Green. . . .Not Just A Color Anymore
When we hear the word “green” our brains tend to visualize things that are green in color, like the landscape. Hearing the word “green” near the end of one of those seemingly endless Northern Michigan winters brings memories of green grass, green leaves and even those little lime green bugs that we played with as kids, or some of us did. A golfer’s thoughts of “green” may be fields of neatly trimmed grass and a game that requires hitting a little ball with a skinny metal stick into a small hole nine to eighteen times with the least amount of tries. Bankers, investors or entrepreneurs may see dollar signs upon the mention of the word “green”.
Green has always been ‘my’ color. Wearing green brings out the green in my eyes, or so I am told. But recently, the word “green” has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Al Gore’s warnings of global warming and extreme climate change pushed me to think about things like renewable energy, recycling, reusing, and repurposing. There is a lot of skepticism about Gore’s claims of global warming and the resulting climate changes but he did win the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to spread the word. That’s a pretty big deal no matter what your views are about global warming. For me, questions that have lurked in the back of my mind were now okay to ask. Having an inquiring mind, I often wondered what happened to the hole created in the earth after the oil is removed. When the well runs dry, why don’t we stuff all those plastic bags and packaging back down the pipe to fill the hole we left.
Determined to do my part, I have become addicted to “Going Green”. My new car is the color and size of a lima bean. Rather than buy a ‘vanity’ plate for the front, my plan is to repaint an old one with a “Gone Green” message. Changing vehicles from a mid-size SUV to my little, lima bean car has been a challenge for someone who likes to travel prepared for the season. In that tiny trunk area is a green backpack beach chair, my favorite green flip-flops, a soft-side green cooler, several recyclable bags, and my kayak paddle that, fortunately, breaks down into two pieces. The bad news is that my kayak is not only too long to carry on the top of my itty bitty car, it is the wrong color, it's red like my SUV. If anyone wants to trade a medium-sized one-person red kayak for a short green one, I would sure like to hear from you. Even with all the challenges of owning a very small car, nothing beats the thrill of saving a bunch of money on gas and saving the planet at the same time.
“Going Green” is an addiction worth embracing so won’t you join me? The planet and all living things will thank you for your efforts.
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