In June 2007 the U.S. Senate, encountering opposition from Republicans, meekly abandoned all support for renewable energy. The will of a majority of Americans was soundly trounced.

How can we prod our so-called “Leaders” into catching up with the people they pretend to lead?

Advocacy advertising is one proven answer. At Avenging Angels, that is what we do for a living. Here are 8 ways provocative advertising can help renewable energy win the national debate over our energy future:

1. REFUSE TO LET SOLAR AND WIND BE RELEGATED
TO BOUTIQUE ENERGY STATUS.

Bringing up the rear of a long catalog of energy solutions which begins with “Coal, nuclear, natural gas…” is not a victory for renewables. It is defeat. We must not accept a “boutique” status for solar, wind and tidal energy. These technologies must be seen as the cornerstones of our long-term national energy policy.

2. INVOKE COMMON SENSE: WOULD YOU REJECT A CURE FOR CANCER BECAUSE IT COSTS MORE THAN A FUNERAL?

Most Americans recognize that the life of our planet has a value that can’t be measured in dollars. Three out of four Americans are perfectly willing to pay more for renewable energy. Besides, the economics are moving inexorably in our direction. As the dollar cost of conventional energy mounts, the environmental cost becomes inexcusable. We can make “Penny Wise, Planet Foolish” an untenable position.

3. EXPOSE FALSE SOLUTIONS.

Coal-to-liquid, corn-to-ethanol, another nuclear renaissance—all of these are bad ideas whose time (their lobbyists would have us believe) has come. We need to expose the fallacies behind these false solutions. We need to expose the hidden subsidies that make conventional energy affordable. We need to expose the insoluble problem of nuclear waste. We need to ask Americans: Do they really want their children to live in a world where fuel is more precious than human life?

4. DEFEND OURSELVES. LIES UNANSWERED BECOME TRUE.

As in politics, an unanswered charge repeated over and over again soon passes as truth. Canards like “Wind turbines kill an estimated nine million birds each year” eventually morph into conventional wisdom. Advocacy advertising provides the industry a platform from which to clear the air of misinformation and disinformation.

5. SPEAK CLEARLY. BETTER WORDS WILL HELP.

Solar and wind too often get tossed into a grab bag sloppily labeled “alternative fuels” or “renewable fuels.” We need to choose our words more carefully. Muddy language clouds the beautiful distinction between solar/wind/tidal energy and the fuel-burning technologies they replace. Solar, wind and tidal power convert natural flows of energy into electric power. There is no fuel required. There is nothing to burn. This is the essential distinction we must make clear.

6. WHEN THE PEAK OIL CONTROVERSY BURSTS INTO THE MAINSTREAM, BE READY!

If you think Americans are worked up over global warming, just wait until it dawns on them that the world is running out of oil. (A major oil company, Chevron, is already hinting at this in its TV ads.) When that happens a lot of really bad ideas will be rushed into play. We must win the argument for solar and wind before peak-oil panic overwhelms rational debate.

7. CAPTURE THE VISUAL MAGIC OF SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY.

Unforgettable images and pro-vocative language are the tools we use to bring ideas to life. These tools have been seriously neglected in existing advertising for solar and wind energy. Avenging Angels intends to correct that.

8. PUT SOLAR ENERGY ON SUPER BOWL XLII.

In 1984 Apple invested the sum of $1.6 million to broadcast the “1984” commercial on the Super Bowl. That is how they intro-duced the Macintosh computer. It is safe to say that for Apple, nothing has ever been the same since. This is exactly the kind of media breakthrough solar energy needs today. Avenging Angels believes national renewable energy advocacy groups should set and meet this goal: Put solar energy on Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008.

TECHNOLOGIES THAT BURN NO FUEL
THE NEW ENERGY LANDSCAPE

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