Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy
Pioneering community-owned renewable energy
Did my EV driving cause a coup in Bolivia? That’s a question too big and complicated for this space on many levels, but the point is to connect a few dots. In the consumption-driven western world, we seem mostly oblivious to dots, or at least look the other way to avoid the messy inconvenience of
Wherever your place and community may be, you need a guiding question. DO YOU HAVE A VILLAGE WIRING VISION? Whether you’re a faith community, university, city, rural community, or other community of interest, this ought to be a central organizing question. Of course AIRE’s specific focus is community-owned renewable energy, but Sister Mary Baird gives
We have an electric power problem. Of course our sustainability problem is bigger and more complex than just electricity. But, as California’s PG&E continues to be in the news (for all the wrong reasons again this year!) with it’s strategic blackouts in response to the latest climate change fueled hellscape, one wonders why we believe
I was in Mexico Beach last winter and stood in the midst of Hurricane Michael’s lingering devastation– broken glass, shredded trees, leveled houses, piles of debris, “don’t forget us” graffiti, and blue tarp band-aids. One week ago, I monitored the developments of Hurricane Dorian, having planned to be in Miami during its anticipated landfall. Once
As I’ve posted numerous times previously, we’re constantly inspired by what this group, the Poor Handmaids, are doing at the Center at Donaldson. The major renewable energy projects they’ve undertaken in a short period are impressive enough to stand on their own, but I’ve been interested in what makes it all work in a time
(This piece is as submitted to the Raleigh News & Observer and unpublished by it. This is a second version of an AIRE blog piece, with this one offering some numbers to go along with the rhetorical critique offered in the first version.) ————————————– By Steve Owen, Ph.D. and Nancy LaPlaca, J.D. A recent News
I’ve just read a chapter from a forthcoming book that I think recommends itself as necessary reading for AIRE’s project partners and anyone working toward democratic energy, sustainable communities, and humanity’s common future. I don’t intend this to be a chapter review. Instead, I want to highlight some of the key ideas in it and
Prior to Earth Day this year, I’d thought of writing a critical piece, but just didn’t make the time to follow through. But the voice in my head just wouldn’t let the thought go, whether I was out on the bike, working at the computer, or sweeping the garage. Rebecca Leber’s piece at MotherJones, I’m
Last night (aka ‘Fat Tuesday’) I said a few words at Mountain Mardi Gras, a “friend raising” event AIRE co-organized with the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country. From all accounts, the evening was as near-perfect as it possibly could have been. Our proclamation tagline was “Come hell or high water, there’ll be Mardi Gras
I just spent a few days on the Florida panhandle, where I went to see firsthand the ground-zero of Hurricane Michael at Mexico Beach. I was there 4 months to the day after Michael made its devastating landfall. Stunned. Sick to the stomach. Scary. Despair. Nothing in my experience prepared me for the sight. Standing