Just revealed in a new study, the billionaires in America increased their already staggering wealth by another $2.1 TRILLION (yes, trillion dollars) just during the 19 months of pandemic [2]. The report reminds readers that these uber-wealthy few pay little to no taxes to contribute to the betterment of society. The loss, suffering and struggle many have endured during that time is merely a shrug and indication that they’re bought in to human disposability I reckon. Contrast that with arduous, yet joyful efforts to install solar projects at important community institutions like churches, gardens, schools, cooling centers, health and hunger facilities and the like. Yes, places like Pearson Garden.
We were able to get solar panels for Pearson a while back, and are working to get more now. A great crew came out back in August to design and install the ground mounted racking. They’ll share their newly acquired “appropriate” technology knowledge and experience with other projects. Once up and running the solar will power a food cooler and greenhouse heat.
The Asheville Bread Festival generously donated funds to help Pearson acquire other materials needed for the installation. In a time when scraping by for the many is in stark contrast to the mind-boggling wealth accruing to a very few, one has to admire folks who make projects like Pearson Garden work; who help “make a way out of no way.”[3]
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[1] My hat tips to DeWayne Barton, the artist, educator and visionary behind Burton Street Community Peace Gardens and much more, for a better understanding of this phrase. I knew it historically as deriving from the time of Emancipation and later by the late John Lewis, but DeWayne uses the phrase and knows it from a truly remarkable source. His grandmother often repeated it, as he recollects, as a way to remind and inspire him that we all have to strive and struggle for good.
[2] The report was co-authored by the Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies. Commondreams has a synopsis here.
[2] Related to Pearson Garden and purpose it serves, we want to continue to support the projects at Burton Street. It’s been a difficult year for fundraising but recently the Green Built Alliance in Asheville committed funds from its Appalachian Offsets program to get us almost home on Burton Street Phase 2 with the St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church solar project.