Michael Sladek
Michael Sladek | |
|---|---|
 Sladek in 2010 | |
| Born | 1 October 1946 Murrhardt, Germany |
| Died | 24 September 2024 (aged 77) Schönau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Schönau Power Supply Company |
| Spouse | Ursula Sladek |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | |
Michael Sladek (1 October 1946 – 24 September 2024) was a German physician and environmentalist for distributed mini power plants of green power.
Life and career
[edit]Sladek was born in Murrhardt[1] on 1 October 1946.[2] He studied medicine at the University of Freiburg. He became a physician for general medicine in Schönau in 1977.[1][3][4] He and his wife Ursula, a former primary school teacher, had three children then, two more children were born in Schönau.[4][5][6] After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster the Sladeks and a small group of others founded Parents for a Nuclear Free Future group, to research how they could limit the community's dependence on nuclear power.[5] Their first approach was saving energy and make others save energy. They reactivated small hydropower plants in the region.[5] The couple developed the idea of a power system independent of nuclear power plants, generating electric power through distributed mini power plants from renewable sources.[6] After ten years of campaigning and raising awareness, they achieved the first German green power, the Elektrizitätswerke Schönau (EWS), in 1994.[1] They took over the power for the community in 1997.[1][5][7][8] With a system that combined an efficiency-strategy with a power saving strategy it became possible to satisfy the power consumption of the community. Schönau was the first community in a Western country that became independent of the national power grid and could decide how its power would be produced.[6][9] In 2015 he and his wife left the leadership of EWS, succeeded by two of their sons.[1]
Sladek became famous as the Schönauer Stromrebell (power rebel).[3] He was awarded the 1996 WMF Umweltpreis from the German magazine Capital. In 1999 he and his wife were awarded the Nuclear-Free Future Award. In January 2004, the Sladek couple was awarded the highest order in Germany, the Federal Cross of Merit, for their great engagement for the environment.[8]
Sladek died on 17 September 2024, at the age of 77, after a severe illness.[1][3][4]
Honours
[edit]- 1999: Nuclear-Free Future Award together with his wife[4]
- 2004: Federal Cross of Merit, together with his wife[8]
- 2007: German Founder Award[10]
- 2012: Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg, together with his wife[2][4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Vordenker der Energiewende". taz (in German). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Dr. Michael Sladek". Badische Zeitung (in German). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Worthmann, Andrea (25 September 2024). "EWS-Mitgründer Michael Sladek ist tot". SWR (in German). Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "EWS-Mitgründer Michael Sladek verstorben". EWS (in German). September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d Mistiaen, Veronique (20 May 2011). "Ursula Sladek: Power behind a green revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Eckardt, Andy (20 May 2011). "German couple make greenbacks in anti-nuke battle". MSN. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Community Energy Cooperative: Schönau, Germany". Centre For Public Impact (CPI). Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rebellen bekommen Bundesverdienstkreuz". energieverbraucher.de (in German). 15 January 2004. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Peaceful Rebels". The Atlantic Times. November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ Colell, Arwen (2021). Alternating Current – Social Innovation in Community Energy. Berlin: Springer. p. 245.
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