External Links
Search the Archive
By publication…
- Key West Citizen (3)
- KeyNoter (2)
- KONK Life (31)
- KWTN (7)
- Locals Guide (6)
- Solares Hill (5)
- The Blue Paper (21)
By month…
Articles with Tag…
Shades of GREEN
GREEN Reactor column
[Published in The Blue Paper newspaper on April 25, 2013.]
Shades of GREEN
Too many hear “GREEN” and instantly think “tree hugger” or “eco-warrior” or “occupier” or other extremist or radical viewpoint. Of course there are lots of GREENs that proudly carry those tags, but in today’s world virtually all sensible people are painted with at least SOME shade of green. For a lot of them that shade is a really soft pastel, but it does show through from time to time.
Many of us try to be GREEN, but are mostly fair-weather fans. Watch the water consumption, try to recycle at least the aluminum cans, don’t needlessly burn a lot of gasoline, etc. Efforts at this level shouldbe second nature to all of us. Failure to even bother with the easy stuff like this is totally lazy or even narcissistic. But doing so at least gets you a GREEN primer coat.
Lots of us have gone well beyond that, to exercising great care in (more…)
Yes Michael, Sustainability is possible
GREEN Reactor column
[Published in The Blue Paper newspaper on April 12, 2013.]
Yes Michael, Sustainability is possible
Is sustainability possible in the Keys? Blue Paper columnist Michael Welber asked this question in a recent column in this paper. From that starting point he proceeded to look at the Keys’ water, electricity and food consumption, then answers his own question with “…let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not sustainability.”
Since the article called out a board that I’m on – Key West’s Sustainability Advisory Board – I’ll take that as solicitation for a response….
The first issue I have with the piece requires me to invoke Clintonian protocol and assert that you need to define just what “is” is. IS sustainability really narrowly focused on communities’ ability to produce their own water, electricity and food? I would say: Not really. Those are components of SELF-sustainability. Sure, to be self-sustaining a community would have to be able to survive cut-off from the rest of the world. But a real-world GREENy doesn’t (more…)