We applaud Jim Armstrong and the rest of the Board of Selectmen for taking a hard look at the town’s energy uses.

When Armstrong was elected to the Board of Selectmen, he brought a wealth of energy knowledge with him.  Now, he’s putting that knowledge into practice for the benefit of the town.

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a larger effort to make the town more energy efficient.

Green is more than just a buzz word these days, it’s a way for local communities to save without making a huge investment. To some, tightening up buildings and replacing light bulbs may seem like the war cry of the earthy-crunchy. But there is a great potential for cost savings to the town.

In these tough times, no one’s adding anything, or building anything new. It’s more important than ever to take a look at what we have and say: is there a way to make this more efficient? Is there a way to run this at a reduced cost?

Utilities are one of those “fixed” costs we hear so much about during budget season. The costs are going up, and there’s nothing we can do about it, we’re told at Town Meeting, so cuts need to be made elsewhere. It follows that when prices increase, Hanson can make ends meet by reducing consumption.

All this may take some education. Most green initatives require people to change their habits, their everyday routines. That isn’t always easy. But the reward will be great, if we take the time to make Hanson a little greener every day.