The Green Revolution
By DeAnna Holman
I still receive a lot of feedback about my eco friendly grandma (I wrote about her in an article in the fall 2008 issue of Community Seeds Eco Magazine at www.communityseeds.com). Many agree that being green seems to be a new term, but not a new concept. People have told me that they, too, remember growing up being environmentally friendly, but not realizing it. Others recalled their parents or grandparents acting conservatively, regardless of economic status. Being green doesn’t appear to be a new concept, but being wasteful or unaware, does.
Many fear the “green” revolution will keep them from having the luxuries they are used to. They are resistant to change and sometimes the extra effort it takes to be greener. Fortunately, if everyone made an easy, small change toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle, it would be good for the environment and the pocketbook. As a country, adopting this new (or old) idea can be good for our environmental and economic future.
Author, and former White House Reporter Thomas L. Friedman, feels that people need to realize that going green is the best thing for the earth and the U.S. In an interview with Reader’s Digest (rd.com), the Pulitzer Prize winner states, “To me, going green is the great challenge- and opportunity- of the 21st century.”
Friedman feels that going green should not be a reaction to the global warming theory, but rather a necessity to preserve our resources as the world population grows. Friedman goes on to say, “In our lifetime, the population of the earth will have tripled. The demand for resources, the demand for energy, the demand for goods and services, will be so enormous that having clean power, efficient power systems and smart grids is going to be a huge advantage in the world we’re going into-even if global warming doesn’t exist at all.”
Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution-and How It Can Renew America (an update of his book The World is Flat), examines the advantages of going green and how conservation and climate change affect our future and the future of politics. He explains how globalization and a green movement can be a great thing for the future, in spite of any possible climate changes.
I have enjoyed the responses from the readers of Community Seeds Eco Magazine. Many appreciate articles about being greener, the articles from the community about being green and the articles about being socially and community aware. The responses have inspired me to be more informed on these subjects and have helped me on my green journey. All of us on this green path are at a different point, none of which is less important than the other. It is important to create a dialogue in which we can inform, educate and support one another as we each experience a green revolution of our own.
