It might be fun to be part of the largest human wind turbine ever this coming Sunday at the Blue Green Alliance Green Jobs Rally at St. Paul College. The rally is from 1-4 p.m. with the wind turbine being formed around 2:40 p.m. Jim Hightower, always entertaining and thought-provoking will be speaking.

Let's say you are flat-out opposed to the notion that human activity is warming the climate. Then there's no need to shut down any coal plants, right?

Do you wonder sometimes about situations where serious conservationists and/or advocates for local control and democratic process butt heads with renewable energy enthusiasts who, in their concerns about climate change simply want to get converted to renewables as fast as possible?

In January 2007, Windustry, along with Twin Cities Public Television and Erika Johnson, released NEW ENERGY, a half-hour documentary that tells the story of how wind, biofuels, and other renewable energy technologies are contributing to the region’s energy security, economic sustainability, and integrity of our natural resources.

As new ways are discussed to reduce our collective carbon footprint in the United States, a recent article in The New Yorker highlights a small island in Denmark that is living the reality of being completely carbon-free.

Through the diligent efforts of many people over an extended period of time, community wind energy has become a favorably recognized concept in the upper mid-west, with a number of concrete examples of successful projects already in evidence. Still, this brand of wind energy production is unfamiliar in many other parts of the United States.

"You can feel the flow of benefits," Malcolm Bridge says, adding that private wind-farm developers might have more success if they found ways to allow local residents to invest in their ventures.

Part of my work at Windustry involves media searches for articles related to community wind. While most of the news is local (North America anyway) every now and then something turns up regarding
international efforts to provide avenues for local economic engagement with commercial-scale wind energy development.

OK - So really hard-core environmentalists have often gotten theoretically derogatory names - like Tree Hugger.