Hey Philippa,

Thanks for commenting   - I agree that it all can’t be green in the short term – but in the long term, I certainly see clean tech being the majority.

I agree that all available resources must be used –We are in a mess. But we are in a mess because our system is not where is should or could be technologically.  

I don’t think we, as a global community, know what we are capable of yet, in terms of innovating energy.

But what a generation of Americans is saying here is that certain methods of generation are not sustainable. While I agree with the practicality and necessity of some traditional power sources, we cannot continue to build as we always have. We cannot continue to do business as we always have.

 And as a generation, we are pro-active – and want to see a clean as possible future for ourselves and our children. Coal, while it is necessary right now to keep the lights on, is not, as it is currently used, sustainable. Even if there were a cost effective, clean way to burn coal – the issue of mountain top removal, human health, and environmental degradation stills  stands.  Coal has a long, dark history in this country. While it has made lot ingenuity possible, it has destroyed parts of our mountains, polluted our air, contributed to acid rain, made our people sick, and treated its workers unfairly.

Nuclear is clean, but its waste must be dealt with responsibly. Anything less is less than we deserve.

I personally want more than what simply “works” for me and for the children I may have one day. The goals I envision are not unrealistic, but they will take work.  I would like to see the percentage of coal as a power source and renewables as a power source in this country switch places by the time I retire.

Many in my generation lament the unsustainable mistakes of the people who came before us – the people who laid the foundation of the Industrial Revolution could have never seen the problems their life changing inventions and investments would cause. We gained so much, but we lost and ignored so much as well.

We do not have to choose between prosperity and the health of the environment and people.

 It is up to all of us to make a better future. And that is what the conference is all about.  

Thanks so much for your comment, Shinichi. A movement has been building here, but it has a long way to go. In order to really change things, we must be sure that sustainability becomes fully integrated in every aspect of the way we live – and especially in how we do business. It’s a global issue and I am so glad to hear from people like you – great biomass piece, by the way.