Green is grey

I recently had a discussion with like-minded folks where we bantered about what it meant to be “green.”  It’s gone from fringe to fashion, activist to academic, from mocked to a true movement.

Growing up, the debate had always been so polarized.  Remember the spotted owl controversy of the early 1990s?  Then there was the urban garden kerfuffle in LA a few years back.  Lefties and hippies painted corporations as evil polluters, while the right mocked environmentalists for being way out of touch.  Ronald Reagan was ridiculed for saying “trees cause pollution” and chose an Interior Secretary who said there were two kinds of people in the USA:  Americans and Democrats.  Yet Reagan seemed to genuinely love the outdoors and had another Interior secretary who wanted to resurrect the Hetch Hetchy Valley—to which Dianne Feinstein said, thanks but back off.  Years later, Al Gore won that Nobel Peace prize, but I still wonder about his Nashville mansion and method of jet setting all over the world.

I really wonder if being “green” or “clean” or “environmental” must be black and white:  yet this is how Americans often think and frame such issues.  The left smears corporations, the right smears environmental activists.  I find a lot of yelling on both sides of the issue, but not a lot of thinking.

Black Americans point out that several centuries of slavery cannot be corrected in a few years or even decades:  I really believe they have a point.  Likewise, I’m convinced that 200 years of environmental degradation cannot be turned on a dime.  We need to cajole, not criticize; encourage, not enrage; and praise, not pester.

At this discussion, someone mentioned that green is a process.  I believe she’s right on target.  We are so often distracted by semantics—what does green, clean, sustainable . . . what does it all mean?  Does it matter?

The vegetarian who lectures us about the evils of meat before she hops into her SUV needs to stop lecturing.  The neighbor who assails McDonald’s but then drives to Whole Foods everyday for packaged and prepared food should rethink his approach to food.  Those of us who kvetch about gas prices but buy bottled water at a warehouse store should step back and think a moment about what we are doing.

But the Yukon driver who only drives when she can complete 5 or 6 errands is onto something.  My sister, who often shops at secondhand or consignment shops, is saving a lot of resources.  And those Armenian relatives of mine who live in the suburbs but still reuse yogurt containers again and again (kind of an inside joke) aren’t a total environmental fiasco.

The first step in being green is becoming aware of your lifestyle and daily habits.  Making adjustments that reduce the impact on our earth and energy independence can make a huge impact.  I think if we nudge and suggest instead of being neurotic and sanctimonious, we can—and will—become more green.