Eternal Sunshine of the Solar Kind - Dwell Blog

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on the disturbing trend of timber thieves. Not the milled and palleted kind of timber, but the shady sort: living trees. In a sad commentary on our country’s ecological state of affairs, thieves have decided to forgo the usual stash of jewels, televisions, and silver tea sets in lieu of walnut, cherry, and chestnut.

European and Chinese demand for American hardwoods has driven up the price of timber, setting off a number of disturbing incidents across the country—an Arkansas state forest was pillaged for its pine in recent weeks, a number of old growth Maple were stolen from a Vermont farm, and a public park in Flint, Michigan, was robbed last month.

More than a disturbing sign of the times, the trend highlights the need for a tangible strategy for alleviating our environmental crisis. Public service announcements and impassioned pleas may not affect a watershed of change, but putting a price on our natural resources motivates the masses. Large-scale incentive programs have been implemented with great success in places like Germany, who only has a sixth of our population and a fraction of the sun, but double the solar sales of the United States.

Smaller city governments are picking up on the trend—San Francisco recently announced an ambitious solar subsidy program. The key to progress may not lie within any mysterious methodology, but in our degree of legislative commitment.

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Posted by: Christopher Bright on Jan 23, 08 at 03:49 PM PST