Trip update:

This is for those of you who are interested in alternative energy - and solutions to break our energy dependence on foreign sources, thus avoiding wars! If you missed the trip to Solar Village yesterday, I want to give you a brief report:

First, the good news is, you can actually live off-grid very comfortably, as Chris Carter demonstrated to us yesterday! Chris is an "energy system designer", and happened across all his wisdom strictly by living his dream of energy self-sufficiency, and believing in a philosophy of sustainability. He realized a long time ago that we all pay a price when we take more from the earth and other communities than we can "pay" for. He is not talking about money, he is taking about the long-term effects our energy demand has on the environment, people in poor communities and countries, and future generations. Most of us do not see the real costs involved in mountaintop removal for coal, wars for oil, or storage of nuclear waste. Chris does. He not only outfitted his own home with solar and wind energy, drives his vehicles on discarded vegetable oil, but designs systems for others as well. He is involved in putting together systems for homes from the coast to the mountains.

While we watched his wind generator's blades move, his solar panels adjust themselves towards the sun, and sat in a very large, comfortably cool house enjoying fresh wellwater, Chris also told us the story of energy companies, and how it came to be that most of us now are dependent on them, and pay lots of money each month to run inefficient appliances. To make a long story short, our problem is not technological, our problem is political.

Many thoughts come to mind, but I will leave you with this one: Once upon a time in America, people used wind energy extensively, and were independent from power companies. I think if you asked me what freedom really means to me, the word that comes to mind is "independence" - the ability of an individual to secure their shelter, comfort, and daily needs on their own. We are engaged in a war in which our young people have to give their lives for a commodity we would not need had we not become dependent on a centralized sources of energy - coal, gas, petroleum. Not only do these sources of energy come at a high price, they also pollute our air and hurt our health. Not to mention global warming, and the well-being of all other species that share this planet
with us.

Watching Chris, I understood that something in our thinking has gone terribly wrong, and that Chris, and people like him, are showing us a better path.

As technologies keep getting improved and invented (despite the efforts of corporations that make lots of money on our dependence on "their" commodities) there is a better and economically feasible future on the horizon! It will take all of us to understand, support, and demand from our politicians that taxbreaks and incentives no longer be used to keep alternative energy off the market, and instead, calculating all costs involved in maintaining corporate control be weighed against clean alternative energy development, which may serve ALL the people, not just the handful of folks who make the campaign contributions.

I want to thank the folks who came with us to Solar Village yesterday for their sense of adventure! Not really knowing what you are about to embark on and braving it anyways, does take some heart! It takes courage to open yourself up to new possibilities, and we were well rewarded! I also want to thank Chris, for many things really, but mostly for letting himself be led by his inner moral compass, and using his mind and heart to find solutions which will make us all safer, and more secure in the future!

For those of you who now wish that you had come along, I think David is game to organize another trip, and I think Chris will be just as happy to have more folks visit. Please e-mail David at heelsrnum1@aol.com if you are interested in exploring non-violent solutions to independence and comfort. There is so much good news to share, and so much work to do to make it happen!


More info: Anyone who wants to learn about the latest in alternative energy can visit the Southeast Energy Expo in Asheville, NC on August 22-24, 2003 (www.seeexpo.com).  For more information on the Solar Village Institute see their website at www.solarvillage.com.