Solar-powered US Congressman
Despite only being in office for a year, Rep Thomas Massie (R -Ky) is one of the most activist members of Congress. He lives off the grid back in his home State, and defies categorization on the left-right political spectrum.
“My house is solar powered,” he explains. “I tell Republicans, you can hate the subsidies – I hate the subsidies too – but you can’t hate solar panels. These are rocks that make electricity, so they are incapable of receiving your hate.” Representing Kentucky’s 4th district, which runs from the northern tip of the state from Ashland west past Covington, Massie holds a B.A. and an M.A. in engineering rom MIT, founded SensAble Technologies, a computer-modeling company based in Massachusetts, and served as county executive for Lewis County, Kentucky. A member of House committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, he personally built his old, off-the-grid Kentucky home (even planing the trees that become its timber) and has decked it out with solar panels and off-the-grid energy sources.