For Eric Larson and Geeta Dash, the path to supporting Fresh Energy started with personal climate action. Over the years, they took significant steps to reduce their household’s carbon footprint — reinsulating their home to nearly double its efficiency, installing solar panels, and transitioning through multiple hybrid vehicles to their current electric vehicle. But they came to realize that individual actions, while important, weren’t enough to create the scale of change needed to mitigate climate change.
“As we thought about what else we could do, we realized that individuals can only do so much,” Eric explains. “It’s really effecting policy change that will make a bigger difference in minimizing our nation’s use of fossil fuels and their corresponding emissions.”
The two first learned about Fresh Energy when they heard Managing Director of Science Policy J. Drake Hamilton speak at their church. After being donors for several years, they decided to increase their support by joining Fresh Energy’s Power Circle in 2024, recognizing that supporting policy work was the logical next step in their climate journey.
Eric and Geeta are most excited about Fresh Energy’s comprehensive approach to clean energy advocacy. “We love what Fresh Energy is working on,” they shared, highlighting our work on everything from building codes to sustainable aviation fuel. They particularly appreciate Fresh Energy’s focus on making the economic case for clean energy solutions.
“We want to create a clean energy future that helps the economy and elicits buy-in from people of all political persuasions,” says Geeta. Eric adds, “We love the idea that you can make the economic argument that you can save money by making these changes to clean power. We’re really excited about the future and what Fresh Energy is planning and doing, the work at the Capitol, and the voice you bring to legislators and industry.”
For Eric and Geeta, supporting Fresh Energy is about creating a better world for future generations. “It’s for the survival of our offspring, and the generations and generations to come,” Geeta explains. Eric emphasizes the urgency of their support: “Right now, we can already see the negative effects of planetary warming. We’d like to see a better future where the warming of the planet slows down and reverses, where we use more environmentally-friendly sources of energy, and find ways to make this economically viable.”
When asked what they’d say to others considering giving to Fresh Energy, Eric’s enthusiasm is clear: “Besides ‘do it!’? We really respect Fresh Energy’s integrity, the intellect behind the policies and activities, and the focus on bringing clean energy to Minnesota. Of the local organizations, we don’t know of any that we feel more strongly in support of than Fresh Energy.”
You can join Eric and Geeta in supporting Fresh Energy’s critical work by becoming a Power Circle donor today. For more information, please contact Meggie LaValley at lavalley@fresh-energy.org.
