ABSTRACT
For eight years, people in the Thai province of Prachuap Khiri Kan have fought proposals to build two large coal-fired power plants in the region out of concern for the environmental and health impacts of the plants. When Thailand’s Prime Minister visited one possible site in January 2002, he was met by 20,000 protesters. With help from the international environmental organization Greenpeace, people of this province have begun installing what they really want—wind and solar power. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, the state legislature in California passed a groundbreaking law in September 2002 that sets a target of generating 20 percent of electricity from new renewable sources by 2017. From Southeast Asia to California, leaders in business, government, and civil society are calling for a transition to a renewable energy economy. 1
