The Solar and Wind Expo helps Tsunami victims

Our hearts go out to the people of Japan who late last week suffered enormous losses at the hands of one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded and which sparked a massive tsunami wave that deepened the agony. We stand together with our government in committing to help in any way we can. Please go to the American Red Cross special website to make any donation you can to help feed and clothe the survivors. We are working with the Red Cross to provide a special collection area at the Solar and Wind Expo for donations to the victims and will soon have a link on our own website for donations.


The news coming out of Japan is horrific. As if the damages from the earthquake and tsunami aren’t enough, there is now the specter of indeterminate, long term and worldwide damage from radiation seeping from one of the country’s nuclear power plants. This very real threat has naturally put a spotlight on the woes of nuclear energy.

All of us as proponents for clean energy should educate ourselves in all the ways that clean energy can help prevent unnecessary hardship to communities around these power plants. But radiation can damage not just the surrounding areas. A naval warship floating one hundred miles from one of the Japanese nuclear power plants had to move and is now on scrub down mode as a result of high radiation levels.

The fish that we eat, the air that we breathe, the land that we cultivate and the environment that we live in are critical to our survival and well-being and can’t be left to chance. The organization Beyond Nuclear has a wealth of information about the downside to nuclear. I was mesmerized by some of the issues surrounding this form of power. The plants can be as safe as they need to be, but the waste will be a threat forever. No wonder Nevada and other states refuse to have that stuff dumped in their backyard. Even France, who continues to claim that they have perfected this form of energy, is actually dumping it in Siberia. As Linda Gunter of Beyond Nuclear put it, “You can actually see the Siberian nuclear waste site on Google Earth.”

It’s a shame that the public needs a constant reminder that clean energy is the real deal, here and immediately available. Those reminders almost always cost pain and agony for someone. But I know that we are all up to the challenge and will continue to do our part to point these shortcomings out, to continue to expand the clean energy market so cost becomes a non-issue, and to lobby to grease the wheels of congress. To me there is no lack of reasons to feel good about clean energy.

Make it happen!