Rebuilding after the Tornado: Greensburg Wind Farm
Posted by Amanda on 13 May 2010 at 4:49 pm | Tagged as: Social Responsibility
Three years after a devastating tornado leveled the town on May 4, 2007, destroying 95% of the homes and leaving a
Greensburg Wind Farm (courtesy of NativeEnergy)
path of destruction 2 miles wide, Greensburg, Kansas continues to rebuild stronger and more environmentally sustainable than ever. On April 30th, 2010 Greensburg Mayor Bob Dixon accepted a plaque on the steps of the newly rebuilt City Hall, officially recognizing the environmental benefits from the Greensburg Wind Farm and recognizing the thousands of business and individual supporters from around the country.
Our VP of Corporate Social Responsibility, Michael Dupee, was there to celebrate the dedication. Since 2003, we’ve offset our carbon use through NativeEnergy, a Vermont-based leader in the US carbon market. We have committed to purchasing more than half of the carbon offsets anticipated from the wind farm through NativeEnergy. By offsetting our carbon use we invest in renewable energy and in this case in the Greensburg communities’ green future. It is an inspiring story about the strength and dedication of the Greensburg community and we are glad to be a part of that story!
You can also read the two part blog serious from NativeEnergy on their blog as well as their beautiful shots of the Wind Farm itself on Flickr.
Pretty exciting story coming out of such a terrible disaster!
The mostly conservative residents of Greensburg (the ones that stayed or returned) reluctantly bought into the green future. They should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for bravely forging ahead into the new energy future of America. It took a LOT of guts to stay and risk their lives and livelihoods. They will be richly rewarded, while the rest of America sits back and sucks on the oil teat.