Keith Cronin, Founder of SunHedge, published author, and renewable energy consultant, shares what the average person can do to make a difference to be more sustainable.
Tell us a little bit about you and your background:
I am a business consultant in the renewable energy space for 14 years. Prior I had a solar development company that was acquired by SunEdison (Jigar Shah’s company) in 2007 and stayed on until 2008. Focused on sustainability of the planet and companies. Co-instruct a Solar MBA course with an attorney friend for a decade. Currently in the business consulting space, I get to help companies grow organically and find the right people to accelerate their goals. You can see more at sunhedge.com.
What is a fun fact about you?
I lived overseas for 1-year in SE Asia and explored 8 countries.
Why do you think climate change and sustainability is such an important topic today?
There are more people on the planet today, than there were yesterday. Their desires to improve their standard of living, causes consumption and growth. And living in Hawaii for over 2 decades, you can see the ecological changes and there are numerous. Plastic on the beach and beaches disappearing. Burning coal and oil in Hawaii to make electricity is not the answer. Layer on my overseas experience, when you look at Vietnam, there are 100 million people. Half are under the age of 30. They want to develop fast. Just like China. We need a pathway to sustainability and there are a few ways to do this.
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
It will replace most of the fossil fuel industry. Point source energy: make and store power where you use it. Just like farming. It will create millions of jobs and trillions of gallons of clean air and water.
What can the average person do to make a difference?
Examine your mimesis. What behaviors are you doing each day that are just old habits of replicating what others do? Instead look at your own desires and ask yourself if you want or need something. Education is paramount. Know the impacts of your choices. We are not perfect as humans but we can make micro-changes.