Check out the Danish island of Samso, an island known for its strawberry picking, potatoes, and the tiny little fact that they are completely Carbon Neutral. This island of roughly 4,000 residents has completely wiped away its carbon footprint by using a combination of wind & solar power and biofuel.
100% of their electricity comes from wind power. Everyone on the island owns a turbine or is a share holder in some turbines and on top of the domestic turbines, they have an offshore windfarm. 70% of the island's heat comes from solar power and biomass energy, and they are working to get that up to 100%.
This all started back in 1998 when the island set out on a project to produce 100% of their energy from renewable energy sources. That's a big undertaking that some scoffed would take much longer than 10 years, yet they were able to achieve this 10 year goal in 5 years.
Check out the next page or a great Samso Gallery and some more info...
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This almost sounds like a fairy tale, and it goes to demonstrate that all we have to do in order to solve our eco problems is commit to making a change. Samso appears to be a gorgeous place to live, and is setting a great example. Hopefully this will inspire larger countries to develop green initiatives.
well it would be nice if but it’s not carbon neutral (i guess) since the production of solar power panels and wind turbines normally uses conventional power – not carbon neutral.
Great article, beautiful pictures, thanks.
You should change “it’s” to “its” in your first sentence.
Thanks for the correction Brendan!
Oh if we could all live like this life would be MUCH better. It looks gorgeous! Hopefully someday I’ll get to visit.
Why is the United States the last in all of this? We really need to step it up, everyone is doing more for the planet than us it seems.
I think this has to be the coolest island in the world. I am mighty impressed. Please take some initiatives to send out this information to the rest of the developed and developing world. PLEASE.
Cheers
The best thing and the best people that have happened to this planet. The entire nation needs to get an equivalent of a noble prize
The people of Samso are truly inspiring and so is the government of Denmark. Thank you for spreading the word.
I interviewed Sim Van der Ryn, a leading ecological architect, this week and the subject of Samso came up as a great example of local cooperation for the greater good.
You’ll find the Sim Van der Ryn interview at http://greenbydesign.com.
Thanks for the correction Brendan!
How wonderful to see a whole community setting such a great example to the rest of the world!