My prize solar panels have been in operation now for nearly 18 months. Although they are fairly inconspicuous (you have to crane your neck or cross the street to see them on my 3rd story roof) they are an idealist’s dream addition to my small urban Portland yard.

I first heard about the Water Missions International project while I was having dinner with my friend Ben Santarris from SolarWorld last year. He was telling me about this charitable group that SolarWorld had developed a strategic partnership with and about a 100-kilowatt project that the company wanted to build at Water Missions’ new headquarters in Charleston. S.C.

Work has begun on one of the largest solar arrays in South Carolina -- to power Water Mission International’s world headquarters in Charleston. It’s exciting news that, when I think about it, translates into thousands of lives that are going to be saved.

The town of Centro Union Aucayo, on the banks of a creek in the Amazon River valley of Peru, clearly needed safe drinking water. An earlier effort by a previous non-profit organization had created water infrastructure, including a run-down water tower with a distribution network and water-tap stands throughout the community.

After a 30-minute boat ride down the Amazon River from the city of Iquitos, Peru, we reached the entrance to a tributary creek that would take us the village of Centro Union Aucayo. During normal times, navigating this winding creek through the Peruvian jungle would be easy, but these were not normal times.

From high-end eco architects to the modern handy-man, attendees were embracing the technology of SolarWorld modules and were actively seeking engineering know-how on the subject. The show was jam-packed with panel discussions, demos, interactive exhibits, shopping opportunities and lots to look at. As I walked the floor, I noticed that SolarWorld was the only American solar panel manufacturer at Dwell on Design, the biggest modern design show on the West Coast.

Being a goal-oriented person who prides himself on pushing beyond pain and discomfort in order to achieve goals, it was a tough reality for me to face having to drop out short of the finish line in my first attempt at completing a 100-mile foot race. It was dark and nearly moonless and I was alone ascending the third of four big climbs in the race when the deep cough I’d been fighting for the last three days was first accompanied by a metallic taste.

For those of us that were born at the close of the 20th century, the problems of the past are ours to address. If we do not learn from them, we will set ever worse problems for the future. One way to transform our society is to begin incorporating sustainable energy and the next generation of technologies to increase productivity, provide economic vitality, incorporate social responsibility and lessen our impacts on the global environment.

FIRST Robotics (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), is an international high school robotics program and competition. Each year, student teams have six weeks to build a robot from scratch to accomplish a designated challenge. This year’s challenge was to shoot basketballs through hoops of various heights. The teams designed, built and then put their creations into competition to see how they stacked up against world-wide competitors.