Renewable Energy - a Question for all of us!
Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,
Thanks to the active involvement of many thousand European citizens, the idea of renewable energy is no longer met with derision but is fast gaining mainstream acceptance. This would never have happened without the personal engagement of a great many people. In Germany for example there is an interlinked network of over 700 regional energy cooperatives which have developed their own wind turbine, solar panel and biogas facilities and financed them through personal investments and bank loans. This means they are community owned! Members run and manage the facilities and their primary objective is not profit but ecological sustainability, love for the earth and care for the living environment.
This development has been supported in Germany through the Renewable Energy Act which provides (in a similar way to the UK Feed-in Tariff) a guaranteed uptake of and payment for renewable electricity over a period of twenty years. This gave security to the investments. Due to the 2008 financial crisis however support for new projects and community initiatives suffered a sharp reduction as Governments re-directed their resources towards bailing out the banks. It is nowtime once again to raise awareness for this issue in every country of the world in order to counter the growing climate crisis.
ELIANT is taking up this vitally important theme and very much hopes that you will use your networks to disseminate this newsletter as widely as possible.
The above mentioned renewable energy projects, anthroposophical initiatives and 'green eco-projects' share a common understanding for the complex life processes of our planet. The practical outcome of this however is still far too limited. Supporters of these initiatives need to work actively together and all of us need to become more politically engaged! This will also send an important signal of hope to the younger generation.
It is particularly important to campaign for an end to the long standing subsidies - around 600 millioneach year worldwide - that go to support fossil fuel and nuclear energy! This would save a lot of moneyand make renewables instantly more competitive. Discussions with politicians need to take place aboutthis on all levels. A recent article appearing in the New York Times offered some encouragement in this direction. Even the Rockefeller Foundation announced its intention of ending its support for fossil fueland nuclear energy.
More regional independence and greater resilience is needed so that a modern and human centred way of life is made possible not only within alternative circles but also in the mainstream.
ELIANT's objective is to assist in finding new ways of living that can provide a balance to our globalised, fast moving and technology driven world and prevent the sickness of our civilization destroying planet earth. To this end we are informing ourselves about and networking with like-minded initiatives such as those listed below.
With warm greetings
The ELIANT-Team
Dr. med. Michaela Glöckler
More information on renewable energy
Transition Towns, an initiative by Rob Hopkins, UK
Triodos Renewables, a fund specifically for Renewables in UK
Written statement to Parliament: Local planning and renewable energy developments
