There's the coolest story on the news today. It seems a little town in Italy, pop. 200 or fewer, gets virtually no sunlight between the dates of November 11 and February 2. It lies in a deep valley surrounded by steep mountains. The citizens, many of whom are elderly, sit huddled in their homes til spring. It's cold and dark outside all winter. It's been this way forever. Pretty bleak, eh?
So the mayor developed an initiative and spent 100,000 euros, I believe that's about $150,000 US, to build a 416 sq ft mirror on top of one of the mountains. With the help of a computer and remote control, it tracks the sun, and sends light down into the town square.
They raised the money from local citizens and a local bank. Now the old folks can sit on a bench in the town square and chat.
What a story of hope! Of inspiration! I don't know that I would have thought of this. So often the forces of nature seem to me to be insurmountable, and here these folks just decided to grab some sunlight and reflect it down on their town. Very, very cool. They say towns in Canada and the US are contacting them to learn how to copy it for their own towns.
I hope to remember this story next time a situation seems insurmountable to me.
Here's the link in case I missed any details:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061218/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_italy_mirror
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