“I'm a Chicana, I'm a Mexican American, born in East Los Angeles. After I graduated from art school in Michigan, I was like, you know, cost of living is a lot more affordable here than in California. As a first generation Latina, I'm a citizen of this fricking planet, so I really want to still try to make my home like a little, safe place. Especially as far as climate resiliency and wanting my home to not hurt the planet, just for me living in it.”
Nancy Morales is one of the many homeowners in West Michigan who are making a difference and directly lessening their carbon footprint. Nancy works at the Urban Core Collective as a Climate Justice Organizer in Grand Rapids. As an organizer, she is involved in community engagement and educating around climate change issues. By ways of taking action locally and also promoting an environmentally friendly lifestyle, Nancy is doing sustainability in style.
“Individual action is the only way that I can kind of make a difference and hopefully be like an example for my neighbors.”
Lifestyle & Community
Nancy is a living example of what it is to live zero waste, taking it a step further considering herself to be material conscious. From supporting local businesses like Earthly Refillery to taking it beyond avoiding single use plastics, she notes, “my own personal life I've got like, 95 percent of my self hygiene routine is plastic free. So I use shampoo bars, conditioner bars. If I do get a lotion or something, I'll try to make sure it comes in glass as opposed to plastic.”
Nancy isn't just combating the climate crisis with personal products, she’s creating a climate resilient safe haven, right in her front yard.
“I have de-lawned my front yard. I hate a grass lawn with a passion. So I was really looking to incorporate more native plants, which can have roots up to like six feet deep. And that's really a lot better for, like, flood remediation, like, rainwater processing. I would create more pollution by having to turn on my gas lawn mower, now I just don't use it at all, which is better. Also watering the grass, a lot of people use fertilizers. They have to, they have to go out and buy seeds for grass that doesn't naturally grow in Michigan, there's a lot of pointless maintenance that goes into lawns.”
As many activists know, being a part of your community can be a huge benefit to both you and the climate and Nancy knows first hand. Not only did she get the mulch completely free from a neighbor who had to take a tree down, she gives back by feeding friends and family, right from her garden. Take a walk by Nancy’s Wyoming home and you won’t miss her beautiful front yard filled with an abundance of pollinator plants, herbs and vegetables that feed her and her neighbors too.
“I have a couple of neighbors that come and chat with me, sometimes they're like, ‘oh, your tomatoes look really good’, and I'm like, ‘well take some I have way too many tomatoes. So, you know, it's just nice being able to share with my neighbors, to be able to have food that I grew myself. Organic food. I had to learn how to can food this year because I had so many tomatoes. I was like, what am I going to do with them?”
Sustainable Investments
A few larger things you may not see right away are the solar panels and with her basement wrapped and sump pump, she's ready for anything.
“A big motivation for getting solar panels was also just as I started to learn about energy affordability and energy burdens and the fact that our utilities here in Michigan are investor owned, which I thought was really uncool. Shouldn't this be kind of like water, where it's like a municipal utility? We're a captive audience. I can't shop around for energy. Like, I'm basically stuck with them.
Right now, Nancy is producing on average 80% of her home's energy use, with her solar panels and although it comes along with a large price tag, she’s aware of the direct benefits.
“In the beginning, we're definitely just breaking even. For example, prior to getting solar panels, my bills, especially during times we use a lot of energy, either with the AC running, or in the winter with heat, my energy bill was coming out to be around between $140 to $180 a month.
Many times when talking with folks about making the transition to renewable energy at home, cost seems to be a major deciding factor. At first glance, a price tag of $25,000 may not seem feasible for everyone but spread that over fifteen years and an average monthly payment comes out to roughly $140 a month, which is roughly what she was paying to power her home.
Challenges to Overcome
For Nancy, one of the largest challenges was time. “It’s not a financial burden anymore but at the beginning it was a challenge because of Consumers Energy taking so long to come out and send out an inspector and do things like that. When you get the solar panels, they're connected to your breaker box, which has to be up to code. The city has electrical codes, so then the city sends out an inspector, after the city inspector, Consumers Energy sends out somebody to do the full connection to the grid. Back and forth between the permitting from the solar company and connecting with the city and then scheduling with Consumers Energy.. I got them installed in November of last year and they didn't go live until April of this year.”
“And that had impacted me for months after. Even the solar panel company told me from the beginning, ‘you might have to harass Consumers Energy a little bit because they don’t want to lose a customer, so they'll drag their feet to get your panel set up.’ I will say that it hasn't been that way for everybody. If I were to do it again, I would definitely try to start it like in the beginning of the year so that hopefully by the time spring comes around, you'll kind of get the most out of it as possible. So that would be my recommendation.”
IRA Rebates & Tax Credits
IRA benefits are accessible but can be confusing, even for someone who has access to information. If you’re feeling lost, you’re not alone. MiCAN is one of the many places to find resources to get connected to rebates and tax credits. Nancy suggests you work these details into your plans.
“Another challenge is, I think, learning how to, especially, like, even for me as somebody who works in this stuff, like, I have no idea how to get those tax credits. I think that's one of the more confusing parts.nI don't know the tax code, so I don't know how or what form I need to fill out. I will need to get some additional assistance and have been looking into some options. Like, I know MiCAN has information and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, have a huge resource hub for all of those things.”
Paving Your Own Path to Sustainability
Don’t write off the LED’s just yet, that’s where Nancy got started and it can sometimes take years. She suggests taking your time, settling in and starting with the little things.
“It's boring, but it matters. I installed rain barrels the first year of me living at my house. So I was able to use that same rainwater to water my plants and my garden and stuff. In later years is when I really started to, like, get more into gardening and really getting rid of my grass and putting in my pollinator garden. Just like a couple of little baby steps at a time and then eventually decided it was time to bite the bullet and go for solar panels.
As a homeowner, Nancy embraces the freedom she sees within security. Being able to invest in permanent projects allows her to build a garden that will come back year after year, make upgrades toward resilience and generate her own energy. She notes, it can take years to get to the point where you have enough tomatoes to can or to be prepared to upgrade insulation and recommends using electrification coaches to guide you through your process.
“I'm also just thinking about, like, other long term things I can do. I've been talking with Will Gallemeyer from Green Projects Group and he's been helping out with things like test driving e bikes and walking me through an energy audit. I could definitely feel a couple little cold spots here and there in the winter and when my furnace dies, I know I'm gonna want to do a heat pump. So, you know just so I'm not gonna and one of the big things about being sustainable is like using what you have until it's broken.
“I'm just doing individual action because in Wyoming, there's been no talk from our City government regarding any kind of climate action or climate adaptation, like nothing. So I know in my city in particular, I'm more or less on my own when it comes to wanting to have climate resiliency or just a more sustainable infrastructure for myself. So, for me, individual action is the only way that I can kind of make a difference and hopefully be like an example for my neighbors.”
From Nancy what we’ve learned is there are resources available that we can build in our own communities and that is true resilience. It doesn't have to be expensive to make that transition and suggests we visit John Ball Zoo or Blandford Nature Center for some native (and often free) plants this spring. When you’re looking to upgrade, make the sustainable choice and when you can, grab your neighbor's wood chips. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make a difference.
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