The New York Times has a fascinating article today in the “Room for Debate” section of their website. The article centers around a number of different opinions on whether we should be looking to conserve our open space or utilize it to build renewable energy projects.

David Roberts over at Grist.org makes an excellent point in this debate. We can transcend the whole issue by simply forgoing large renewable energy farms and capture the resources right where the energy is being used. As distribute energy systems become more efficient, and as communities begin to understand the true benefits of installing these systems, we will begin to see less and less need for large transmission lines leading to mega-wind and solar farms.

Dear Friends of Emergent,

As we close the books on our second year in operation, we wanted to take the time to thank everyone who we’ve had the pleasure of working with, from the schools to the municipalities to the individuals throughout the Northeast and across the globe. Together we’ve made great strides towards our vision of an Energy Democracy where communities utilize on-site renewable energy systems to drive local economic growth and regain control of their energy future.

On Wednesday, December 2, four members of President Obama’s Cabinet will host a Clean Energy Economy Forum with youth leaders from around the country at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar , Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, and other Administration officials will reiterate the need for a comprehensive energy plan that puts America back in control of its energy future.

The forum will be webcast live at www.whitehouse.gov/live and will be open to the public through Facebook, where an innovative White House application will allow the public to watch and discuss the event live. The White House will be keeping up with the chat, taking questions, and incorporating feedback from chat participants during the event.

Definitely check it out!

The Emergent Founders were voted number 1 in BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 Competition. On behalf of all of us at Emergent, I want to thank all of you for your support.

This victory does not simply speak to the achievements that we have made over the past two years. This is a message from you to the world that we are not satisfied with the trajectory of our energy future. We will not stand for Big Energy’s oligarchical reign over the lifeblood of our economy. We must fight to regain control over our energy security. Through locally owned renewable energy projects we can build a true Energy Democracy.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2009/sb2009119_604956.htm

Thank you again to everyone for your support, and lets continue to work together to keep the vision alive.

Thanks to everyone that has supported us along the way. We appreciate your vote!

To view the profile, please visit www.bit.ly/emergenttop25

To vote for us for the top 5, please visit www.bit.ly/voteemergent

While I figure out how to post an audio MP3 file that’s larger than 2MB, please visit WJFF’s web site to listen to the radio show. The radio show is powered entirely by a hydroturbine located adjacent to the radio station building and a fairly large dam.

I’d like to thank Mr. Dick Riseling for having me on the show and introducing me to his incredible sustainably operated farm in Sullivan County, New York. Please, check out his farm’s website at http://www.applepondfarm.com/ . The farm acts as a working renewable energy education center to demonstrate that renewable energy technologies and sustainable living scenarios are practical in the world we live in today.

“Report Gives Sobering View Of Warming’s Impact on U.S.”

How do we change our ways and try and mitigate climate change?

How do we (humans) start to have less of an impact on our only home, earth?

Is the earth a finite resource? Yes. The problem is that economic theory was based on an “empty world.” Instead, we need to move to “full world” economics. The basic rule of microeconomics, that optimal scale is reached when marginal cost equals marginal benefit (MC = MB), has aptly been called the “when to stop rule”—that is, when to stop growing. In macroeconomics, curiously, there is no “when to stop rule,” nor any concept of the optimal scale of the macroeconomy. The default rule is “grow forever,” consume forever, grow, grow, grow!

Does the earth have finite material resources? Yes.

In a recent Op-Ed for the New York Times, Paul Krugman discusses the Waxman-Markey climate bill we’ve all been hearing so much about. Krugman notes that it’s not the barely passing margin the bill received but the 212 representatives, democratic and republican, who voted no. The climate change conversation should be one of whether the glass is half empty or half full; how do we address the potential dangers of human-induced climate change? Instead, almost half of our legislature refuses to acknowledge there is a glass on the table in the first place!

If you read any sort of energy or environmental news these days, you are certainly aware that  government initiatives to combat climate change are taking place from the local to state to federal level.  These laws and incentives offer great hope that renewable energy could serve a much larger portion of our energy needs in the years to come.  While large scale energy projects offer us great hope in making a sizeable impact in our energy dependence, we should not forget all the small projects that together will  make a huge change.

We have been working hard over the past few months to reduce both our costs and our carbon footprint. Here’s some of the stuff we’ve been doing