The Good News Ripple Effect Impacting the World of Green Energy

I want to discuss the real impact Good News can have on our lives, and then follow up with some recent developments in Renewable Energy that illustrate the measurable progress we’ve made and continue to make toward a better world.

As End, or Means, or Both

People often think of Good News as a rare extravagance, or even worse, they consider it less relevant to us than the problems of the day, a kind-of nice-to-have. I’d like to suggest that it’s more than that: Good News isn’t just something to make us feel better, but a means to shaping our future.

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That admittedly is a lofty claim, but it has a logical basis. These days, big changes are happening in our world–globalization, cultural and social issues, new technologies, and all the resulting environmental impacts.

People struggle with change, especially when they have a stake in it, and yet it’s exactly when we have a stake in it that our response matters most.

From Humanity to the Individual

If you think about it, humanity’s solutions all arise from our responses to the issues. Our best responses have sometimes come from a new idea or the actions of courageous individuals; and these in turn have led to brand new technologies, grass-roots movements, changes in corporate or government policy, or an overall change in the perspective of a nation. It is because our reactions and interactions are so integral to our societal behavior that they have such power to move us either forward or backward.

But world-changing ideas and great courage have historically appeared when opportunity has called for them.

Can we really just decide to have more breakthroughs without the impetus of impending crisis? There had better be a way or we’re in for an even more dramatic future.

A Taoist saying advises, “Do the great while it is still small.” After all, it’s not efficient to respond only after an emergency has set in. That makes for heroes, but also for a great deal of loss. Still, what is meant by “the great” if not the issues of the day, and how can anyone say they are “still small”?

Good News in Renewable Energy

To put all this theory into practice: let’s talk about some recent efforts to shift toward renewable energy.

For starters, the facts now show that renewable energy is both economical and effective. You often hear that renewable energy doesn’t scale, either economically or demand-wise – but the reverse is true:

Some statistics in the UK help to set the record straight:

• In 2014 UK carbon emissions fell 8.4%, while the economy grew 2.6%
• UK renewable energy accounts for 20% of all energy usage
• UK coal-fired energy fell 23% in 2014

(SEE more statistics in the article at Conservation Biology Institute)