voicesfor100percent

[voicesfor100percent]

Michael D. Crain, Fort Worth City Council Member, District 3

“Repowering our lives and cities with 100% renewable energy is not only practical, it's necessary. We have the technology and capacity to source energy from the sun and wind, power sources that don't pollute the air or harm our communities. When you take stock of the benefits and drawbacks of a renewable energy transition, it becomes clear that clean energy is the future. Cities across Texas are starting to catch on, making commitments to transition to 100% clean energy, and I believe Fort Worth is next.“

[voicesfor100percent]

Natasha Harper-Madison, Austin City Council Mayor Pro-Tem, District 1

“The consequences of environmental degradation and climate change are disproportionately shouldered by marginalized communities, including African Americans, immigrants, and people on the lowest rungs of our economic ladder. For the sake of true environmental justice, we can’t afford not to embrace a rapid transition to clean, renewable energy. Existing technologies and emerging innovations are proving just how possible this vision of a better future can be.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Alison Alter, Austin City Council Member, District 10

“100% renewable energy is not only an attainable goal, but a key component in achieving net-zero and building a livable future for our communities. In Austin, TX we are committed to creating a sustainable, safe, and healthy city for all residents. With advances in technology and increasing availability of renewable energy sources, I am confident that we can achieve 100% renewables reliably and affordably.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Ann Kitchen, Austin City Council Member, District 5

“I have no doubt that shifting to 100% clean and renewable energy is feasible and necessary. It’s a matter of heart and persistence and focus - for me, the little ones in my family are all I need to remember that the world they will live in is the one we are creating today. At the end of the day - I believe that is what matters for all of us.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Ken Wilkerson, Killeen City Council Member, At-Large

“The need to immediately convert our world to 100% renewable energy sources, and continue to seek out new and more efficient ways to realize that end is, by-far, the most important challenge we face collectively. All indications show that unless we start the transition to renewable energy within the next decade, we will not only fail to meet our energy needs for the future, but irrevocably destroy our ability to live on this planet. No longer can we afford to view this issue from merely an energy-production or generational-legacy aspect. In the past, we simply asked the question “what type of world do we want to leave for our children and grandchildren” - as if we were merely negatively impacting their quality of life. Now we must start to view the delayed conversion for what it really is: the cause of an extinction-level event.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Sallie Alcorn, Houston City Council Member, At-Large 5

“Houston has been defined by the oil and gas industry for long stretches of its history, a relationship that grew the city’s economy and gave it one of its most well-known monikers: the energy capital of America. With over 2,000 energy companies and more engineers than any other United States metropolitan region, Houston is primed to lead the transition to renewable energy.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Sabino “Pio” Renteria, City Council Member in Austin, Texas

“Every passing day the impacts of climate change become more apparent than ever. Texans suffered immensely during Winter Storm Uri and our state continually faces deadly floods, hurricanes and droughts as a result of global climate change. Texas is a diverse state not only in its people, but also in its geography. I see an opportunity for our great state to be a model for diverse renewable energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower. I support the expedient transition to renewable energy. We simply cannot afford to continue on our current path of fossil fuel consumption and environmental degradation.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Ana Sandoval, San Antonio City Council Member, District 7

“Moving to 100% renewable energy is urgent, necessary, and the right thing to do. The transition to renewable energy will bring new jobs and a cleaner community for all to enjoy. Join me in protecting our neighbors from the worst impacts of climate change. Join me on the journey to 100% renewable energy.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Tim Marema, Editor of The Daily Yonder

“The regions that have historically produced energy for the United States have borne heavy external costs in the health of the environment and the workforce. Clean, renewable energy sources offer a chance to get it right this time. For that to happen, rural communities need to be at the table to help ensure that the tremendous benefits of green-energy production flow to small communities and large cities alike. That’s how we make sure we’re building an energy system that serves all of us.

Getting renewable energy production to scale requires urban and rural areas to work together. Major cities can’t meet their renewable energy needs without looking beyond their city limits. Rural areas have an economic and social interest in being part of green-energy solutions. Beyond large-scale production that can serve national markets, rural areas also need the benefits of a more distributed and clean energy grid and the economic benefits of household solar production.

Successful rural communities have always thrived on a combination of individual initiative and community support. Green energy fits that model perfectly. We can serve our own energy needs and be part of a larger production system that helps all of us.“

Check out a video that Tim and Graham Marema made called “A Conversation about Rural Solar” and an accompanying blog. 

[voicesfor100percent]

Dr. David Finegold, President of Chatham University

“When you are president of Rachel Carson’s alma mater, acting boldly for the future of life on Earth comes with the territory. At Chatham, we have made sustainability a core part of the University’s mission and something we teach to every student to ensure they are informed citizens and leaders. We started the journey toward 100% renewable energy over 20 years ago by purchasing local, Pennsylvania wind power, and were one of the original signatories of commitment that higher education institutions made to get to net zero by 2025. Since then, we have focused on generating more renewable power on our own, including at our 290KW university-owned solar system, a solar hot-water heating system for our largest dorms, one of the greenest commercial kitchens in the US that uses induction heating, and one of the largest university-based geothermal systems that provides heating and cooling for our new Eden Hall Campus, which was designed to be a living-learning model of a more sustainable future.

As I meet other leaders locally and around the world, it’s clear that the momentum toward renewable energy is growing, and not a moment too soon. To accelerate our progress, it is vital that higher education institutions not only demonstrate that moving toward 100% renewable energy is possible and beneficial – generating major savings in energy costs each year -- but also that we create partnerships with industry, government and non-profits to create the innovations and build the workforce capabilities needed to help us reach this goal as a nation and beyond.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Christine Knapp, Director of the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability

“On behalf of Mayor Kenney, I'm proud to be supporting Philadelphia's efforts to move to 100% renewable energy as a way to create a healthier and more just city. Climate change is already harming our city, and communities of color and low-income communities are more likely to be impacted by heat waves and storms worsened by climate change. Expanding our use of clean energy is not only a cost-effective strategy for reducing carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, it also helps to reduce air pollution, makes energy bills more affordable, and creates economic opportunity for our residents. Between our municipal power purchase agreement for a 70MW solar facility and our Solarize Philly program, investments in solar energy are creating jobs and opening career opportunities for residents. We're committed to continuing the growth of renewable energy with a focus on ensuring that marginalized communities benefit from these efforts.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Bill Stoddart, Founder and President of North Fork Financial

"Somehow, we've gotten wrapped up in the politics that shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy is a choice between economic prosperity or ecological survival. In reality, this is a false dichotomy, representing our need to simplify our decision making and frame decisions as yes or no, black or white, always or never. The shift to 100% renewables will take planning and time, as well as deliberate intention. It is as much an engineering problem as it is a discussion of our commitment to honor the gift of Creation and demonstrate our respect for the places we call home as well as our family, friends and neighbors. Transitioning to 100% renewable energy is also acknowledging the legacies of our ancestors while living up to our commitment to future generations to leave the world in better condition than we found it."

[voicesfor100percent]

Bob Harvie, Bucks County Commissioner

“Before becoming a County Commissioner I was a local elected official and also taught high school. In my Geography and Global Studies classes I always stressed the role climate change is playing in our lives and the importance of alternative energy for our future. Many years ago, as a local elected official I helped bring to our community one of the largest solar farms in the nation and introduced steps to make our local government more environmentally conscious. ‘Think globally, act locally’ has been a slogan of the environmental movement for decades. As local governments we have an obligation to take the actions necessary to move our communities and our nation to 100% renewable energy. That’s why Bucks County is actively pursuing ways to expand alternative energy usage throughout the County.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Sylvia Panek, Financial Advisor at Natural Investments, LLC

“A habitable planet for our children's children depends on our ability to act now. Supporters of 100% renewable energy who continue to fund "some" fossil fuel extraction in the interim miss the point. The bigger the boat, the longer it takes to turn around, and the world has already failed to stay below 350 ppm in carbon emissions years ago. As we sail into the 400’s, this is not a time for half measures, especially in the capital market upon which fossil fuel companies heavily rely on to finance the processing of "goods" that are increasingly difficult to extract in cost-effective quantities compared to their renewable counterparts.

This is why Natural Investments encourages all of its clients to have fossil fuel free investment portfolios. Better yet, putting a hard brake on the financial pipeline for fossil fuels and diverting those funds to clean energy technology will spur a new age of innovation and economic growth in its wake. It's an approach made more important in the economic losses resulting from the global pandemic.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Dara Bortman, Co-Founder of Exact Solar

“Solar energy is now the cheapest energy ever created. And, the technology used to create solar energy will continue to get less expensive and more efficient - that's the nature of technology.  With no fuel costs ever - no volatile costs for exploration, mining, extracting, transporting, or burning - the price gap compared to traditional, fossil fuel based energy will continue to get larger. It is already less expensive in some cases to build and produce energy from a completely new grid-scale solar array than to get energy from an existing fossil fuel power plant. Think about that - it's already a waste of money to continue investing in maintaining, let alone building new, fossil fuel infrastructure. That's the reality we need to help policymakers and investors realize.  

Another thing about these numbers - they don't take into account the fossil fuel subsidies embedded into our existing system - billions and billions of dollars of our taxpayer money hidden in the numbers and propping up these dying industries artificially. Renewables are competing even with these long-standing subsidies in place. Without these subsidies, coal would have been dead long ago, unable to compete  in the competitive energy markets. Other fossil fuels wouldn't be far behind.

Also not included in these numbers are the trillions of dollars in societal damage caused by burning fossil fuels. How much is clean air and clean water worth? How much is each life lost to compromised health from dirty air worth? These things may be hard to quantify, but the value of lost or damaged property from rising seas, harsher storms, more frequent wildfires, pipeline spills, and more are easier to put a value on.  These trillions of dollars are the cost of inaction - the cost of business as usual that we as a society are already paying (and that the fossil fuel companies are casting onto us while spending billions on lobbying that manipulates climate science and influences the creation of policies that keep the playing field tilted in their favor).

We already have the technology today to run the world on 100% renewable energy.  And we're finding that, contrary to expectations, integrating clean energy into our country's grid is creating a more resilient and secure energy system and cheaper energy.  And doing nothing isn't free.  In fact, the status quo is dangerous and expensive.

As co-owner of a local, solar installer, I've been proud to help our neighbors reduce their carbon footprints and help with the transition to a cleaner energy economy.  We know that clean energy jobs are the fastest growing, well-paid jobs in the US and we're proud to provide our employees with a living wage that supports their families and allows them to thrive.  We see that transitioning to 100% clean energy isn't only possible, but it gets more and more affordable and necessary every day.

And as a board member of the American Solar Energy Society, I see that a transition to 100% clean energy is a true win-win-win - a win for our health and economy - a win for jobs and people - and a win for clean air and clean water.   I am committed to keep fighting to make that transition as fast, efficient, and equitable as possible. I'm optimistic that we are on the right track to do it.”

[voicesfor100percent]

Andrew and Susan Bellak, CEO and Director of Marketing & Public Relations of Stakeholder’s Capital

"It is both deeply gratifying and inspiring to witness the exponential growth in investment in renewable energy. We are honored to direct our clients' capital towards an increasing array of choices and they understand that investing in clean energy is not just the smart choice, it is imperative if we want to limit the effects of climate change on our world. Thank goodness we have new political leadership in the USA who is making addressing climate change a high priority."

[voicesfor100percent]

James Moore, Co-President of SunCommon

"We can do this, and we must. 100% renewable energy is within our grasp, we just need to grab it and not let go until our hard work is done."