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 April 16, 2021 Making Good Things Happen One of the most pressing problems of humanity in the current century is how a growing, rapidly developing, and not yet united global population can, in a just manner, alive in harmony with the planet and its finite resources. - Universal House of
Justice
Each of us can do our part to make good things happen for the environment according to Greeley-based Bahá'í Bill Kelly, who gave a recent Friday evening Big Ideas presentation about grassroots environmental action.  Bill told the story of his family's environmental evolution from having two solar panels installed on the roof of their Texas home to celebrate their teenage environmentalist son's birthday, to a business involving several large commercial solar installations in both Texas and Vermont. He explained that after the first panels were installed, he thought they could inspire others to try using solar power by doing a demonstration project on a prominent local family's house. Along with some volunteer helpers, he and his son put a larger installation on the roof of a local minister – learning as they worked – and of course used a professional electrician to hook them to the electrical grid. At both undergraduate college and later law school, son Aaron Kelly was able to interest educational institutions in developing solar energy projects. The Kelly parents then built a large new installation in Vermont, again learning as they built it. The Kellys then developed a different kind of environmentally inspired business that offers battery replacement kits for smart phones, tablets and GPS units and have developed instructional videos to show customers how do it themselves. This kind of social enterprise helps people to extend the use of devices rather than replace them. Through slides of each step of the family's growing environmental action, Bill was able to show how people with a commitment to making a difference can start small and draw others in to make something larger happen.
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