Energy conservation through change of culture Published Oct. 1, 2010 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Many people remember their parents yelling at them about leaving the lights on in empty rooms. As the ones paying the bills, many of these same people are now yelling at their kids about not turning out lights. All Dave Bury wants is for people here to bring that same mentality with them when they come through the gates each day. "People are not energy conservationists when they come to work at Robins because they think they don't pay the utility bills," said Bury, who is project officer tracking energy progress. "What they don't realize is they do pay them because they are taxpayers. This is not free energy." "Culture change" is one of three pillars of the Air Force vision to "Make Energy a Consideration in All We Do." The others are "reduce demand" and "increase supply." Most who work here are not involved in increasing supply. That's the job of commanders, directors, and specialists who are examining a range of options to reduce Robins' dependency on traditional energy and increase the number of its renewable sources. These include solar energy and a possible bio mass plant. However, every one of the 20,000-plus employees at Robins can have an impact on reducing the demand and changing the culture. If people believe small acts such as turning their computer monitors off at night, do not make a difference, Bury thinks otherwise. He noted from 2007 to 2008 about the only energy reduction initiative at Robins was the Energy Awareness Campaign, which encouraged people to turn off everything in their workspaces when they leave work, except for their computers, which must be left on. During that time, electrical consumption on base dropped 7 percent, Bury said, which tells him the awareness campaign was the difference. "People think they can't make a difference, but when you are talking about thousands of people, it does," he said. The Energy Office has a checklist to help members of Team Robins remember to turn certain electrical devices off at the end of the day. The checklist can be downloaded from the Robins home page at www.robins.af.mil.