Detail from Stepping Stones poster by Diane Schatz by Roger Pollak We are often asked why RAIN does not devote as much coverage to solar and other renewable energy sources as it used to. As the follozuing article explains, renewable-energy developments have shifted from low-tech, do-it-yourself solutions to high-tech, capital-intensive industries, which isn't exactly what we had in mind when we spoke of "app_ropriate technology." This article raises some important questions: How realistic 'have A. T. advocates been about how a transition to a renewable-energy-based society might take place? What is the rela- . tionship between technology and social change? What role will solar energy play in the creation of a society that is "durable, just, and ecologically sound"? This article originally appeared in the September 1984 issue of The Progressive. Roger Pollak has worked at the Solar Lobby and the city energy office in Berkeley, California. He is currently a correspondent for Renewable Energy News. . -FLS Cocktails in hand, hundreds of conservatively dressed men and a few women milled about Marriott's South Ballroom in Anaheim, California. Young salesmen clustered to discuss new products and to swap sales techniques. Off to the side, bankers from Chase Manhattan and the Bank of America cornered executives to talk about loans and investments. In the middle of the cavernous hall, representatives of Mobil, Arco, McDonnell-Douglas, General Electric, and .November/December 1984 RAIN Page 15 Solar Power: The Promise ·Fades many smaller companies ambled past four long tables covered with exotic cheese, dainty hors d'oeuvres, and fresh fruit-courtesy of such firms as Babcock and Wilcox, Inc., designer of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. This was the Renewable Energy Technologies Symposium and International Exposition, the most important annual event for advocates of solar power. The change in atmosphere from past gatherings was palpable. Solar energy-once-the domain of political activistshas gone corporate. In the process, the vision of an alternative technological and social ftiture powered by the suri has faded, replaced by the parochial considerations of American business. "Most people have cut their hair, and the suit and tie are in," says Jim Cullen, an energy consultant with North Star, Inc. "This is a business movement, not a political movement." . Today, many of renewable energy's leading advocates are conservatives. "I tried to organize support for bringing a Democratic candidate up here, but these guys just shupder at the mere thought," laments Paul Gipe, a former lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Sierra Club who , now works ~or Zorid Wind \ompany. "Most of these people in the business-who are making this thing work-have none of that idealism. They could be from IBM; they could be from Exxon." "The hippi'es and activists who started companies have either become more corporate or they've been
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz