As news stories about the success of various renewable energy technologies have become ubiquitous in newsprint and across the web, so too has wet-blanket criticism from pundits who feel morally obligated to dispense their wisdom in the form of reality check-styled editorials.  Certainly, truth should always be welcomed by the media.  Likewise, it is always important to maintain perspective when contemplating issues as colossal as energy policy and climate change.  But are the nay-saying rebukes spawned from this “nowhere close” mentality really needed in the same frequency as success stories?  How often must we be reminded that in this journey of a thousand miles, we’ve only trod a couple steps?

In the spirit of striking a more appropriate balance, Rethink would like to promote the following good-news article about using organic waste for on-site, renewable power generation.  This LA Times story celebrates the initiative of an onion farmer who turned a $400K annual waste disposal liability into $700K worth of savings on his electricity bill.  Since the solution also burns methane for power instead of allowing the gas to leak into the atmosphere from a landfill, it takes a bite out of greenhouse gas emissions as well.  For the cynically clinical observer though, maybe “nibble” is a more plausible metaphor.

As the article admits, waste-to-energy fermentation is not a panacea for our energy challenges.  It involves heavy upfront investment and has clear limitations when it comes to scalability and public utility integration.  But the technology is viable nonetheless.  It represents one of many effective tactics for executing a larger energy strategy.

While the technology for advancing our renewable energy goals continues to develop, perhaps we can listen for a decline in the volume of pessimism as a proximal gage for progress.