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Home Energy Magazine Online July/August 1994
TRENDS
At Energy Northwest the Team is the Theme
The Energy Northwest Conference held in Portland, Oregon, in late April
brought together representatives of weatherization and energy assistance
agencies as well as utilities from Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Idaho to
focus on residential energy-efficiency. The importance of teamwork was
emphasized.
Keynote speeches by management consultants Joan Brown-Kline and Derrell Beck
focussed on the challenges of cultural diversity in the work force and on the
importance of effective communication within organizations. The themes were
illustrated elsewhere at the conference. Teamwork was required for "The Great
Blower Door Competition of 1994" which pitted weatherization crews against an
obstacle course, judging them on speed, accuracy, and creativity in problem
solving. Teams also matched wits in the "NRG Feud" game, based on the well
known television game show, "Family Feud."
From "Advanced Pressure Diagnostics" to "Energy Education" to "Whole House
Ventilation," the conference offered over 50 technical sessions, complemented
by 13 hands-on tutorials and eight roundtable discussions, all covering a wide
spectrum of issues and technologies. More than 500 people attended.
Coinciding with the conference, workers from Clackamas County's Employment,
Training, and Business Services began work on Oregon's 50,000th house to be
weatherized by the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program
(WAP). Since 1976, the federal government has provided more than $106 million
to weatherize homes for low-income households in Oregon. An estimated total of
135,000 households are still eligible for weatherization in the state.
Nationally, some 4 million of nearly 28 million eligible households received
weatherization services between 1976-1989, for which the federal government
provided roughly $5 billion.
-- Cyril Penn
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