpected -- parties to seek resolution on thorny energy issues and to improve both our nation's and our world's energy efficiency.

The 6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge -- does just that. We've brought together more than 30 diverse partners from business and industry, associations, environmental organizations, and federal and state governments to work together on energy-efficiency outreach to consumers and our constituencies. It may surprise you to learn that The Dow Chemical Company has recently made tremendous strides toward energy efficiency -- www.ase.org/content/news/detail/3348/. High natural gas prices affect Dow the same as any homeowner -- maybe even more, since it impacts the prices of their products and their ability to keep jobs in the US.

The 6° Challenge demonstrates the interconnectedness of energy use and energy waste with 6° of things that affect all of us -- the energy prices we pay at the pump and in our homes, our home comfort -- or discomfort if we don't do it right, the air we breathe and our respiratory health, our energy security, our economic well-being, and the world we leave behind.

Individuals often feel that their actions make little difference. Our goal is to demonstrate through this unique, interactive website that individuals who care about energy use and waste can take positive actions in their own lives and then challenge their friends, families, and colleagues to do the same, thereby creating positive changes both individually and collectively through the multiplier effect.

We encourage visitors to Treehugger to go to the 6° website, test your energy IQ, take the challenge, challenge six friends, and share your energy stories so they can help others.

-- Gail Hendrickson, VP of Corporate, Communications and Government Relations, Alliance to Save Energy

Gail Hendrickson
VP, Corporate, Communications & Government Relations Alliance to Save Energy 1850 M Street, NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036
P: 202.530.2229
www.ase.org

Want to learn more about energy efficiency? Take the Six Degree Challenge by logging on to http://www.sixdegreechallenge.org TODAY!!

Hey John -- Love the digging and analysis you did on this issue. Thanks to you, I was able to just focus on evaluating the 6 degrees site itself in terms of utility.