Going Green…it’s in the news everyday. And yet so is ‘green-washing’ the term used for those unscrupulous individuals who want to jump of the green bandwagon to gain the benefits associated with appearing to be green –but- without truly putting those green practices into effect. But that’s how it always is about everything, some people are honest, and others are not.
There definitely are changes happening in the world, that show we are moving in the right direction, even if more slowly than some of think we urgently need to. For example, in 2004, according to author and biologist David Suzuki, there was the first Green Builders conference, which celebrated the establishment of the Green Building industry complete with best of practices, etc. Not to mention, there is now the whole new approach to Green Chemistry where manufacturing plants and their systems are designed from inception with the intent that there are no waste streams created by the manufacturing process. And whole generations of kids are being raised on the mantra: “Reduce, re-use, and recycle!”
Yet, we still need to be aware of how much energy we use on all levels, especially in the western part of the world…like in America, where we have 5% of the world’s population, while we consume 20% of the world’s resources!
However, as it turns out in 2009, according to the Global Energy Review, world energy consumption decreased for the first time in 30 years (-1.1%) or 130Mtoe, as a result of the financial and economic crisis…so, it seems the Great Recession hasn’t been all bad…
great statistic on consumption! thanks for the positivity!
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