A silent battle is taking place between the people and the government, as perhaps there always has been. This battle has taken the shape of embracing the changes that some believe they can control only through adaptation, and those who wish to keep things the same for as long as possible. Perhaps some think they can control the uncontrollable, and that global warming is only an idea that bears no real merit. Global warming are words that inspire fear for some, and for others a new sense of responsibility to confront. The results of these words appear to be the same, new businesses stemming from a new awareness of the changes that are occurring in our world.

February found us with 45-degree temperatures and winds that make us feel as though spring is in the air. Max Smith and his group will be getting together to make 1000 new gardens a reality in Bozeman while Planet Natural, our own organic gardening center, orders in supplies to help people prepare their garden spots for this spring and summer.  Grow Montana continues to work toward feeding Montanans with our own food, and creating industry centered around food production that will provide jobs for those who want to make a living in Montana. Hemp is growing in the northern part of the state that holds the possibility of an alternative fuel source, and as fiber strong enough to build houses. New businesses that are subtly disguised as retail stores but who in fact are selling refurbished, reconstructed clothing, metals and glass that have become jewelry, and foods that have been turned into healing skin care products continue to grow in our community. The success of these businesses is based upon the consumer’s desire to care more about the quality of the products used in their lives than saving pennies. Discerning the difference between what is needed and what is simply wanted because someone else convinced you in an advertisement, for example, is vital in determining the quality of one’s choices. Before you make any purchases, think about where the money is going and who is going to benefit from your purchase.

Research shows that the architectural and building community is responsible for almost half of all United States greenhouse gas emissions annually. Bozeman homes are being rebuilt using earth friendly materials happily supplied by Refuge, Montana’s own sustainable building center, Luminous Construction, Energy Star, Bozeman TV and Appliance, and Charlie’s Painting, to name a few. Check out the website called BozemanHouse.com and look at the process involved in the rebuilding of this historic Bozeman home at 810 S. Willson.

People in Bozeman build their straw bale garages and a few people who own ranch property consider the advantages of their straw bale houses warmed with radiant heat.  Bozeman is embracing those ideas supporting clean, natural products coming in from the world outside Montana as well as those products being created in the state by our own innovative minds. AERO is a grassroots organization dedicated to solutions that promote resource conservation and local economic vitality. AERO nurtures individual and community self-reliance through programs that support sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and environmental quality. Check out their program entitled Repowering Montana:  A Blueprint for Home Grown Energy Self-Reliance.

In the meantime, our legislators are struggling with the issues of embracing these new ideas that work on a small scale for communities and individuals, and the thought of implementing those ideas on a statewide and nationwide level. How can they ignore the natural resources this state has to offer such as fossil fuels, coal, copper, and other ores that can be mined to embrace wind energy, solar devices, and biomass fuel to produce power and jobs?

People who choose to live “car free” ride their bicycles alongside pick up trucks spewing toxic fumes into the air, oblivious to those who are out of their sense of reality. Living without a vehicle in Montana can be very limiting, and the reality of this amount of space will never change. Fueling our farm equipment and our vehicles is a valid concern, as is providing power to meet the communities needs. Bridging the gap between these opposing forces is a formidable undertaking and we are not here to attempt to solve this problem. However, the solution in solving any problem is to decide where we want to land when the issues are being dealt with one at a time. Mayor Jeff Krauss signed onto the Climate Protection Agreement in 2006, adding Bozeman to 1000 other cities in the nation including Helena, Missoula, and Billings who want to be an active participant in proactively changing the amount of toxic emissions released into our environments. Montana has the opportunity to be foremost in the advanced technology required to achieve this goal nationwide, particularly with the research being conducted from Montana State University students. Many options are available that will require research in order to implement solutions in a timely, cost-effective manner. Knowing where we want to land is the goal required in order to seek out the truth, and be open to questioning all the variables involved in making a wise decision.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “sustainable” as: capable of supporting, nourishing, to keep up, prolong. Perhaps there are topics that we as the people could address in order to create something new as a viable solution. Change at the grassroots level could begin a cycle of change for the entire state, benefiting all Montanans who live and work toward supporting the foundation of their families and communities.
Change is at the heart of who we are. We are born, grow and change, and die. The truth of this state of being is pure joy, for it is only in allowing ourselves to see the advantage of this growth and change, that we can embrace the life cycle that supports each human being we have the privilege to encounter.

Janice Aldrow is a single parent who has lived in Bozeman since 1985. She earned her degree in Family and Consumer Science Education and has written a book The Art of Money Management published in 2005.