Sparking Change Albie Dahlberg ’87 “With seven billion people on this planet, most of whom want to live like Americans, our resources are under tremendous stress. I think, for most photo: Providence Phoenix
people, it will be impossible not to be aware of the environmental costs of our lifestyle. As we deplete the cheap resources, there will be more conflicts and rising prices, so there will be economic impacts as well.”
Many in the MB community know Albie Dahlberg ’87 for his service to the school as a member of
Are there other ways that you personally are trying to be more energy independent?
Have you encountered any surprising sources of support for this initiative?
the Alumni Association Board and a member
I have solar thermal panels on my roof to
I am surprised by the boldness of the U.S.
produce hot water. It replaced using our oil
Navy’s goals for petroleum reduction and
burner for hot water. We also use a wood
new renewable energy sources, but it makes
pellet stove for heat, so together, those two
perfect sense. The Newport Naval base is
changes reduced our oil consumption
the leader in plug-in electric vehicles in
significantly.
Rhode Island right now, with about 20
of MB Forum 2030 (see page 17). Albie continues to help Rhode Island look forward and recently launched an effort to help make our state a leader in the move toward electric vehicles: How did you get involved with Project Get Ready? I started Project Get Ready Rhode Island (PGR RI) to address what I believe is one of the greatest threats facing this nation — our
smaller vehicles used only on the base. You think that electric vehicles stand a good chance of adoption in Rhode Island, given our state’s small size … are there other benefits or challenges to be faced here?
tremendous reliance on imported oil. We
Given Rhode Island’s small size, it is
use 20 million barrels of oil each day in the
relatively easy to convene a broad and
U.S., half of which is imported. More than
representative coalition of stakeholders and
70% of our oil goes towards transportation,
build the social capital behind an effort like
mostly gasoline for cars. I realized that the
this. However, Rhode Island is generally not
only way to address our addiction to oil is to
a first adopter state, so that is a challenge.
replace gasoline miles with electricity miles.
PGR RI is a broad coalition of stakeholders:
small businesses, large companies, electricity
The Future
providers, auto dealers, environmental
14
The theme for this issue is “the Future” — how is Rhode Island faring in its quest to get 10,000 plug-in vehicles registered by 2015?
advocates, electricians, engineers, professors,
Plug-in electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt
students and others, working to promote
and Nissan Leaf are just arriving in showrooms
plug-in electric vehicles and the charging
now so we’re a little behind our planned
infrastructure in Rhode Island. Our goal is to
schedule, but this is really a 20-year project,
establish Rhode Island as a leader in green
and that is just phase one. This transition to
transportation, decrease transportation
a new fuel source for transportation will
costs, and reduce emissions by getting
take decades; it is really our only choice.
10,000 plug-in electric vehicles by 2015.
The era of cheap oil is over (as witnessed by
the extreme depths to which we’ll drill in
PGR RI is part of a network of PGR sites
across North America, sharing best
the Gulf of Mexico when the Deepwater Rig
practices, lessons learned, and policy
exploded). I think it is a pretty safe bet that
development, while developing industry
oil prices will continue to increase and
partnerships with auto manufacturers and
battery technology will continue to improve.
electricity providers. Rhode Island was the
Those two trends make vehicle electrification
sixth PGR site nationally and first
more appealing every day.
community in the Northeast.
A decade ago, you were working for the Senate Environmental & Public Works committee in Washington, then returned to Rhode Island to work in state government. What are the benefits, or challenges, of trying to effect change at the local level? Working for Senator John Chafee on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was a transformative experience. As a young attorney, it opened my eyes to the complexity of public policy development and the challenges we face to meet increasing energy demands. Working at the U.S. EPA, and then in state government, gave me a firsthand view of the challenges of policy implementation. It is important to get these different perspectives: legislative and executive, state and federal. Albie Dahlberg ’87 is director of state and community relations at Brown University. After MB, Albie attended George Washington University and Boston College Law School. He was named one of seven “energy innovators” by Planet Forward, on a nationally-televised PBS special last April. Albie is a member of MB’s 2030 Forum (see page 17) and the Moses Brown Alumni Association board. Albie and his wife Hilary live in Providence with their three children. Contact Albie at albert_a_dahlberg@brown.edu.