I learned to lead by example during my training at West Point . And during my subsequent deployment I learned that leading by example is effective. The government should be leading the charge into the new world of green energy. The planet is a public good, we all benefit from Earth’s life supporting services. The destruction of the planet’s ecosystems is a shared threat. The government, charged with the preservation of our collective welfare, should lead us away from those energy sources that poison, and towards those energy sources that will renew themselves, rebuild our economy, and restore our nation to its proper position in the world, that of leader.

If the government chooses not to install solar panels on it public buildings, potentially to the public’s long term peril, I would wonder why, but I would respect that decision, hopeful that they will eventually come to understand the need for renewable energy. If the government has chosen a wait and see attitude, then let the government wait.

Individuals and Small businesses, like Nature’s Cradle, will be a lighthouse shining a path towards a sustainable future which includes energy independence for all of us. The two elegant solar panels that adorn our fag pole do more than generate clean energy for our company; they serve to remind people that there is another way forward. Solar panels belong at a Nature’s Cradle because they are beautiful. They are as beautiful as the flowers, the trees, and the butterflies; because they represent life.

Solar panels are a tribute to our ability to live in harmony with the environment. God has provided energy to his creation in the form of sunlight. Without sunlight the planet would be without energy, without life. There is no amount of fuel we could burn that would replace the sun. The sun is God’s great energy gift. And now after 2000 years of science, we are finally able to receive this incredible gift thanks to the wonder of human ingenuity. Why are we waiting to embrace what could make this planet a heaven on Earth?

The antiquated code restricting an individual’s ability to capture the gift of solar energy should be re-written to reflect the health condition of the planet. Amidst the largest environmental disaster in our history one might expect that the government would encourage its citizens to install solar panels any where they would be effective. As empathetic beings, we who use energy share the pain of the coal miners who died to provide us with “cheap” electricity. Do you every lie awake at night to wonder if they suffer needlessly? Would those same men be better of working above ground in the fresh air installing solar panels? I believe they would.

The notion that energy dirty energy is cheaper than clean renewable energy is a widely held falsehood; similar to the now defunct idea that the world is flat. The true costs of fossil fuels are not accounted for in the current model or mode of thinking embraced by those who rule this nation. In our own small way, Nature’s Cradle will demonstrate that renewable energy is more efficient in the long run once all costs are accounted for. How much is a coal miner’s life worth, or an oil rigger’s, or a pelican’s or a fish, or a soldier? Do we really understand the “cost” to the disruption, and possible destruction, of an entire ecosystem like the Gulf? And even if we possessed the metrics to measure such costs, would the energy corporations even consider them? They may not, but Nature’s Cradle does!