The new posterboys of solar power? The Amish. More from New Scientist:

In Holmes County, Ohio, home to the world's largest Amish community, an estimated 80% of Amish families now have photovoltaic panels.

Despite its obvious ties to technology, the move to solar power is seen as part of the Amish way of life, with the aim to stay disconnected from the literal and metaphorical grid (minus the parts where the the panels are ordered from a big company over massive telecommunications infrastructure, produced by industrial machinery, shipped via jet, tracked, etc, etc, etc).

Apparently the adoption of electricity is partly motivated by the government requirement of lighting road vehicles (including buggies) at night. Well, that and Internet porn.

I never thought I'd be writing this on a tech blog...but...I can't...for the Earth...we should do as the Amish do! I just blacked out for a minute, but I think I'm ok. – Mark Wilson

Amish Are Surprise Champions of Solar [new scientist via digg]

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