Puerto Rico’s climate revolution: Taking power back from the grid

By Kiara Alfonseca | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe

In the small mountainside town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, a self-sustaining community is no longer waiting for government officials to offer protection during the hurricane season.

Solar panels top houses across the region, powering a school, a fire station, and homes for the elderly. On eight acres of farmland, a local organization roasts and sells coffee beans, houses artisan goods for sale, and hosts ecotourists throughout the year.

Casa Pueblo — a group trying to break the region’s reliance on the U.S. — is to thank for the community’s growing energy independence.

“We need collective salvation, and that model of dependency upon FEMA and the government is degenerating with time, but climate challenges are increasing the risk of poten