Selling Green

Yesterday I was at a friend’s house reaping the benefits of his vegetable garden. As he explained the use of all natural fertilizing techniques (poop and volcano ash) and his desire for fresh organic food, I took the opportunity to share my new found knowledge about compost heaps. I had trouble understanding why he wasn’t already composting and realized it was because he really hadn’t been exposed to the concept. Here in rural conservative Wyoming, anything that smacks of going green can meet with more than a little resistance.

And it made me realize how much I’ve been selling green lately.

When you live in a place like Wyoming, you really understand how diverse opinions, upbringings, beliefs and cultural understandings are in this country. That’s great but it does make promoting green a little difficult. A lot of people consider the green evolution as some liberal tree hugging lentil eating movement to put up taxes, restrict business and impede the American dream.

And sometimes it’s hard to make people see otherwise. And is it my place? Is it anyone’s place?

I mean we think we are promoting the “proper thing to do”, the “right course of action,” the “only real way forward” and what we must to do to “save the planet,” but aren’t we pushing a belief system on others? Is green the new religion? As I looked at the situation of going green from the perspective of my conservative friends, I could see where they got that impression.

Between the mainstream media and the die hard eco terrorists, going green has taken on a number of motivations and perspectives and the harder we push, the stronger the resistance to change. Offsetting our carbon footprints, reducing the impact of waste on our planet and choosing organic and local are just logical.

Do I think green is the new religion? No.

Do I think it will harm the entrepreneurial spirit of the country? Absolutely not.

I’m selling green because it’s smart, economical and makes good old fashioned sense. Saving money, conserving energy, making do and growing your own are not new concepts. This nation was built by people that used innovative ideas to promote progress and change. The green evolution is simply the next step in the development of America.

I realized as I explained to my friend how a compost heap would ultimately help him sustain his self sufficient lifestyle (a core component of Wyoming living) that going green should not be a political concept or a fanatical movement. It should be what it is: a choice to improve one’s own quality of life.