The Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative
Listen here:
"It
is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is
shaped.
Each
time a man (or a woman) stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of
others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of
hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and
daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls
of oppression and resistance." Robert F. Kennedy
This is a
joint podcast of The Radical Centrist and New Hampshire Secrets, Legends and
Lore and cross broadcast on both podcasts because of the unique nature of what
PAREI has achieved and the tremendous promise that the work they do holds not
only for the state of New Hampshire but as a model for similar organizations
all across the country.
In this
podcast - part 3 of our "Beyond Carbon" series I interview Peter
Adams and Sandra Jones, Founders of what may very well be the first non profit
in the country to focus exclusively on sustainable energy and conservation.
Since their founding in 2003 a growing army of community volunteers and
environmental patriots has worked with Peter and Sandra to help others plan
their energy future. No one is asked what their beliefs are, what they drive,
their political party, who they voted for. There are open arms and open hearts
beginning with Peter and Sandra and the infectious effect of that openness and
acceptance has spread throughout not only the organization but the community.
It is one of the most important keys to their success. Another is the axiom, "don't talk . . .
do." Experiment, take risks, make
mistakes, learn from them and move on, celebrate your victories by sharing your
knowledge so that others might benefit from it all. Today as many as 150 other
communities from across America have requested the primer developed by PAREI to
form their own Energy Initiatives.
So when
Sandra and Peter and the army of PAREI began it may have seemed at times a
lonely business, but in part from their efforts, A Renewable Energy Revolution
has flowered. That Renewable Energy Revolution taking place in this country has
many points of light, to use a phrase from President George H.W. Bush, each of
them spread their warmth and illumination moving us with growing momentum and
enthusiasm toward a distributed energy future that will allow us to live
comfortably and still care for the planet and our neighbors, both humans and
critters of all shapes and sizes, or as Free Joseph says, the earth and all its
inhabitants.
To me,
Sandra and Peter are living proof that heroes and patriots walk among us every
day in our own communities. People who recognize that the changes we make here
at the grassroots are the ripples of hope that build to create change at every
level.
Now if
they were here right now, both of them would deflect the attention from
themselves to the hundreds of volunteers now engaged with them in the work of
PAREI. Of course they are right. But without the catalyst; without the stone
dropped into the pond, the ripples would not rise up.
If it
seems like I am immensely proud of my old friends, I plead guilty. How could I
not be when their work gives me such hope for the future. For as long as
citizens reach for the stars, it won't matter that our leaders are temporarily
lost in a black hole of partisanship and ideology. Time and again throughout
our history we have seen that If the people lead, the leaders will surely
follow.
Plymouth
Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI)
Solar
energy equipment supplier in Plymouth, New Hampshire
Links:
RFK
Ripple of Hope Speech
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