Green Noses, Green Eggs, Green Collars?

It’s enthralling to see the “green” revolution is invading the usually grizzled youth consciousness. C-SPAN devoted a block of its schedule to Economic Security and Youth Issues. The “green nosed” panel discussed important topics facing the current generation such as employment security, benefits and pensions, and ground floor growth to increase the presence of the green economy. What was particularly interesting is the Green Collar Jobs Campaign, which purpose is to develop career opportunities in the “green realm” for people within the lower income sector. In this way, as was stated in the broadcast, “Eco-equality” can exist on a scale never realized.

This is an important point to make as I think most “green horns” are stampeding through solutions gathering without considering the implementation dilemmas. How do we plug the holes that create an Eco-apartheid? Aparteid does sound rather melodramatic but look at these facts:

According to the American Lung Cancer Association’s Trends in Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema (COPD) Morbidity and Mortality (DATA):

• 1.2million [African-Americans] (43.6 per 1,000) were diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. The rate in blacks had decreased in recent years but increased again in 2005 and was higher than the rate in whites for the first time since 2002.
• Women are twice as likely to be affected than men to die of COPD.
• However, the population living within the southern region of the U.S. are gravely effected at a 39.3% emphysema and 43.4 % (COPD) mortality rates.

Those are some deep holes to stick our little “green thumbs” in…

Still, I will conceed in that the ALCA doesn’t specify, at least to my knowledge, the exact causes of these mortality rates. Still, I am willing to wager it is not all caused by unbridled indulgence of nicotine. Moreover, it is imperative to support a green way of living that is not just a luxury for the affluent.

So instead of snubbing our “green noses” towards others, we should work to reach within communities effecting their policy such as reducing pollutant emissions in lower income residential areas and educating children and their families on recycling and other proper methods of disposal. If we build a firm foundation within our base then it will only make it easier to persuade the benefits of such a program to all. Hopefully, there will be less skepticism across the economic spectrum.

If there is anything I do know..it’s that it will take more than breaking a few green eggs to make an omelet.