The Vatican Goes Solar!
Vatican City has just installed 2,400 photovoltaic solar panels on the 5,000 square meter roof of Nervi Hall where popes hold general audiences when the weather is poor. Since he was elected in 2005, Pope Benedict has drawn attention of the faithful to “the unbalanced use of energy” in the world and has remarked that environmental damage is making “the lives of poor people on earth especially unbearable.”
The solar panels were a donation by the German companies SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology that will power the Nevri Hall when it is use and feed the Vatican City main power grid on off hours. So when I asked you all to consider donations to your church in the form of weatherization and energy efficiency, I wasn’t exactly thinking about a $1.6 million dollar solar array. But, if you have the means then I’m sure you will find someone willing to accept it….
As much as this is a symbol of environmental change, it also highlights what I find to be the most important part of the new green movement and that it is an investment in lowering our energy costs. Beyond just being good stewards of the earth for those who come after us, it is essential to rebuild our country into a more efficient, cheaper place for all of us to live.
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