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| Warren McKenna of FEC photo:presscitizen.com |
Warren McKenna, the Manager of
Farmers Electric Coop
in Kalona, Iowa is a soft spoken fellow. However, it only took one
sentence to bring an auditorium full of solar installers and electrical
contractors to their feet for a standing ovation.
After a full day of presentations from state and local leaders on
solar energy at the Iowa Solar Installers Summit in 2009, McKenna
presented on a panel along with representatives of investor-owned and
municipal utilities. When McKenna took to the podium, he smiled,
cleared his throat and said, “Well, I don’t have a powerpoint
presentation. But I DO have a feed-in tariff!” The crowd roared with
approval.
Since 2008, Farmers Electric Coop (FEC) has been a national model for
utilization of solar. The tiny, 650 person cooperative electric utility
serves customers in the heart of Amish country and is the states oldest
electric utility, but despite its long history, FEC is leading the way
into the future. McKenna’s savvy, cost-effective approach to providing
clean, locally produced power has caught the attention of much larger
utilities across the country, and his start-small, pay-as-you-go
business plan has proven to be a hit with co-op members as well as the
solar industry.
read the entire article at
solartribune.com
There
is not a power tool that I am afraid to conquer!! Including… a sewing
machine? Yes, it is true! Clothing construction is not that different
from furniture construction, home construction, or any other type of
construction. I am putting together something that everyone needs to
use. I know how to measure, layout, cut and join materials. Sewing
requires a great deal of technical proficiency and craftsmanship. The
question is, why do so many men, even now, in the 21st century, still
consider sewing “women’s work?” [Read more…]
I recently picked up a great book from a used bookstore. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
by Matthew B. Crawford is a fabulous book about what it means to be a
person who works with their hands. Ironically, before I was finished,
the hardcover edition from Penguin Books began to fall apart. So much
for quality construction! A large section came loose in the middle, and
then became completely detached from the spine. I’m faced with one of
the modern dilemmas that Crawford points out in his book. Do I keep
reading the book, letting it slowly fall completely apart? Do I simply
throw it away and buy another copy? Or, maybe download an electronic
version to my smart phone, perhaps? No, Dammit! I will fix it!
68-year old Ra Paulette spends his days alone with his dog, deep inside a
cave, carving the walls into abstract shapes. When he gets paid, he
charges $12 an hour. He uses no power tools… only basic hand tools. And
he says he is having “…the time of my life.” So… he’s crazy, right? In
the words of the great Jimi Hendrix, “You have to go crazy and be crazy.
Craziness is like heaven.” Crazy or not, for 25 years, Paulette has
made it his life’s mission to encourage “spiritual renewal and personal
well being” through the transformation of solitary caves into temples of
beauty and environmental consciousness. In the sandstone caves of the
New Mexico desert, the self-taught sculptor and architect carves
amazing, transcendent spaces, full of light and the celebration of life
on earth.