As we sit mesmerized by the global movement demanding democracy and watch with amazement things we never believed possible, we are reminded that hope is something we can never give up. From events happening on the world stage to progress that often takes place in isolated pockets out of our sight, it’s apparent that we truly live in a world of endless possibilities.
Recently, The New York Times reported on an Italian-style energy revolution that we must seek to emulate around the world.
“Faced with sky-high electricity rates, small communities across a country known more for garbage than environmental citizenship are finding economic salvation in making renewable energy. More than 800 Italian communities now make more energy than they use because of the recent addition of renewable energy plants.
“Italy is an unlikely backdrop for a renewable revolution. It has been repeatedly criticized by the European Union for failing to follow the bloc’s environmental directives. It is not on track to meet either its European Union-mandated emissions-reduction target or its commitment to get 17 percent of its total power from renewable sources by 2020, experts say.
“But the growth of small renewable projects in towns like Tocco — not only in Italy, but also in other countries — highlights the way that shifting energy economics are often more important than national planning in promoting alternative energy.
“Tocco was motivated to become an early adapter because Italy already had among the highest electricity rates in Europe, and nearly three times the average in the United States, and it could not cope with the wild fluctuations in fossil fuel prices and supply that prevailed during the past decade.
“With its four wind turbines (two completed in 2007 and two last year), Tocco is now essentially energy independent from a financial standpoint, generating 30 percent more electricity than it uses. Production of green electricity earned the town 170,000 euros, or more than $200,000, last year. The town is renovating the school for earthquake protection and has tripled the budget for street cleaners.
“Tocco has won awards from international environmental groups for its efforts in renewable energy. But, said Mayor Zaccagnini, that is not really a strong motivation: “We’ve gotten lots of kudos from outside, but people here care more that we now have money to fill potholes.”
Here is a community that is creating its own wealth. Despite the challenges that face citizens across the globe, Tocco shows us all that it’s possible to seize control of our own destiny and create a brighter future for generations to come.
Quoted text from ELISABETH ROSENTHAL’s story in the New York Times, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/science/earth/29fossil.html