As we collectively barrel toward an unknown future with dwindling fossil fuel supply, educating ourselves — and each other — about sustainable options becomes an imperative. Because there are options, whether or not the powers that be choose to acknowledge them or not. Solar, wind, hydro, biofuels, and geothermal come easily to mind and we should all be moving our lives and our communities in those directions.
That's the message conveyed by the Public Energy Art Kit (P.E.A.K.), "a large-format printed compendium of 14 posters about the challenge of tackling climate change, energy inequality, and fossil fuel dependency." The team behind P.E.A.K. wants to disperse 35,000 copies so that their message gets seen…and heard.
The images are as evocative as the information is pertinent. Here are five samples:
1. Community Power
There’s a better way: community power. Renewable energy projects can be built, owned, and operated locally. They can be designed for our needs, make use of locally available resources, and reinvest the profits into our neighborhoods – all while getting us off fossil fuels.
2. Own Your Power
We all have immense powers. One of our powers is our power of choice and it has many effects. By reading this, you choose to learn about critically important energy issues instead of ignoring them.
3. The Goddess of Greed
Conservation is part of living simply. When we buy only the things we really need, fewer materials are used up, less waste is produced, and less energy is consumed. It’s fairer for everyone today, and gives us more time to prepare for a tomorrow with fewer resources and more people.
4. The Energy Train
New products, no matter how “green” or more efficient than those they replace, require a huge energy train to come into existence. But we have choices.
5. Democracy Lubricated
The current energy reality has not grown from democracy – from what we as citizens want for us and our children – but is the result of calculated manipulation through industry-sponsored research, campaign donations, and backroom deals.
