Earth Day

The future of American energy conservation depends on a growing emphasis in community based planning, four energy experts told an audience of about 50 at the Kennedy School Forum last night.

The panel discussions, "Energy and the Community: What You Can Do" commemorated the tenth anniversary of Earth Day yesterday, an annual nationwide celebration promoting pollution-free solutions to the energy crisis.

Henry Lee, director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center at the Kennedy School, said yesterday community planning incorporating renewable energy resources and effective conservation promotes individual self-interest in reducing energy waste.

"Economic reality has yet to crack present supply-restricted bases of conservation, John H. Alschuler, energy adviser to the Coalition of Northeastern Municipalities, said yesterday. "Community response to prices will ultimately create political momentum at the local level," he added.

"In terms of investment and return on conservation measures, the community stands to gain more than public utilities. Community pressure can only be asserted if the people are aware of the alternatives," Jay M. McCloud '83, cochairman of the Environmental Action Committee of the Phillips Brooks House, said yesterday.

Nationwide, more than 1000 cities and towns held activities yesterday to demonstrate awareness of major advances in environmental law in the past ten years, such as the Clean Air and Water Acts of the early 1970s, and to express concern for the future of the nation's limited resources.