Ground Level Blog

How are you trying to conserve energy?

Greg Chester in Cass Lake built a second wall around the inside of his house to conserve heat.

Noreen Thomas in Moorhead grows her own wheat and then uses bicycle power to grind the flour to make bread.

Elizabeth Dickinson in St. Paul installed solar panels seven years ago and has generated as much power as her house has used.

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As we're reporting this week in a series called "Making Energy Local,"  Minnesota communities are installing new ways of generating energy, either electricity for the grid or heat for buildings from atypical sources. This has implications for local budgets, greenhouse gas emissions and even the electrical grid the nation relies on.

But individuals like Chester, Thomas and Dickinson are taking matters into their own hands as well. We asked our Public Insight Network for sources' experience either conserving or generating their own power, and they were among the respondents. Clearly, this topic captures Minnesota residents' imaginations.

Take a look at what others said and tell us how you conserve or create energy. Click here to read others' responses and then click on the "Respond" tab to add yours.