Public input meetings are often held at the local, state, and national levels to hear from the public about important projects. You may have attended one yourself. If you did, was your voice heard? KPR commentator Scott Carlberg says your voice is important. So is your civility.
(Transcript)
You Have an Important Voice in Energy Meetings
By Scott Carlberg
Some memories stick with a person. One of mine is a public meeting back in the Carolinas I helped organize. The goal was to gather input about a nuclear energy issue.
I knew it would be memorable when a busload of zombies arrived. Really, zombies, each with a right hand on the shoulder of the person ahead. Cool make-up, too.
But it turned out less than ghostly, which I will explain in a bit.
Why even discuss this? Because we have a lot of civic meetings coming up for input about our cities and states. Energy will be a big topic and we don’t need supernatural speculation.
Public meetings have purposes: To educate citizens, companies, and government bodies, make plans, understand information gaps, also to hear and correct rumors (a major job). “Take the temperature” of the citizens, too, that’s important.
What should an attendee expect in a public meeting? Real information, maps, tables, statistics, plans, demos, and after that, active listening to audience viewpoints. A summary ought to go to attendees.
Such professionalism is no one-way street. Presenters deserve an audience willing to listen, learn, and audience members who respectfully provide their facts and feelings.
I have seen the opposite. I was in one middle-sized Indiana town where children were paraded in gas masks to protest a small natural gas power plant … is that a dignified thing to do with a child?
In another session a high school student delivered her points to support a solar project. She was shouted down by senior citizens in the crowd. That is not how to mentor the next generation.
Bad behavior has all the dignity of showing a bare backside in the public square.
Citizens have a big reason to use a thoughtful demeanor, though – credibility.
Remember the zombies? In that meeting were students and young energy professionals presenting about risk management, environment, our energy future, and power plant sites. Clear, reasoned, and fact-based.
Not so for the zombies. While behaved, they were memorable, but for their look, not logic. That’s sad because those people had genuine concerns that were discounted with the costumes. They were amusing, not admired. They did not advance their cause.
To prepare for this KPR commentary, I looked back at a Kansas public meeting in July about the Grain Belt Express transmission line. I came away proud. The presentations were thorough and the remarks from the audience were thoughtful. The public had a chance for one-on-one discussion with presenters before the meeting, too.
In Douglas County this spring, there were almost nine hours of testimony about the Kansas Sky Energy Center solar field. Commissioners approved a conditional use permit for a 600-acre project north of Lawrence. A Sierra Club rep said the solar project is “the most responsible and urgent thing that we can do.” Debate was civil.
So, why bring this up at all? Because real challenges are ahead in civic meetings, especially for electric power. Kansas has huge changes ahead in the way we make, transport, and use electricity. Everyone’s patience will be tested because people and groups with narrow, personal energy and economic interests will be out in force – some to provide facts and some, fear.
The way that we will build a smart energy future is to listen and learn, have a dialogue, do research in credible places and not to be the zombie in the audience. ####
Commentator Scott Carlberg has worked in energy industry communications for more than 40 years. His career includes work with the petroleum industry and the electricity industry. He's also worked for research, nonprofit and higher education organizations. He lives in Leawood.