The Wake

“IT AIN’T EASY BEING GREEN.” Kermit the Frog may have struggled with living in a world devoid of green, but he’d be quite fashionable today. Increased environmental awareness is everywhere–from the “Tree Hugger, Planet Lover” canvas bags at Target to the stainless steel water bottles that reduce plastic consumption.

Popular culture reflects the Green Movement—or one might argue, culture encourages an eco-friendly lifestyle. Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” opened in 2006 and won an Academy Award for best documentary. The film sparked worldwide awareness about global warming and the human impact on the environment, and attention has been focused on humans versus nature ever since. Jack Johnson promotes eco-friendly concerts, Ludacris and Tommy Lee star on Planet Green’s Battle Ground Earth, and Leonardo DiCaprio pushes the importance of global warming in his movie “The 11th Hour.”

However, celebrities and the media aren’t the only ones outside the scientific world focusing on the environment.

Businesses and politicians have adopted eco-friendly stances to market themselves to the environmentally aware culture. Many new construction projects strive for LEED certification, a sustainability approval stamp given by the U.S. Green Building Council. Retail giant Target now includes a “shop eco-friendly” link on its website, listing reusable shopping bags, recycled and pre-owned products, and organic items. Politicians—including John McCain and Barack Obama—pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (although one pledges slightly more than the other).

Environmental awareness isn’t unique to the 21st century. In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a novel documenting the impact of DDT, a powerful pesticide, on animals and humans. In 1970 the Environmental Protection Agency was created and the first Earth Day was celebrated. Greenpeace, an organization of activists dedicated to saving the planet, was formed in 1971. Is today’s heightened interest in environmentalism more than just another trend?

“[The green movement has had] a big surge but it’ll die down,” says Lara Singh, a fourth year student at the U of M. Darrin Salzmann, a senior in Cinema and Media Culture, disagrees. “I think it’s here to stay. The movement is making its way into politics and other forms of media…It’s becoming less of an underground thing.” Salzmann cited both Gore’s and DiCaprio’s films as successful means of bringing the message from the subculture to popular culture.

Others postulate that consumers who purchase popular eco-friendly products and wear “Go Green!”
apparel are merely adhering to the laws of style. “They don’t care,” says Adam Herron, a first year student. Herron believes the Green Movement will last, but he argues that buying “eco-friendly” products will die down while more important things like saving gas and driving hybrids will continue. To find the frightening implications of a failed Green Movement all one needs to do is read the newspaper. Without protection, polar bears (officially a threatened species as of May) will lose the polar ice cap, they call home.

As the ice melts, coastal areas will flood with ocean water made acidic by the surging greenhouse gas emissions. While some areas will receive too much rainfall, creating a warm, wet environment for disease to flourish, others will face droughts as increased temperatures scorch the land. The food we eat will become continually more distant from the organic, unrefined products our ancestors ate and instead become genetically modified carriers of pesticides. A toxic planet will be unable to sustain
anything but toxin-laden life.

In the face of such overwhelming consequences, the Green Movement is spreading across the nation. Will it last? Many think that governmental and corporate policies protecting the environment are most likely to continue, although purchases of “ecofriendly goods” will decrease. These products are trendy,
just as poodle skirts and shoulder pads once were. Then again, environmentally friendly goods reflect years of activism to save the planet. Products like the “Tree Hugger, Planet Lover” bag at Target may become dated, but steel canteens that reduce plastic consumption are part of a lifestyle dedicated to reducing, reusing, and recycling.

As information regarding global warming, toxic chemicals, and waning resources builds in the consciousness of humanity, few can deny the earth needs protection. The superficial marks of the Green Movement may fade from sight, but a wake-up call has been issued. Our society needs to shift
from the bloated, polluting nation it has become into a clean, minimalist unit—and buying cutesy “green” apparel won’t cut it. Memo to the world: take a look at how you interact with your environment. Polar bears aren’t the only ones who face a sink or swim situation.