One New Orleans nonprofit is bringing solar to disaster relief in hopes of creating a wave of change, Reasons to be Cheerful reported.
The Footprint Project deploys solar-powered charging stations, water filtration systems, and other "climate tech" to post-disaster communities across the globe, according to the news site. For instance, the organization offered its help in Asheville, North Carolina, in the wake of Hurricane Helene — this was its biggest project to date.
Substituting clean-powered equipment for traditional systems has a slew of benefits, Reasons to be Cheerful explained. For one, gas generators are expensive and require users to continuously purchase fuel, which adds to their cost and can make users susceptible to fuel shortages. Plus, the burning of gas produces dangerous pollution that can trigger asthma attacks and respiratory issues.
The burning of gas as a fuel is one of the main culprits for rising global temperatures, which is contributing to more severe and frequent natural disasters like Hurricane Helene in the first place.
Meanwhile, solar-powered generators are just one of a number of green solutions for disaster relief. For instance, some Ford F-150 Lightning owners reported using the truck's bidirectional charging to feed their EV battery's power into their homes following Helene. A few days after the storm hit, the company announced it was offering a complimentary home charger and free installation with the purchase or lease of one of its EVs. Plus, China has unveiled a giant hurricane-proof offshore wind turbine — such technology could help power communities in the wake of future disasters.
Will Heegaard, operations director for the Footprint Project, told Reasons to be Cheerful the deployment of green tech during disaster relief could help create a wave of change.
"If we can get this sustainable tech in fast, then when the real rebuild happens, there's a whole new conversation that wouldn't have happened if we were just doing the same thing that we did every time," he told the site.
This isn't just conjecture — just take the example of Greensburg, Kansas, which became the country's "greenest city" following a deadly tornado in 2007. For instance, 10 wind turbines generate the town's energy, while many buildings sport solar panels, according to Yale Climate Connections.
"People might be against some of this stuff, but when I tell them the library I work at has no utility bills, they can't really argue with that," local resident Tim Morton told YCC.
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