Occupy Rooftops--Community Solar Day November 20th 2011

There are two different definitions of "occupy." The first has to do with residing in a certain space-- this is a definition that we've seen from Wall St., New York to Zhengzhou, China with frustrated protesters occupying major financial districts and expressing their anger at the inequities of the global financial system. The second definition is a little different, it has to do with taking up a certain space or time. While this can be interpreted many ways, I tend to think of it optimistically as occupying a once unused space with something more positive, like solar. That's why I'm hoping that on November 20th, these two definitions can come together as a part of a broader movement to democratize capital and empower communities to create their own energy.

Wordplay aside, "Occupy Wall St." and "Occupy Rooftops" are truly part of the same movement. As one of our heros, journalist Naomi Klein, said in a recent speech to the Occupy Wall St. protesters,

"Unfettered greed has trashed the global economy. And it is trashing the natural world as well. We are overfishing our oceans, polluting our water with fracking and deepwater drilling, turning to the dirtiest forms of energy on the planet, like the Alberta tar sands. And the atmosphere cannot absorb the amount of carbon we are putting into it, creating dangerous warming. The new normal is serial disasters: economic and ecological."

Protesting this unfettered greed is certainly part of the solution. We know from the WTO anti-globalizations rallies in 1999 and the more recent Arab Spring demonstrations that protests work. But they only work if the protesters are able to show what the alternative world they envision actually looks like. Many of the anti-globalizations protesters were quickly able to show the world what sustainably and equitably produced goods look like, via Fair Trade and organic products. Arab Spring protesters were able to see the victories of protesters in other countries, beginning with the overthrow of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The question remains: what model for a better system will the Occupy Wall St. protesters show the world?

Community solar certainly isn't all of the answer--there are tax loopholes and inequitable corporate subsidies to be dealt with too, but in terms of positive actions that we can do now, without waiting on our politicians, creating solar projects on buildings in our communities is certainly a great place to start. Many of the protesters currently "occupying" are young, unemployed and frustrated with a global economy that has turned us into the so-called "lost generation." I'm one of the lucky ones who found a job but its no coincidence that I found it working for a solar company. Solar is the fastest growing industry in America and now employs over 100,000 people, far more than the U.S. coal and steel industries. Any industry that can achieve incredible growth rates during a recession and benefits the natural world, should be given full political support and viewed as the path to economic recovery.

Instead, we've had a series of frantic attempts by supporters of dirty energy to disparage the solar industry via a company that shall not be named. Despite these attempts, Americans aren't buying it, recent polling shows that twice as many U.S. citizens favor solar and clean energy than those who don’t. Since most of us agree that we support solar to create jobs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels--why not bring those benefits to our own communities by starting a community solar project? On November 20th, I plan to hold a potluck at my church where quite a few church members have expressed interest in going solar. On November 20th, where will you occupy???