The Going Green Scene

But what does it all mean, this “Going Green” scene? Suddenly it seems that the entire country has been sprinkled with tree leaves in a surge of environmental concern. The major commercial cities that we live in are suddenly teeming with silver Prius hybrids. People are buying Lancome beauty products to reduce their carbon foot-printing. People are living with their thermostats turned low in the middle of winter and buying only organic tomatoes in the supermarket. Are all of these rituals and decisions that we make on a daily basis going to eventually impact the world? How much does the average consumer know about the production of these products and the actual effect that their purchases will have on the environment?

Mark Lynas from UK’s "The Guardian" says that “Some in the business community argue that the whole green consumerism thing is just a passing fad, a sort of climatic version of the dotcom bubble.” Yet, it seems that this new trend is creating a positive fervor amongst the American public to start making a difference in their own lives and start holding those in power accountable. Al Gore recently announced that he has finished an all-inclusive remodel of his house in Nashville to make it more energy efficient and has been praised by a building-industry group, the US Green Building Council, that his house is one of the “nation’s most environmentally friendly.” He installed solar panels, a rainwater collection system and geothermal heating. Is this the type of life-remodeling that we all should be doing?

"You're going to have people try to attack the messenger in order to get at the message. They have not been able to succeed," he told CNN from Norway, where he picked up the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work. ‘The only way to solve this crisis is for individuals to make changes in their own lives.’” Noble effort, Mr. Noble Peace Prize, but have consumers really developed a sudden desire to redo the years of destruction caused by previous generations, or are they just hopping on this “green” bandwagon because it is this season’s new black? Maybe only time will tell…