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Lecture of Hope and Enthusiasm by Dr. Martin Vosseler
www.sunwalk2008.com
Dr. Martin Vosseler arrived at Boston Public Garden after having spent seven and a half months walking down the US roads, crossing the 3,500-mile distance from Los Angeles.
The lecture by Dr. Martin Vosseler, a sixty-year old Swiss physician, attracted almost a hundred friends of the environment at the Consulate of Switzerland in Cambridge.
What started as a passion for non-nuclear proliferation, in the 90s became for Dr. Vosseler a commitment to the promotion of solar power. In 1995 Dr. Vosseler quit his medical practice in Switzerland to dedicate his time exclusively to advocating fully renewable energy practices. In 2003, he walked from Basel, Switzerland, to Jerusalem to campaign for solar energy. And last year, he was a member of the crew of the first solar-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic.
Dr. Vosseler began his sunwalk in Los Angeles on January 1, 2008. An average day is well over 20 miles, and on some days, he clocks up to 38 miles. Despite the blisters on his feet and the fatigue weighing down his legs, his mind remains focused on his final destination, the Boston Common. The lessons learned as a physician translate seamlessly into his new role as an environmental activist. “The energy we use—coal, gas, and oil—is killing us. It’s as if our planet is suffering arterial bleeding. In a situation like this, you have one priority only - stop the bleeding!” he says in front of the absorbed audience
Dr. Vosseler met a countless number of people of all ages during his seven-and-a-half-month walk. He is fascinated with the wonderful hospitality of so many US citizens. And he hopes that the USA will take the leadership in the usage of renewable energy sources. After all, it was US President Jimmy Carter who installed solar panels on the White House thirty years ago in an attempt to sensitize the public opinion to the urgency and importance of the issue (more info).
