What is "Green"? With so much talk and publicity around this word lately it can be understandably hard to pin it down. Some groups look at it as a purely environmental issue, some as fodder for political change and to some it is a complete lifestyle choice and social movement; still others take it as merely a marketing ploy to make one item stand out amongst the crowd. For my purposes and for those of aGreenerUtah, the idea of Green is something of a combination of all of these.
I see Greening as a necessary environmental issue of course. In Utah we are blessed to live within easy access of many of the countries great natural wonders. Zion, Bryce Canyon and Lake Powel in the south and the Wasatch and Uinta mountains and Great Salt Lake in the north to name but a few. Without concern for our environment and without a committed and personal effort to minimize our impact on it, our grandchildren will not be able to see and enjoy these places as we and previous generations have. To some degree I also see Greening as fodder for political change. I give a great deal of power to the people of a state for directing the way in which that state views and acts towards issues of a “Green” nature. That is to say that I believe the greatest power for political change is within each of us as citizens of our state. We have the ability to vote for and support the politicians and policies that reflect our views, and we have the responsibility to act according to our beliefs. That being said, I also believe it is also the right of all citizens to determine where on the scale of their respective belief systems each issue falls. I disagree with using Greening as a white-wash or “green-wash” technique for both politicians (Who try to look more environmentally conscious than they really are to engender votes.) as well as special interest groups (That may have ulterior motives but adopt the green mantle to ride the current wave of public sentiment.) I do see greening as a complete lifestyle choice and burgeoning social movement. As I said before, we have the responsibility to act according to our beliefs. If those beliefs include providing a healthier environment both in our homes as well as in our community, making changes in our lives to reduce our impact on the world around us and trying to pass on those ideas and educate others about possibilities and alternatives, then we should act on those. As far as using the term Green for marketing, I agree with its use only in so much as it implies a particular state of being. When one hears that something or someone is Green, that person understands and can make a certain number of assumptions based on that alone. However, because of the amount of overuse of this particular phrase, it can be taken as a bit cliché; nonetheless because of its universal and cultural implications it is a fitting and appropriate term to be used within both the name and the content of aGreenerUtah.
Within the internets Green community there are a vast and varied, yet still related, number of interests and movements. However, in my observation, there is no one unifying body. By this I mean that I can search for information on alternative power and find a number of local resources, or I could look for techniques or suppliers for green building methods and also find quite a few local resources. Still further I could look for resources regarding eating locally and supporting local agriculture and find information on that; this is to name but a few. I have yet to find a unifying entity that deals with the spectrum, the complete lifestyle. There are many people in our families and our communities that are interested in this information but don’t know where to begin. Wouldn’t it benefit us, as well as the community, to be able to consolidate this information in a single source? Not necessarily to provide all of the information, but to provide access to all of the information, a repository of sorts, a place where one could find resources to help them in their move towards a more sustainable, lower impact, “Greener” life.
My vision for aGreenerUtah is one that has it serve primarily as a source for information, news and ideas. It will provide informative and relevant commentary and facts on a number of sustainability and lifestyle issues including, but not limited to
• Sustainable Alternative Energy
• Sustainable, Healthy Building Methods and Products
• Organic Local Foods and Gardening
• Related Local Businesses
• Relevant Local Issues and Stories
I am not now and never have been an expert in these fields. I am passionate about them, and am equally passionate about sharing the knowledge that I have, as well as that which I will attain. A Greener Utah will encourage the sharing of ideas, information and experiences so that together we can move toward the goal of building a stronger community network of people, businesses and organizations that embrace the idea of a more sustainable Green Utah.
Today in Salt Lake City a group of people will be taking up a challenge to eat locally; and I don't mean merely going down to the local grocery, or restaurant. To this bunch, led by Andrea and Michael Heidinger of Salt Lake City locally takes on a more literal meaning. They want to eat only foods that are grown and produced within 100 - 250 miles of Salt Lake City. It's no surprise to most of us that much of our foods are grown in other states and in many cased far off countries. The methods of transporting these foods to our tables consume huge amounts of energy mainly in the form of fossil fuels thus adding to the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere as well as to our dependance on oil.
