Good News, Renewable Energy Slowly Taking Over
With so many bad things going on in the world, thought I would share at least two good news stories that passed my eyes today.
First up, Portugal (who we have written about before) is continuing in it’s awesome quest to dominate the renewable energy market in Europe. From the Guardian.
The worlds largest solar farm is coming online in Portugal.
From a distance the bizarre structures sprouting from the high Alentejo plain in eastern Portugal resemble a field of mechanical sunflowers. Each of the 2,520 giant solar panels is the size of a house and they are as technically sophisticated as a car. Their reflective heads tilt to the sky at a permanent 45 degrees as they track the sun through 240 degrees every day.
…
When fully commissioned later this year, the £250m farm set on abandoned state-owned land will be twice the size of any other similar project in the world, covering an area nearly twice the size of London’s Hyde park. It is expected to supply 45MW of electricity each year, enough to power 30,000 homes.
…
He expects Portugal to generate 31% of all its energy from clean sources by 2020. This means lifting its renewable electricity share from 20% in 2005 to 60% in 2020, compared with Britain’s target of 15% of all energy by 2020. Having passed its target for 2010 it could soon top the EU renewables league.
In less than three years, Portugal has trebled its hydropower capacity, quadrupled its wind power, and is investing in flagship wave and photovoltaic plants. Encouraged by long-term guarantees of prices by the state, and not delayed by planning laws or government indecision, it has proved a success. Firms are expected to invest £10bn in renewables by 2012 and up to £100bn by 2020.
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This is a great success, say regional governments. In northern Portugal, where the world’s biggest wind farm, with more than 130 turbines, is now being strung across the mountainous Spanish border, a German firm employs more than 1,200 people building 600 40-metre-long fibreglass wind turbine blades a year.
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It is the start of a potentially giant global industry with Portuguese firm Enersis planning to invest more than £1bn in a series of farms that together would power 450,000 homes.
Pinho dismisses nuclear power. “When you have a programme like this there is no need for nuclear power. Wind and water are our nuclear power. The relative price of renewables is now much lower, so the incentives are there to invest. My advice to countries like the UK is to move as fast as they can to renewables. With climate change and the increase in oil prices, renewables will become more and more important.
“Countries that do not invest in renewables will pay a high price in future. The cost of inaction is very high indeed. The perception that renewable energy is very expensive is changing every day as the oil price goes up.”
…
Sweden 2005 39.8%, target by 2020 49%
Latvia 34.9%, target 42%
Finland 28.5%, target 38%
Austria 23.3%, target 34%
Portugal 20.5%, target 31%
Bottom
Cyprus 2.9%, target by 2020 13%
Netherlands 2.4%, target 14%
Ireland 3.1%, target 16%
Netherlands 2.4%, target 14%
Belgium 2.2%, target 13%
UK 1.3%, target 15%
Also in some rare news an AMERICAN company (I know contain your shock) is actually doing some good business in the renewable market. From Time.
Thin film solar panels are making a big push in the market.
…
The atmosphere here is less high tech than high school chemistry lab, and Global Solar’s days in this cramped Tucson, Ariz., facility are history. The company is shifting production to a sparkling factory just a few miles down the road. The new facility is fast enough to churn out 40 megawatts’ worth of thin-film solar panels a year, more than 10 times Global Solar’s previous capacity.
It’s a story being repeated throughout the solar world, from the Southwest to Silicon Valley to Germany. Everywhere you look, thin-film solar companies are opening new, more efficient factories. The thin in thin film refers to the skinny layers of photoactive chemicals needed for the technology, as compared with the thicker films used in crystalline-silicon solar modules. Though thin-film photovoltaics are cheaper than the crystalline ones on most rooftop solar panels, the technology has proved maddeningly difficult to mass-produce, which had kept it from going mainstream. But today thin film is the hottest part of the fastest-growing new energy source in the world. BCC Research, which charts technology markets, expects the global solar market to grow from $13 billion to $32 billion by 2012, with thin film expanding 45% a year. Masdar, the clean-energy arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, just announced that it will invest $2 billion in thin film. “Crystalline silicon has had its day,” says Peter Harrop, chairman of the London-based research firm IDTechEx. “These new technologies will be taking over.”
…
It was that reality that led the solar arm of BP to pull out of the thin-film industry in 2002, claiming that the economics would never add up. But the numbers have changed, thanks largely to the enormous success of Phoenix’s First Solar. Though the company was launched in 1999, it has its origins in a solar start-up that had been around since the mid-1980s. First Solar spent years tinkering before moving to mass production. It was able to weather those early days of profitless experimentation because it had a rich, patient backer: Wal-Mart heir John Walton, who pumped $250 million into First Solar before his death in 2005.
…
As First Solar scaled production up, it was able to bring its costs down. Solar producers measure their costs in terms of dollars per watt of energy produced, a formula that’s a combination of the cost of producing a module and its power efficiency. Right now the best crystalline-silicon makers can sell modules at $3 to $4 a watt; First Solar can sell at around $2.40 a watt, a price the company expects to reduce steadily. “They’ve really pushed this industry over the threshold,” says Travis Bradford, author of The Solar Revolution. “They possess great technology.”
…
Hurray! Combined with the constant good news from the wind industry there is a small chance that people might finally be getting it…but we will have to wait and see before we all dance in the streets. Renewable energy is only a small part of solving our carbon problem. We still need to consume less, consume sustainably, and stop using fossil fuels.
Senate Fails To Lead, Doesn’t Pass PTC Extension
We have already seen that the vast majority of people want renewable energy to be the power source of the future, it amazes me then that politicians would so blatantly put the future of our planet at risk (not to mention their own political future) for the sake of some oil company money. In a key Senate floor vote yesterday, H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, with a one year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
It is vitally important that your Senators hear from you about this important vote. Please contact your Senators to thank the ones who supported the PTC extension and convey your unhappiness to those who voted against the bill with a 1-year extension of the PTC. Please urge your Senators to do everything they can to promote rapid bipartisan action to move the tax credit extension into law.
Click here to send letters to your Senators regarding their vote on the PTC extension. A thank you letter will appear if one of your Senators voted ‘yes’ to ending the filibuster on H.R. 6049. A letter expressing your disappointment will appear if he or she voted ‘no’ on ending the filibuster.
Click here to see how your Senators voted. You will notice just about every republican voted against this measure. Seriously the Grand Old Party needs to get it’s shit together. I am sick and tired of these old cranky fucks constantly blocking everything that comes through the senate that has to do with climate change and renewable energy. If you live in a state with a republican senator who voted against this bill call them up and tell them to shape up or be shipped out!
94% Of Americans In Favor Of Solar Power
Proving once again that the American people are far ahead of the American politicians (side note: Dear politicians if you don’t get your act together we are all going to fire you) on renewable energy policy. A vast majority of Americans, across all political parties, overwhelmingly support development and funding of solar energy. Ninety-one percent of Republicans, 97 percent of Democrats and 98 percent of Independents agree that developing solar power is vital to the United States.
These and other findings were reported today in the SCHOTT Solar Barometer, a nationally representative survey conducted by the independent polling firm, Kelton Research.
The survey revealed that 77 percent of Americans feel that the development of solar power, and other renewable energy sources, should be a major priority of the federal government. Independent voters felt strongest about this, compared to voters in other political parties, with 86 percent of Independents supporting the statement.
When asked which one energy source they would support if they were President, 41 percent of Americans picked solar. Solar and wind together were favored nearly 20 times more than coal (3 percent).
“These results are an undeniable signal to our elected leaders that Americans want job-creating solar power, now,” said Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
According to the survey, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (72 percent), Democrats (72 percent) and Independents (74 percent) favor an extension of the federal investment tax credits (ITC) as a way to encourage development of solar power and fund continued development of the technology. In contrast, only 8 percent of Americans believe the ITC should not be extended.
Current federal legislation, which provides incentives to spur the growth of renewable energy, is set to expire at the end of the year. Experts predict that without long-term renewal of the legislation, the solar energy industry will struggle to maintain its momentum. According to independent analysis by Navigant Consulting, this would translate into the loss of 39,000 jobs, as well as the loss of nearly $8 billion in investments. When wind is included, 116,000 jobs and $19 billion in investment are at risk, according to the report.
“Solar development means job growth for Americans, by Americans, in an industry that will benefit America.” said Dr. Gerald Fine, President & CEO of SCHOTT North America. “Rather than rely on foreign sources for fuel, the U.S. can aspire to become the world’s leader in clean energy.”
Extension of the tax credits continues to be in doubt as the House, Senate and Administration debate differing plans. In May, the House Ways and Means Committee cleared H.R. 6049, which would extend the solar investment tax credit for six years. According to SEIA, this legislation would secure America’s clean-energy future by closing an income tax loophole enjoyed by hedge-fund managers on their off-shore accounts.
“The U.S. Senate has an opportunity to act decisively by passing the Renewable Energy & Job Creation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6049) this month. This is smart policy that will help solar become a powerful economic engine for the country, stabilize energy prices for consumers and businesses and improve America’s national energy security. A vote against this bill is a vote against what the vast majority of Americans are demanding,” said Mr. Resch.
“When you consider that, according to the American Solar Energy Society, nearly 7,000 gigawatts (GW) of solar generation capacity exists in the American Southwest, America is truly a sleeping giant,” said Dr. Fine. “Americans want to wake this giant up.”
- 98% of Independents, 97% of Democrats, and 91% of Republicans support development of solar.
- 74% of Independents, 72% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans favor extension of Federal tax credits for renewable technologies.
- 77% of Americans feel Federal government should make solar power development a national priority
Key Data from the SCHOTT Solar Barometer
Question 1: “If you became President in 2009 and could choose to provide financial support in ONE of the following energy sources during your term in office, which would you choose?”
Solar was picked by 41% of respondents compared to coal (3%), nuclear (10%) and natural gas (15%)
Renewable energy (solar or wind) was selected nearly 20 times more than coal.
Question 2: “How important do you think it is for the U.S. to develop and use solar power?”
More Independents (98%) than Republicans (91%) and Democrats (97%) said that developing and using solar power was important.
Americans across all major political parties voiced an overwhelming support for solar: 69% of Independents, 65% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said this was extremely important.
Question 3: “What do you think Congress should do; allow solar power investment tax credits to expire, or renew and extend tax credits to encourage the development of solar power?”
70% of Americans believe Congress should renew and extend the ITC.
Independent voters feel strongly about this matter, with 74% in favor of renewal vs. 11% in favor of expiration.
Only 8% of Americans said Congress ought to allow the ITC to expire.
Question 4: “How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The development of solar power and other renewable energy sources, including the financial support needed, should be a major priority of the federal government.”
Nearly eight in ten (77%) Americans say the development and funding of renewable energy should be a “major priority” for the federal government.
More Independents (86%) than Democrats (84%) or Republicans (75%) agree that such support should be a “major priority.”
Only one out of ten Americans felt development of solar power should not be a major priority of the federal government.
Fact Sheet on Solar Energy’s Economic Impact and Potential
Over 4,000 megawatts of utility-scale concentrating solar power projects under contract - enough to power about 1 million homes and provide about $15 billion in wages and investment - will be delayed or cancelled if the ITC is not renewed. - SEIA
“PV and Wind federal tax credit expiration could result in $19 billion of lost investment and 116,000 of lost employment opportunity.” - Navigant Consulting
“Solar energy is relevant for almost every country in the world, especially the United States, where conversion of only 2.5% of the nation’s usable area into solar farms would satisfy the entire nation’s energy needs.”
- Scientific American (January, 2008)
“Initial estimates for the United States as a whole indicate that PV incentives, including a tax credit of up to $2,000 available under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 to offset PV system costs, helped to achieve an incredible 83 percent growth in installations in 2007.”
- Johnathan Dorn, Earth Policy
“As many as 1 out of 4 workers in the U.S. will be working in the renewable energy or energy efficiency industries by 2030.” - American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
“The Energy and Resources Group at the University of California Berkeley thinks the [green job] boom will deliver one million new jobs by 2020.” - CNN Money, Oct. 07
“The solar industry is poised for a rapid decline in costs that will make it a mainstream power option in the next few years, according to a new assessment by the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Prometheus Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.”
- Worldwatch Institute
“States with suitably high solar radiation for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants include Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.
Even if we consider only the high-value resources, nearly 7,000 GW of solar generation capacity exist in the U.S. Southwest.”
- American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
“By 2050 solar energy could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse emissions.”
- Scientific American (January, 2008)
Action Alert: Contact Your Senators And Urge Them To Vote For The Extension Of The Production Tax Credit
Urge your Senators to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) immediately.
The Senate could vote on the extension of the PTC as soon as this afternoon.
Without rapid legislative action, the PTC will expire at the end of 2008. To maintain existing jobs and to continue growing thousands of new jobs, it is vital that Congress act quickly to extend the PTC. Should we enter late summer without a PTC extension the impacts on wind industry investment will escalate dramatically as the financial community responds to growing uncertainty as to the future availability of the PTC. Studies show that 116,000 jobs and more than $19 billion in clean energy investment are at risk from a failure to extend the PTC and other renewable energy tax credits.
Please contact your Senators and urge them to vote for an extension of the PTC.
BYOC: Bring Your Own Cutlery
I often find the constant review of “green” products on most eco-websites to in actuality be a highlight of what will be in landfills next year, but I really like this thing.
Made from recycled plastic these are some nice looking bags.
It is such a simple idea, that I am going to start doing it myself. If you wanted to do this yourself simply take the fork and knife from my kitchen drawer at home and start carrying them around with you. Lots less plastic forks/chop sticks that wont need to be created. If you however want something with a bit more class, go for the above model. Either way the reduction in one time use plastic/bamboo/wood objects will be a welcome and easy addition to your green life.
(via to-go-ware by way of treehugger)
Parade For The Future
Parade for the Future
Sun, June 15th, 4:00-5:30 PM
Meet outside Park Street Station under the giant blue wave
Come on, come all to a Parade for the Future! Let’s celebrate what hasn’t happened yet, notably the impending submergence of our city under water due to climate change.
On Sunday, June 15th, Platform2 will lead a Parade for the Future in the form of a giant blue wave. We will gather outside the Park Street T station at 4PM. From there, the parade will proceed along the flood line of the neighborhood, tracing a worst-case scenario future geography from the year 2108. We will all be wearing blue and carrying a giant wave.
There will be scuba divers and sharks and seaweed. There will be music and swimming!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Wear blue. Trick out your bike. Bring your kids. Bring your pets. Wear a costume (mournful, maudlin or magnificent). Just show up.
FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVISTS: Bring your literature to hand out to people along the route.
See you in the future,
Ikatun and Platform2
Expensive Oil Means Expensive Lives
A very smart man once told me that Oil (I capitalize it on purpose) is as important to modern society as the Buffalo was to the plains Indians. Like the Indians almost every single aspect of our lives involves oil, we use it to move, we make our homes out of it, we make everything we wear/touch/use out of it, it keeps us warm, it cools us down, it keeps our lights on, we even eat it (most crops are grown using a significant amount of oil). It is arguably THE most important part of our lives. The plains Indians treated the Buffalo like a friend, they have religious ceremonies to honor it, they thanked the gods for every one they killed, it was a revered and honored part of their lives. We on the other hand only think about oil when the price at the pump goes up.
Something so vital to the way we live and we hardly ever think about it. The one substance on this planet that we simply can not live without (at least for now), and we only pay it a second thought when we have to pay more for gas. Well it’s time for all that to end.
Oil is a necessary part of our lives, it’s an inescapable truth. Nothing else has the energy density that oil does, no other substance allows for the creation of of power so easily. And what do we do with it? We waste it in big inefficient SUV’s. We let it spill out onto our beaches, we make billions of plastic do-dads out of it and then throw them away after one use. It’s about time we start prioritizing our use.
Then:
We are long past the point of “easy” choices. We now much decide, do we continue to waste oil on water bottles, and one time use razors, and packaging that gets tossed after one use. Or are we going to save the last supplies of oil on this planet for things like medical breakthroughs, water filtration devices, emergency shelters, etc. Well we might not get that choice the market might make it for us.
The Dow Chemical Company announced today that on June 1 it will raise the price of all of its products by up to 20 percent – depending on their exposure to rising energy, feedstock and transportation costs – and will review all terms to all customers. 20%!
Andrew N. Liveris, Dow chairman and CEO, said the sweeping price increases and reviews are essential as the Company attempts to mitigate the extraordinary rise in energy and related raw material costs.
Now:
“Our first quarter feedstock and energy bill leapt a staggering 42 percent year over year, and that trajectory has continued, with the cost of oil and natural gas climbing ever higher,” Liveris said. “The new level of hydrocarbons and energy costs is putting a strain on the entire value chain and is forcing difficult discussions with customers about resetting the value proposition for our products.”
Dow spent $8 billion on energy and hydrocarbon-based feedstock costs in 2002. At the current rate, those costs would climb to $32 billion this year.
“In addition to these price increases,” Liveris said, “the Company is continuing its aggressive cost-control plan internally and is accelerating its existing top-down competitiveness review for all of its businesses and manufacturing facilities in the light of these new feedstock and energy prices.”
This is one company that makes products used in almost every other company in the world. If Dow raises prices 20% so does everyone else that uses their products. Dow is not the only one, all you have to do is walk (too expensive to fill up the car) to the grocery store and you will see the cost of Milk has rocketed, the cost of food is on the rise and the cost of everything else made far away is also going up.
Weather you like it or not, oil is no longer going to be providing the free ride it has for the last couple hundred years. We are going to have to start getting real stingy about how we use it, how we burn it, and how we move it around. When the white man came and decimated the Buffalo, the plains Indians way of life fell apart. Are we headed for a similar fate?
Solar Power Lights Up Hospital In Senegal
We have been keeping tabs on SCHOTT solar for a while now. Besides being a big mover in solar, solar thermal electricicy, and an array of other renewable energy projects they also have an active program of social giving. Thanks to solar modules made by SCHOTT Solar in Germany, the doctors, nurses and patients in a rural hospital in Senegal will no longer have to worry about lighting and refrigeration. A new solar energy system donated and made by SCHOTT Solar in Alzenau will ensure a steady supply of power.
Up until now, hospital employees were forced to deal with power outages several times a day. Refrigeration for medicines was interrupted repeatedly, lights went off and what little medical equipment was available was out of commission. Now, with the photovoltaic system from SCHOTT Solar as a backup system, a secure supply of electricity is guaranteed.
The hospital in Baila, located in the southern province of Casamance in Senegal, includes an emergency room, ten beds, a delivery room and accommodation for relatives. This center has provided medical attention to people in the immediate region for years. In order to protect the hospital against power outages on the regular network, a five-kilowatt solar power system is now being installed. The power from the solar modules is loaded into batteries and if the regular power system fails, the network reverts virtually instantaneously to a so-called mini-grid, which provides the hospital with an independent source of power.
Four parties have made the installation possible: in addition to the solar modules, SCHOTT Solar supplies the system technology and supports the installation of the system. Most of the costs have been carried by the company itself, with a portion contributed by employees as a project for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). KAÏTO Energie AG takes responsibility for project management on location and deals with the local authorities. SCHOTT Solar is responsible for the electrical installation and the technical certification of the backup system.
The village community built the extension on which the system was installed in May. Involving the people in the village in the technical and electrical building works contributes significantly to the acceptance of the solar energy installation. KAÏTO includes apprentices from a neighboring vocational school in the mechanical installation of the solar system, providing them practical experience and allowing them to test their own skills with modern technology.
In mid-March, the modules were shipped out via Dakar to the regional harbor at Ziguinchor in Casamance and then were transported overland to Baila. In Casamance, located on the edge of the tropical rainforest, climatic conditions are extreme, with heavy rainfall.
Following the dry season from November to June, hot monsoon winds bring rain and high humidity from the south. That’s why the SCHOTT Solar double-glazed modules are perfect for Baila; they have been proven under difficult weather conditions. The company regularly tests its modules under extreme temperature fluctuations, permanent humidity, high pressure and suction - and according to the information SCHOTT Solar has, the company is the only manufacturer who has criteria that are double as strict as those stipulated by the IEC 61215 standard.
The project in Baila shows that solar energy is a key to providing electricity in Africa. And a reliable source of power is vital to sustainable development. In rural areas in particular, the power supply is neither full-coverage nor stable - but there is a lot of sun. These are ideal conditions for photovoltaic systems, which guarantee a reliable source of electricity, either as an isolated system or even to provide first access to power in remote regions.
“The SCHOTT Group sees the sustainable improvement of people’s living conditions as one of its tasks. Electricity is the prerequisite for education and development - and our projects contribute toward electrifying Africa,” observed Dr. Martin Heming, managing director of SCHOTT Solar and member of the SCHOTT Group management board. Senegal is now investing more in renewable energies, and in decentralized solar power in particular. Up until now, the programs in Senegal were primarily KfW (Reconstruction Loan Corporation) and individual World Bank projects.
McCain Chairman Receives Almost $400K To Stop Cape Wind
CapeCodToday is reporting that high placed advisor’s in the McCain campaign were involved in trying to stop the Cape Wind renewable energy project.
Charlie Black, Senior Political Adviser to McCain: Senate lobbying disclosure documents reveal that lobbying firm BKSH
& Associates was retained in January 2008 by the Alliance to
Protect Nantucket Sound to “Defeat the proposal for 130 wind turbines”
and “promote alternative means to meet energy needs without sacrificing
Nantucket Sound.” Charlie Black was the chairman of BKSH until March. [Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act database]Tom Loeffler, McCain’s Campaign Co-chairman: The
Loeffler Group received $380,000 from the Alliance to Protect Nantucket
Sound from 2003 to 2005 to lobby against Cape Wind. The Loeffler Group
was founded by former Republican congressman Tom Loeffler, who remains its chairman. [Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act database]…
This after yet another of his advisor’s was forced to quit after it came out that he had been working FOR the government of Myanmar, and his other adviser from his ties to the Saudi government. It would seem to me that McCain is shaping up to be a puppet character that is being advised by a whole series of high priced power brokers for a variety of shady organizations and governments. Bush 2.0.
I can’t tell you who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, but I can tell you that if you are thinking about John McCain because you for some misguided reason think he is any different than Bush, or any other republican, think again. This man has surrounded himself with the the dirtiest of dirty tricksters, people who’s only job is to shill for dictators and big carbon. Don’t be fooled, John McCain is NO maverick. In fact it is shameful that anyone would have every applied such a label to him.
(Ironic…)
One Person Can Change The World
If you ever met me in real life you would eventually hear me go off on a rant about global warming, climate change, politics, etc. One of the main reasons I created this site was to provide a platform for my views, and the views of other people, who are interested in changing the way the world works. I feel like there is a deep soul crushing dread facing people my age (old enough to know about problems, but young enough to not have been the cause of them). People in their late teens/20’s/early 30’s look out at a world filled with massive, complicated, serious problems.
I don’t know about others, but these problems (global warming, world wide conflict, climate refugees, peak oil, invasive species, species extinction, the list goes on and on) puts a very large “But” into all my future plans. For instance, “I would really like to own a home some day, BUT, if climate change gets really bad I figure I will just have to move to where ever the earth can support me” or “If I started a family it would be great, BUT, if global conflict grows due to peak oil and climate refugees I really don’t want to bring children into a world like that.” or “Wouldn’t it be cool to visit *location*, BUT, can I really justify the carbon footprint of that plane trip.” or “I really like to eat fish, BUT, overfishing and mercury pollution from coal plants may have made my fish supply unhealthy.” You get the idea.
There are also people who deal with these problems by ignoring them. They would rather live in a state of blissful ignorance. The main problem with this strategy is that every day this option is available to fewer and fewer people (mostly the rich, and the inhabitants of rich countries). This option is slowly being removed because people are starting to notice the effects on a personal scale more and more. The spring flowers are coming up earlier and earlier every year, gas prices go up 10 cents a week, your basement flooded for the first time you can remember, the pine trees in your back yard were killed by some invasive beetle species, you can’t afford to feed your family anymore, your beach house was washed away in a storm, your home was destroyed by a winter tornado, your entire city was flooded by a giant hurricane… The list goes on and on. More and more people are waking up to the absolute need to radically change their lives to a sustainable model.
That is why when I got this email yesterday I was truly moved. I often feel like I am “going through the motions” like Cassandra I am screaming about the end and no one is really paying attention. It is good to have your faith restored once in a while.
Ann writes:
A while back, you guys sent me a book “Stop Global Warming Now”.. It sounds corny, but it has helped to change my life. I have used that book to help stop a toll road from going through my subdivision, historic oaks and the Spanish Lake Basin (home to 2,000+ year old cypress trees and bald eagle habitats). I am pretty much taking over my parish’s (aka; county) recycling efforts and working with a coalition of 11 environmental groups to fight a coal fired plant in Baton Rouge, LA. Before, I was just a mom who wanted to use less energy at home. I am well on my way to a new career and I have never been happier. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank you Ann! You really made my day and I hope you are having a wonderful time being the kind of person you want to be. Thank you for letting me know that our simple gift made a difference in your life. If you want to share your own story of positive change please do so in the comments, who knows the best ones might just get a present (hint: I still have some cool books laying around someone might want…)
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