| What does the green movement mean to you? | | | | very vague on exactly what their stance is on |
| This may seem like a silly question, but it’s a | | | | important environmental issues. |
| question I have been asking myself lately. There | | | | All in all someone trying to find out what the |
| is really no rite answer to this question; it is simply | | | | green movement in Austin is all about |
| a way of thinking about the hundreds of different | | | | wouldn’t get a very good picture from the |
| things that have become part of the green | | | | first page of search results on Google. They |
| movement and what is most important in them. | | | | would certainly understand that there are several |
| An interesting experiment I did was to Google the | | | | local groups supporting bike transportation and |
| terms green movement and my home town and | | | | delivery to reduce emissions. They will also find |
| sees what comes up. Here in Austin Texas a | | | | responses from realtors to the recent home |
| Google search of “Green Movement | | | | energy regulations put in place, most of which are |
| Austin” brings up an interesting series of | | | | critical of the city’s plan to increase energy |
| results. | | | | efficiency. What does this say about our lovely |
| The first thing that comes up is an article about a | | | | little city that likes to think of itself as a haven for |
| concert celebrating the green movement in | | | | green living in Texas? |
| Austin. If you know about Austin this makes | | | | I think the Austin green movement is more than |
| some sense, as the self proclaimed music capital | | | | these search results would tell you, and I did skip |
| of the world we have concert for just about | | | | over one brief article that talks about Austin as a |
| everything. The sponsor of this green concert | | | | leader in the green building sector, but the fact still |
| was the Yellow Bike Collective, a local group that | | | | remains that the information available online largely |
| advocates for bicyclist rites and increasing the | | | | doesn’t match up with what I think of when I |
| ease of transit by bicycle around town. They are | | | | think of the green movement. This is a symptom |
| a great organization and have done good things | | | | of an ever increasing ambiguity in the green |
| for the local biking community here in Austin, but I | | | | movement and this problem is only going to get |
| don’t know that they would qualify as the | | | | worse. With the predictions for a coming |
| epitome of the Austin green movement in my | | | | “greenconomy” and more money being |
| mind. | | | | pumped into anything that can spin itself as part |
| Second on the list is the Travis Count Green | | | | of the green movement by the day, the race is |
| Party. Clearly they should be high on the list as | | | | on to get in on the green goodness. |
| they appear to be leaders in the local green | | | | The green movement, whatever it is, is growing. |
| movement from a local government standpoint. | | | | The zeitgeist of the times is more |
| However I was disappointed when I looked at | | | | environmentally minded then anytime in recent |
| their sight and found out that none of their top | | | | history and it shows. I encourage you to think |
| three key values are related to the environment | | | | critically about what the green movement is, what |
| or environmental concerns. Shouldn’t the | | | | it means, and what it should be. Let us not forget |
| green movement be about the environment | | | | in the rush that the green movement is about the |
| more than anything else? Several of their other | | | | environment above everything else. |
| key values are environmentally related but are | | | | |