The Island in the Wind: A Danish Community’s Victory over Carbon Emissions

"Once people on Samsø started thinking about energy, a local farmer explains, “it became a kind of sport.”

That is a line from a recent New Yorker article that a reader pointed out to me. It is a line that, for me, provokes a little more thought. How many of us think about something to the point where it becomes a challenge to our minds. Can renewable energy and energy efficiency ever be that something? It certainly has been gaining a lot of traction in the traditional media and even to a greater extent within the mainstream media (i.e., the blogs!).

The article itself, written by Elizabeth Kolbert, is a wonderful read. From the beginning we are immersed in this community in Denmark and are led to discover how the determination of a few people can become infectious and translate into action. It gives me hope that Al Gore's proposal of all of our electricity generation from renewable sources in 10 years is completely possible, if we just put our minds together.

For the longest time I haven't heard the phrase uttered, "You can do it, if you put your mind to it." When's the last time you heard it? I miss that America. I think she's ripe for a new challenge. A challenge that will take collective brain power and will power, and most importantly, a suspension of disbelief.

Renewable energy is right. Right economically, politically, and environmentally. Now all we have to do is act. Do we want to sit and wait for gas prices to go through the roof to the point where we can't afford to drive to work or to school or to the grocery store? Or will we put our heads together and find another way to transport ourselves that is cheaper and kinder to the environment and uses renewable sources?

So read the article and let me know your thoughts. I think we can do it. What say you?