From the American Wind Energy Association
The Greensburg Wind Farm in Greensburg, Kan., which grew out of the bold vision of townspeople who had just experienced disaster, took honors as the Wind Project of the Year in Renewable Energy World’s 2011 Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards.
To be sure, the winning project is like no other given the unique circumstances surrounding it. In May 2007, a tornado leveled Greensburg, destroying 95 percent of the town and leaving a path of devastation two miles wide. Eleven of the town’s 1,400 residents died in the disaster. The townspeople’s response to the disaster: committing to rebuild their home as “the greenest town in America.” The decision drew the attention of President Obama, who, in his first address to a joint session of Congress, said, “Greensburg … is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community—how it can bring jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay.”
Japan is now in the same position, as a country, that Greensburg was in after the historic twister. And many Japanese leaders are talking about mapping out a new future, based, like in Greensburg, on renewable energy.
In a recent address, Kaneko Masaru, a Professor at Keio University Department of Economics and a leading public intellectual and prolific author whose work has focused on political economy and public finance stated the case.
This massive crisis is bringing an era to an end before our eyes. Conceptions of the possible must rapidly shift to keep up with reality. Just as with defeat in the war, this crisis is an opportunity for a fundamental rebirth and reconstruction. The present is our best chance to formulate a “state reform plan.”
A fundamental part of this transformation is to move boldly in the direction of renewable energy. Policies to promote renewable energy hold forth the potential for sustainable growth, the promise of new technology, and the route for capital to flowing into truly productive investment. Without that kind of effort, there is little hope of a bright future for Japan.
Hopefully the US as a whole will not have to wait for economic or physical destruction to take place, before we take action.