If you took a quick look at the small town of Greensburg, Kansas, you might not notice anything extraordinary. The town of 900 residents was ravished by a tornado in 2007—almost the entire city was flattened, and the few buildings that remained standing were damaged beyond repair. Despite having lost everything, the people of Greensburg that decided to stay and rebuild are doing so in a way that has never been done before: they’re remaking the town into a totally green city. Some of the improvements include eco-friendly buildings and homes that meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest certification for energy efficiency--more than half of over 250 rebuilt homes in Greensburg use about 40 percent less energy than a typical home built before the storm. “It's an opportunity to think about energy when rebuilding after a disaster,” says Lynn Billman of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL), which has been advising the town during their rebuilding project.
Before the calamity, Greensburg was a rural town, barely hanging on to its population of 1,500 that was steadily declining by 2% every year as agricultural jobs slowly-but-surely died out. Not only was the project to rebuild Greensburg as an almost entirely green city an opportunity to do something for the environment, it was also the chance Greensburg needed to revive its dying economy and dwindling population. Mike Gumee, one of the city planners, said that “…we're working towards…a place where young professionals will want to come to…to be part of our movement.” City officials and residents working on the project hope that the city and what it represents will attract younger minds and both newer and well-established companies who will not only help in the rebuilding efforts, but stay in Greenburg, bringing their ideas, research, and jobs, boosting the economy and increasing the appeal of the small, eco-friendly town. Although the town benefited greatly from outside funds, both from the state and federal government, major companies like Frito-Lay, and celebrities like Leonard DiCaprio, many of the residents had to take out loans to finance the rebuilding of their homes. However, as 4-decade resident Ruth Ann Wedel says it’s “exciting to think of the possibilities”. Despite costs, most of the city’s residents have come around to the idea of living in a “green town” and are hopeful about the future. “The costs [of rebuilding] might go up a bit, but energy savings go up more,” says Billman, making the new eco-friendly town a good idea for everyone, including the environment. (Gertz, 2009).
Talking about going green involves a host of heated debates, facts that have been used to death, a gamut of emotions that range from passion on both ends of the spectrum to total apathy. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue, especially in the political arena. Terms like “Global Warming” and “greenhouse gases” are enough to make anyone’s head spin and the endless debates among politicians, interest groups, and activists are dizzying. The Shelton Group, an advertising agency and market research company, did a study in 2007 that showed that consumers were between 22 -55% less likely to buy a green products than in 2006. While the slipping economy was a contributor, “message overload” proved to be a major factor as well. Most people don’t want to hear “another green message” (Williams, 2008). This is due in large part to the fact that everyone seems to have an opinion about Global Warming and its effects, and they all seem to have proof to back up their statements that they are trying to shove down our throats. Who is right? Where should we align our actions and values? And what are the implications of “going green”, especially on Utah’s economy?
The issue at hand here is not whether Global Warming exists. There are myriad websites that have been created that do a good job of arguing for or against this point; however, we will not discuss the topic further on this website. Instead, what we are addressing is the issue of living a “green” lifestyle. Now, we all have our own opinions about what living green means. There are some who say or think that living green means that everyone sell their home, cars, and clothes and begin living in the woods, eating berries and becoming one with nature. Others think it means adopting some sort of pro-vegan, pro-Democrat, and pro-PETA lifestyle. While there is no shortage of people who align their lives to these paradigms, they are the extreme of what it means to be green.
In reality, being green simply means being aware that certain habits are harmful to the environment and choosing to change those habits, exchanging them for ones that will improve current conditions in your surroundings. Whether you accept the Global Warming argument or not, it doesn’t take more than a look outside to realize that Utah, especially more the heavily-populated areas like Salt Lake and Utah counties, is suffering from poor air quality. The thick layer of smog that sometimes hovers over Utah Valley or around downtown Salt Lake City didn’t get there by itself; and although government reports show air quality improving in Utah (Utah DEQ, 2009), this and other environment problems won’t go away by themselves. Living green means making an effort to return nature to its purest condition; and although we will never be able to have an environment that is as it was when it was free from human influence, there is a lot we can do to reverse, or at least stop, the effects of an energy-consuming society.
Why Should This Affect Me?
At this point, you may be wondering what this has to do with you. You may even have the desire to begin living green, but for some reason or another, you haven’t taken that first step. Living green does not have to mean making drastic changes to your lifestyle. In times like these of economic want and instability, saving the planet is often the last thing on any of our minds, especially when we have children to feed, a mortgage to pay, and/or a business to run. However, going green does not have to mean spending green. The reason that many people are hesitant to make the switch to going green is because the initial costs can be more expensive than their current way of living. However, a well-kept secret of living green is that it will actually save you money, your family, and your business, money. The long-term benefits of going green heavily outweigh the short-term costs.
Going green is a way for us to appreciate the beauty and majesty of Creation. There are some who believe that the only way for us to appreciate Nature is to use up her resources. While there are so many resources available to us from nature, many of these resources, when in human hands, have devastated the environment. It seems that the most heavily-used resources are the ones that also do the most harm, like burning fossil fuels such as gas, diesel, and coal to power our cars, homes, and businesses. The technology to transform these resources is truly amazing and has benefited mankind; however, the proliferation and wide-spread use of these energy resources has taken its toll on our environment, our health, and our wallets. In February alone, Utah generated 2,697 Mega-watt-hours (MWh) from coal burning, while only 61 MWh came from nuclear, hydroelectric, and “other renewable” resources (Energy Information Administration, 2009). Poor air quality is increased by burning fossil fuels; polluted air also contributes to poor health, which in turn leads to increased visits to the doctor and poor performance at work and in our daily responsibilities. And what happens when the price of gas soars above 4 dollars/gallon, like it did last summer? It is clear that current consumption habits do not show any appreciation for nature or its Creator, they also affect our personal lives in more ways than one. Of those arguing so passionately for appreciating nature by using it up, where is the argument for using resources that nature will never run out of, like wind or solar power? Not only do these and other renewable energy sources generate clean, effective energy, they also are available in unlimited supply, unlike fossil fuels, which are quickly running out.
What About the Economy?
Another argument against the green movement is that, while it may save individual families and businesses money, a capitalist economy thrives on the exchange of money for goods and services. If people are not putting as much money into the economy, the economy suffers. However, while a capitalist economy entails spending money, it also implies that participants in such an economy are able to choose the ways in which they inject their money into the economy. All of us who watch helplessly as our paychecks quickly disappear to pay the mortgage, insurance, gas and electricity bills, food, childcare, retirement funds, and taxes know that we have very little freedom as to where our hard-earned money goes. By switching to a greener lifestyle, we can all stop watching our money disappear and start spending it the way we need and want to. By spending money the way we want, and not on the electricity bill, we will also be investing in our economy, making it thrive and increasing job security.
There are many levels of going green, starting at the individual level and moving up to a wider range of social and governmental reforms. This website is intended to inspire those of us who are wondering what to do to make our sector of the country become cleaner. Doing so will not only improve our personal quality of life, but bring about more lasting change in a world of increased interconnectivity, technological advancements, and growing concern over protecting what’s ours and preserving it for future generations.
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