Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy
Pioneering community-owned renewable energy
By now everyone has seen some, if not thousands, of Bernie’s mittens memes. Our friend, the keenly insightful Adam Thada, up at The Center at Donaldson in Indiana adds to the fun. I borrowed the new term (“mittenology”) from Naomi Klein who has put forth a five point thesis on mittenology at The Intercept.
Note: I heard Dahr Jamail on a podcast back in the summer saying he– a brilliant, award-winning journalist and author– can’t even write in the present moment. This is a guy who went independently to Iraq to cover war up close and in the streets. Now, instead of writing, he’s immersed in grassroots mutual support
I’ve posted many times on the effort of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ at the Center at Donaldson to live their beliefs in integral ecology. Their renewable energy development agenda the past couple years is an institutional model that demonstrates how significant progress can be made with committed leadership (and here) all coordinated by
The Indiana Chapter of the American Planning Association will be holding its semi-annual professional development conference on July 30th, 2020. We mention this event because it promises to be informative in addressing an important yet, often overlooked topic– land use after solar is installed. But more importantly to us, it showcases the bold and brilliant
One of our most inspiring solar projects just happens to have a great teaching component. It’s especially relevant today, the SUMMER SOLSTICE, as a way to remind us all that we’re all part of a dynamic constant– our relationship to the sun. That’s FREE FUEL that doesn’t have to be mined, transported, fought over, used
AIRE ended a great week today, Juneteenth 2020, having had an inspiring display of solidarity in crowdfunding the Burton Street Community Peace Gardens Solar (also here and here). We’ll be installing that solar project very soon. This successful effort has me thinking about common threads. I’m hopeful more people know the critical history of “Juneteenth”
Our friend and colleague, Adam Thada up in Indiana, passed this report along to us recently dealing with the intersection of two very important things– bees and solar power. Colony collapse and the climate emergency make them important. We’re rightfully proud of his leadership on ecological relationships at the Center at Donaldson that has resulted
As has been a running thread in these coronavirus days here on AIRE’s blog, the novel virus for all its misery, grief, and social upheaval is exposing some myths. All one has to do is pay attention and use their critical lenses. Whether it’s food supply, medical treatment, or energy supply, there’s growing evidence that
Just a few days ago I posted on this great solar theatre story. The installer, Green Alternatives, made quick work of the solar installation, just as they did on Phase 2 at The Center at Donaldson. Yes, go Hoosiers! We’re loving the little town of Plymouth, Indiana. A virtual ribbon cutting may be in the
I reported last fall about a local theatre restoration project that we’d connected with through our work at The Center at Donaldson (“Poor Handmaids”). We’ll the community is making good on its vision to include solar from the get go. There were giant holes in the roof when we were on top of it last