Irene can serve as our wake-up call, a reminder to look elsewhere for our energy needs: instead of pouring our money down the drain, funding oil despots overseas, our money should stay right here at home, where renewable energies can increasingly serve as an economic multiplier the likes of which Americans have never before experienced.

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"We're all safe in our apartment right now, following instructions by the police to stay at home with the doors locked and away from windows, " Mundhra told CNN.

CNN: Witnesses describe horror of terror attack on Mumbai