Update on a previous post

About two years ago, on May 5, 2008, I wrote a post about the town of Greensburg, Kansas, and how inspiring it was to hear the townsfolk talk about rebuilding after devastating tornadoes ripped the town apart. Today, I saw a report on the CNN website about how the town rebuilding efforts are progressing. The report is titled "Tornado-hit town forges green comeback" and the video report can be found here. Here's the introduction in text:

"What if a city could rebuild itself completely from scratch starting from square one using all available modern technology and knowledge?

You might get Greensburg, Kansas, which has recreated itself as a model of green efficiency and sustainability after a mile-wide tornado nearly wiped it away in 2007."

It's very encouraging. They repeated what was said two years ago that the town had been dwindling for decades. It took something like this to force the people and their leaders to think in a completely different way. The best news is that they didn't waste this opportunity. They are doing it right. They didn't just re-build. They are building differently.

Another thing to remember is that they didn't do it themselves. They have had outside help from the state federal government and from local and national businesses. They weren't just handed money (remember, you can't just throw money at a problem). There had to be planning and commitment. Hats off to the people of Greensburg.