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The Rural Missouri NEWS Service April 2007 | June 2007 | September 2007 | October 2007 | November 2007 | December 2007 |
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October 2007 Cooperatives in America celebrate Cooperative Month Each October, cooperatives all across America celebrate the role, accomplishments and contributions of our nation’s cooperatives. The annual celebrations play a key role in promoting cooperatives to members, the public and policymakers. Through a combination of media outreach, member education and interaction with policymakers, co-op month events help raise the visibility of your cooperative, and improve public understanding of cooperatives. Research shows that when consumers know a business is a cooperative, they are more likely to do business with it. Cooperatives in America are as old as the nation itself. The first successful U.S. cooperative was organized in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin formed the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire — the nation’s oldest continuing cooperative. The modern cooperative era dates to 1844, when the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society was established in Rochdale, England. These pioneers wrote down a set of principles to operate their food cooperative. These principles contributed to their success and spread to other cooperatives around the world. Cooperatives have thrived in part because the concept is so fundamental and universally appealing — people or businesses banding together to form an independent business entity to serve the needs of the collective membership, customer base, employees or other user group. Seattle-based Recreational Equipment Inc., (better known as REI) for example, has more than 2 million consumer-owners. In 2004, the three largest consumer co-ops alone had revenues of $5 billion. But as old as the form of business may be, cooperatives have never been more modern in the way they operate. Like other businesses that must reinvent themselves every day in response to ever-changing markets, cooperatives are continually evolving to meet their members’ needs, with new cooperatives started all the time. Co-ops typically are formed when the marketplace fails to provide needed goods or services at affordable prices or of acceptable quality. Among other things, cooperatives provide:
Cooperatives follow seven internationally recognized principles as the basis for doing business:
In part because the cooperative community is so diverse, there is no current authoritative count of cooperative businesses in the United States or their economic impact. Past estimates of the number of co-ops have ranged as high as 40,000. The Grid and how it works Most of the time, electricity is probably taken for granted. Making a pot of coffee seems like such a simple task yet we often forget about the massive structure that makes that cup of coffee possible. “The Grid” is a network of power plants, transmission lines, substations and distribution lines covering the entire United States and parts of Canada. It is broken down into regional grids that are interconnected at transmission substations across the country so power companies can buy and sell electricity from each other. Energy comes from many sources including burning coal, natural gas or oil, water, nuclear reactions, wind, methane from landfills, animal waste, the sun and geothermal. Most electricity is generated at power plants. The electricity generated at a power plant travels to a transmission substation where it is boosted to extremely high voltages (69,000-765,000 volts). Voltage must be increased so that the electric current has the “push” it needs to travel long distances and reduce losses along the way. The electricity is carried on thick wires called transmission lines, held high above the ground on tall transmission towers, to distribution substations. Once the electricity reaches a distribution substation, electricity is stepped down by transformers to lower voltages (7,200-12,470 volts) so it can be sent safely through the distribution system. Electricity leaves the substation on distribution lines attached to power poles. Most of these poles are wooden and may support telephone wires or street lights as well. Distribution lines carry electricity to distribution transformers. Distribution transformers are the grey cylinders located at the top of power poles. The transformer steps down the electricity once again (to 120-240 volts) for ordinary residential use and arrives at your home through an overhead weatherhead or an underground entrance. Just before the wires enter the exterior wall, the electricity passes through your meter which calculates your specific electricity use. Technically, a power plant on one side of the United States could light a home on the other side of the United States. However, power plants are strategically located so that the cost to ship fuel to the power plant and the cost to push electricity long distances over transmission lines is kept to a minimum. Distribution cooperatives purchase electricity based on the economics of the transmission path and the cost of power. Your electric cooperative does not operate a power plant. We purchase power from Associated Electric Cooperative (or in the case of Citizens Electric, Wabash Valley Electric Cooperative) and distribute it to your home. This power is generated from a variety of sources including coal, natural gas, water and wind. However, the watts used by your lamp might have come from any of the power plants releasing power into the grid. The demand for electricity and the supply on the grid must always match. The grid is the largest machine ever built by humans. At times, the grid struggles to meet the increasing demands of today’s digital world. Careful consideration is being put toward grid improvements. Each day, it becomes even more important to use energy efficiently. Now, the next time you make a pot of coffee, you’ll know a little more about “the grid” working behind the scenes. You’ll understand what makes that one cup of coffee possible. Consider how often you use electricity and take steps to use it more efficiently. The more aware you are of using energy, hopefully, the less likely you will be to take it for granted. Baking tonight? Keep it efficient Buying products that bear the Energy Star label is a surefire way to save electricity around the house. But the government doesn’t require energy-efficiency labels for ovens. So it’s up to you to conserve energy as you prepare your meals. Here’s how:
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