Bio: Tom Cotter is a renewable energy evangelist, social entrepreneur, activist and presenter for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Professionally, Tom is Regional Sales Manager at Real Goods Solar.
Tom is Chairman and President of the International Green Industry Hall of Fame and serves on the boards of both the Solar Living Institute and Restore Hetch Hetchy.
Growing up, a significant influence was the Boy Scouts of America, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Hiking and camping in beautiful Northern California and the Boy Scouts rule: "Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it" led to a deep ecological awareness and accountability in adulthood.
A love of creation, for Tom, is not mere sentimental affection for the natural world and still less is it pantheistic worship of nature. Rather, it is the logical outworking of his love for God by caring for what belongs to God. ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ He cares for the earth, most simply, because it belongs to the one whom he calls Lord.
A deep desire to re-think, re-design and build a positive, healthy future has moved Tom to launch initiatives to educate and bring awareness to the topic of environmental stewardship. His roles as husband/father, minister, entrepreneur, manager, speaker, community organizer, and professor have provided a unique perspective on the challenges we face and the changes required to overcome them.
Tom sees the end of the era of cheap fossil fuels and key materials, coupled with rising population and anxieties around water resources, food production and harmful wastes, as clearly demonstrating the need to re-imagine our model of production and consumption. He shares an optimism that a choice to actively live as a part of the solution will bring a better quality of life and increased opportunities as it can potentially restore natural and social capital.
http://solartomcotter.com
http://presenters.climaterealityproject.org/presenter/tom-cotter_3312
http://realgoodssolar.com
http://gogreenhall.org
http://solarliving.org
http://hetchhetchy.org
