the citizens of highland park knew they could not rely on their utility for support; the solution would have to come from within the community. the idea to install the first solar-powered street light can be credited to three community members working together in a church basement. this street light, financed by a crowdfunding campaign, was installed at 150 victor street. with just one street light, an idea was born. highland park community activists had caught sight of a larger vision, one of citywide, community-owned solar lighting.

in 2012, the organization soulardarity was formed, and over the next several years, the movement grew from a single initiative into an organization with the mission of lighting the city through a clean energy system developed and owned by the community. jackson koeppel, soulardarity’s executive director, admits the process was far from easy. 

“there are systemic and structural barriers to the problem we wanted to solve. corporate divestment, structural racism, and the monopoly investor-owned utility system kept blocking the solar street light solution in one form or another,” koeppel said.

as it turns out, the technology itself was the simple part. solar-powered street lights collect and store power in a battery during the day to be used at night. the installation cost of the solar lights ranges from $5,500 to $6,500, depending on the model. with maintenance expenses following installation, each light costs roughly $100 per year. traditional street lights actually cost more in both installation and long-term use because they require a connection to the grid system. instead of monthly electric bills, the largest cost of solar street lights is replacing the batteries. additionally, the electric bills for traditional street lights don’t consider the harmful environmental and health effects due to their primary power sources of coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy. 

while traditional street lights rely on energy from the electrical grid, solar street lights operate independently with batteries, so even when highland park is without power, the street lights will be shining. these lights are even able to power through michigan’s dark winters. the upper midwest is often considered inefficient when it comes to maximizing solar energy production, but these batteries are designed to store energy to supply power for five days without sunlight. michigan actually has a higher average amount of annual sunlight than germany, which has been leading the world’s solar market for years. 

while street lights are often thought of as a municipal service, it became clear this would not be the case in highland park. as long as they are acting within the city’s code and ordinances, businesses, schools, churches, and other organizations can own and manage their own street lighting. in highland park, there is a democratic membership process that allows the community to share ownership of the street lights installed by soulardarity. there are ample ways for members to engage in the program. they can join steering committees, attend quarterly meetings, or vote in elections for soulardarity’s board — which must have a majority of highland park residents.

“it takes a little more time and capacity to do things that way, but it’s important to the organization that we build leadership and create a culture of collective work and ownership of decisions — because that’s what we want the energy system to look like when we’re done,” koeppel said.

soulardarity believes energy democracy is necessary because the people most impacted by energy decisions should have the greatest voice in shaping them. the current energy system impacts the planet, health, and economy, but those who are most negatively impacted do not have the means to influence this system. energy democracy gives those communities — often lower income and/or of color — a voice in what their energy system will look like. 

environmental justice is at the forefront of soulardarity’s mission. they have a strong partnership with the michigan environmental justice coalition and advocate for structural change. they empower and enable frontline communities to own and benefit from clean energy systems.

rep. rashida tlaib, d-mich., has praised soulardarity’s years of hard work in her district. 

in a video for soulardarity’s grassroots gala, tlaib said, “nowhere more than michigan’s 13th congressional district knows what doing nothing at the government level looks like. we are among the most polluted, our children suffer the highest rates of asthma, and we face issues with corporate polluters, water quality, and utilities taking advantage of our residents every single day… soulardarity has worked to build a brighter, more sustainable future for us all through education, organizing, the expansion of solar-powered energy system rooted in energy democracy, and so much more.”

the efforts do not stop here. soulardarity continues to work on building a more just and sustainable community. they’ve supported the equitable internet initiative to come into highland park, and hope it will be a prelude to citywide wi-fi through the solar lights. they are also close to launching a cooperative energy enterprise. they continue to engage in numerous educational initiatives and support other neighborhoods with their own solar lighting. 

these issues do not just exist in michigan, and soulardarity is determined to use their success as a model for others. this past fall, they released a blueprint for energy democracy, and hope other communities can use it to initiate similar projects. 

“our goal is to make highland park a global model of sustainability and self-determination. we want to see an energy future that is safe, affordable, and democratic,” koeppel said.

in 2011, the local utility failed the citizens of highland park and left them in the dark. this is an example of one of the many effects of racial and economic injustice that has plagued the city for decades. the community-wide mobilization that followed is one of hope and inspiration. in a five-year report on soulardarity’s impacts, koeppel reflected on the work that has been completed and the hope he has for the future.

“the arc of history only bends toward justice because we take it upon ourselves to bend it,” he said. “working together, we have made real impacts in people’s lives and built an organization which i believe will not only bring light back to highland park’s streets, but power to its people — in every sense.”

lichtenstein recently sat down with us to talk about his work with esf and his thoughts on sustainability. our conversation was edited for clarity and space.

q: what does sustainability mean to you?

a: you know, when you ask that question, the first thing that came to mind are my grandkids. it is really about leaving this place better for them so that they have promise. that their future has promise. i believe it is our obligation to be stewards of this place, wise stewards of this place, but to leave it better than it was when we first came here… for me, sustainability is making sure that the environment is sound enough that life as we know it now can continue to prosper, and that includes human life. and sustainability is about being resilient and it’s about regenerating. so how can we regenerate communities? how can we make our communities even better than they are today? and that really is the human factor.

q: could you talk about the goals that the suny chancellor has for sustainability of all the suny campuses?

a: sure. those goals are not in place yet. we have a draft set of goals that… a group of us produced from a number of different suny institutions, and presented to the chancellor for potential adoption by the chancellor to all of suny, which is 64 campuses. this was only shared with her about 4 months ago and they have not (yet) been adopted. there still needs to be a lot of discussion around them to make sure that they’re really viable. we started with a document that was a menu-item list of things to choose from. they have to be phased; a lot of things in there are not going to happen overnight and really relate to major cultural and policy shifts that have to take place. it’s just like the challenges we face here at esf with sustainability: you try to tackle the low-hanging fruit first, those things that are easily achievable, start to show some results with those things, get people to buy into it. then start to take on the more difficult things. and that’s, i think, where suny is. having said that, that suny does not have formal sustainability goals, we do have a chancellor that is all about sustainability. how can we help suny with what we know, and how can they help us as we try to accelerate more on that sustainability paradigm?=

q: so what do you see as esf’s biggest sustainability goal right now?

a: well, the college operations need to be more sustainable. we need to get to 100% renewable energy… so operations, waste, waste management, recycling, there’s a lot to do. more sustainable grounds, and grounds-keeping. we still use quite a few chemicals, and we still use gasoline-powered lawn mowers; i’d like to see us move to plug-ins and things like that. so those are all obvious things. those are things we need to do on the operations side. but i would say we don’t spend enough time on the social equity piece of sustainability. we have accessibility issues for a lot of our facilities—those students and staff and faculty that are less than fully abled— if we have one of our elevators go down, which happens constantly.

gender inclusive spaces, such as bathrooms. we’re making progress, but there’s so much more that we can do. the whole social equity piece is really critical, and when people think about sustainability, they don’t think about that. but i’m working very close with our chief diversity officer, our title ix officer. i think there are gender inequality issues here still, big time across the board: student, staff, and faculty. that’s a huge focus for us. and that might not be something that we get credit for, and points in our sustainable tracking rating system. but that’s not what you do this for. sustainability is about people. that’s when you asked me about my vision of sustainability, it’s really about people and creating a more equitable space for people.

q: while i do think esf has a long way to go in terms of sustainability, i think about universities across the country that don’t even think about sustainability at all. i was wondering if you had any advice for those types of universities.

a: we have an obligation, i think, to do exactly what you’re implying here. and that is to help others come along, particularly schools that may not have any kind of environmental focus at all. we need to take christina johnson, our chancellor, and we need to figure out how to spread her message and engage with others on her message from other academic institutions. because here’s a person who has undeniable qualifications that nobody can contend. and if somebody from that stature is out there talking about this, that’s critically important. so that’s why i think if we can get these sustainability goals in place for suny, and start in new york state. start to impact the rest of the institutions in new york state that aren’t doing much in this area. then start to position suny, the largest public institution of its kind in the country as an example. and it can influence everything. so yes, we need to do work to help others. and that’s what i’m excited about.

from abroad, i watched the terrorist acts that took place in charlottesville, virginia. the irony was not lost on me as i put forth my best effort to aid the lives of brown women and children in bangladesh, funded by mainly white and developed nations like the u.s., acts of terror were being committed against our own minority brothers and sisters at home.

there are assumptions made in the states about developing countries — i know, because not only have i been privy to them from my peers, but i have committed a few myself; such as believing almost every man in these nations is sexist. but as i met and interviewed men in the villages and male union leaders, i realized many of them are supportive and active in the fight for women’s full equality in the workplace and at home.

when we are fed one narrative by the systems in power and do not take the time to educate ourselves on it, then this is the problematic narrative we act upon. our president drums up hate and utilizes fear mongering as he seeks to ban more muslims from entering the country and keep a record of muslim citizens. perhaps if he interacted in their communities or visited a country where 80% of the population practices islam, he might understand the gentleness of it.

those who are prejudiced might experience the kindness that was offered to me in a mosque, in the form of an older man extending a pastry to me, unasked, that was meant as an offering to a shrine. they might see the beauty of arabic as it is used in their art, and not the fear that many have placed on letters they do not understand. they might wake to the sound of prayers and chants drifting through the trees, and understand the truth of islam is the truth of peace. perhaps then there might not be acts of violence in the united states against those of us who are muslim.

assumptions like these are uninformed and often ignorant, but the truth is no different from the united states’s truth, and that is a message that is often lost in the global narrative.

humanity is a strange mix of love and suffering, and that is the basis of every society at some level, though each experiences it differently. for example, the exploitation of the poor is concrete everywhere.

did you know it is expensive to live in the slums? that these small houses with tin roofs take the majority of a garment worker’s salary? without a living wage, there is no rising above. a job does not equal financial security. as with america, we assume that if you work hard you can rise from poverty, but we ignore the systemic issues that purposefully keep minorities and women down economically, politically, and socially.

were a woman in the factory to seek to rise above her position, she might be met with laughter, at best. our heart goes out to her, yet we do nothing to help her sisters in the states, as women of color make typically 54% of what a white man makes. the hypocrisy of the preconceived notion is how events like charlottesville happen. we cannot turn a blind eye to injustice at home merely because we think other nations are worse off. while they might not match the united states in socioeconomic or political prowess, that does not mean we cannot learn from them and formulate a better understanding of ourselves and our duties as a nation.

after my trip to bangladesh, i fully believe the success of foreign nations is tied greatly to the “othering” of specific groups in the states, and vice versa. bangladesh is a developing country because europe, by expanding their global empires hundred of years ago, reaped the goods and benefits of the nation — rich in product and culture — raped the land, raped women, and placed economic and political holds over the people. today, they still remain under such nations as we both exploit their labor in factories with abusive conditions for cheap, and pump kilo upon kilo of natural gases into the environment, catalyzing climate change at an alarming rate.

as a particular result of developed nations’ lack of sustainability, thousands of people in bangladesh, india, and nepal have been displaced from their homes, went missing, or lost their lives due to unprecedented flooding, at rates never before experienced. the world is on the brink of a climate refugee crisis, and the united states has plans to leave the paris agreement. the fast fashion industry, which is where bangladesh makes the majority of its money, is the second greatest polluting industry in the world, utilizing 70 million barrels of oil a year and emitting 10% of global carbon emissions, according to forbes.

but what happens to these nations is not discussed in the forefront of the american political sphere, even as we face our own unprecedented hurricanes. these countries are not us, nor are they like us, so they get less coverage than if a disaster were to happen in paris, barcelona, or berlin. by extension, attacks like charlottesville happen because of a longstanding tradition to ignore racism and its perpetual existence in our country. somehow, being an american citizen still does not make a person “like us.”

we are complicit in the subjugation of garment factory workers in bangladesh, and oftentimes, fundamentally, we are no better at home. but this is the part where i tell you that these women, like women everywhere, are not weak. we can learn something from these factory women, even if we cannot speak their language.

as care and i interviewed the women at the top of an old, crumbling building and journeyed with them to their homes, and i watched hope unfurl. though we were all surrounded by extreme poverty and the women face so much adversity, the women, one of whom was named rekka, could not stop smiling and inspiring us to smile with them. the women finally had a chance to speak their truths and about what has happened to them, some fired for becoming pregnant, others facing physical and verbal abuse. they finally had a chance to tell the stories of their empowerment, and how they have found solutions through care’s programs.

though we could not communicate at all and utilized a translator, i met a woman named afrin that i now consider my friend; we spoke the language of kindness and gratitude. as i just watched the women take care of each other and their families, i saw the most concrete example of true feminism i could find. not one based on “squad goals” or another marketable trait, but one based on women of color supporting women of color, and taking a direct stand against their abusive bosses and communities, despite the disadvantages they face.

as they stand up to their employers, so can we. by focusing on the narrative that america is the best country in the world, we lose sight of what we can learn, and what we must atone for. it is our duty to stand up for environmental justice, to sexism, to racism, and to prevent something like charlottesville from happening in the future.

in 2017, the age of hyper globalization, it is time to willingly learn from our mistakes and take a note from the garment factory workers in bangladesh speaking truth to power. while there are so many other lessons i will take from bangladesh, on toxic masculinity, gender norms, microaggressions, racism, etc., that i wish i could fit into this blog, i will leave you with the image of rekka. strong, a survivor, a provider, and an advocate we can look to in our lives in america.

implications of electricity prices indicate that access is not universally affordable. for low-income households, electricity costs make up a much larger share of their budget compared to more affluent families, even though lower-income users consume less electricity on average. electricity costs account for about 5.7% of the median low-income family’s budget versus 1.9% for the average family. if an impoverished household were to adopt solar as a source of power, their funds could be allocated to more critical investments, such as education. additionally, renewable energies are particularly attractive for poor families because they have the potential to become an additional source of income if excess power generation can be sold back to the utility. the problem is these households often do not have capital at hand to finance the installation. although the government spends approximately $6.3 billion on energy costs for federally-assisted housing, these expenditures often do not include renewable energy investments.

likewise, in terms of quality, consumers do not have the capacity to dictate how their energy is produced. if i wanted to power my home without releasing billions in co2 emissions or risking the world’s next oil spill, i could install solar panels on my roof. that is, assuming i have enough income to secure a mortgage, finance the installation, and reside in a suburban setting. the reality of the matter is that most americans do not have the luxury of these prerequisites. in fact, lower income earners are more likely to be renters in multi-family buildings with deferred maintenance that prioritize other upgrades before considering renewable power.

after considering socio-economic repercussions, universal access to electricity in the united states becomes a goal our nation has yet to reach. the next question this issue raises concerns the stakeholders responsible for our energy inequality. obviously, the government plays a crucial role in implementing policy and legislation that reduce the financial hurdles placed on low-income renters. in the new era of the trump administration, attaining comprehensive energy access becomes even more of a challenge. the newly elected president has already appointed scott pruitt to head the epa, an adamant opponent of obama’s clean power plan. in the coming weeks, significant cuts are expected in the department of energy’s office of energy efficiency & renewable energy, which provided millions in funding of clean technology research and development and solar-backed programs throughout the previous eight years.

however, the government is not the only contributor to energy equity progress. utilities play an indispensable role in creating incentives for distributed power generation and cooperation among homeowners, solar companies, and technology providers. this is not a problem that offers an easy solution, but with the collaboration across private and public sectors, significant progress could be achieved for equitable energy access.