Solar and wind have made great strides across the country. Will Trump?s budget halt progress toward a greener heartland" Abita Springs, Louisiana, a bedroom community of 2,365 about an hour north of New Orleans, is the picture of a small Southern town. The fifth-largest city in St. Tammany Parish, it?s best known for the local microbrewery Abita Brewing Company. Late last month, it also made news as the latest municipality in the country to commit to using 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.
?I hope we?re setting an example for other small communities across the country,? says Mayor Greg Lemons, who made it a point to lead by example and add solar panels to his boat on Lake Pontchartrain. ?I want people to say, ?Look at Abita Springs, a small town with a $3 million budget. They?re doing something.?? So far, the Abita Springs effort is in its preliminary stage. The town is already replacing regular bulbs with LED lights, but is also examining how to add solar panels to all municipal buildings and, eventually, include electric vehicle charging stations. It?s just a plan and a promise, but the gesture is also a symbol of the growth of renewable energy in the U.S., especially in rural areas of the country.
?I?m a Republican, but I?m not a Republican that says ?business at any cost,?? says Lemons. ?We need to be concerned about our environment and invest in our environment.?

Abita Springs Mayor Greg Lemons and the Abita Committee for Energy Sus...