What's with all this "green" talk? I can remember the oil crisis of the late 70's. Long lines at the pump. People searching for cars that provided better fuel economy. Ford and Chevy offered the Pinto and Vega. No wonder Toyota and Honda ran away with market share. Even though the price of gas never fell to pre-crisis levels, we all got used to the additional cost and a few years later the SUV was born. Our desire for improved performance overcame our desire to reduce the cost of transportation. Clearly, our focus at that time was on saving money rather than saving the earth. Enter "global warming".
Whether you believe in global warming or not is immaterial here. The truth is, the discussion about the possibility that human behavior is changing the complexion of our planet has spurred a shift in the way we, Americans and Europeans at least, are thinking about how we conduct our daily lives. A strong sense of responsibility is developing. This time we are focused on the emmisions from our cars, recyclability of the products we use, survivability of the trash we generate, and even serious concern about our health and the food we consume. The threat of an unknown reality has caused our culture to evolve. Don't take me wrong, I'm not necessarily a believer in global warming but, one thing is certain; as a people we are now on an actionable path to behave more environmentally responsibly.
Assuming we know the cause, global warming. The effect is a metamorphosis in the meaning and use of the word "green". You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a product or company that is developing their narrative around the green movement. The primary difference between this movement and previous fads is that green is the responsible way to act rather than just the cool thing to do. Therefore, there are hoardes of people who are educating themselves about their particular green interests and scrutinizing the businesses that tout green products. Any business that talks green better be prepared to walk green.
Previous fads didn't have the legs to stand up to the higher costs of goods. Although not a fad, organic foods, for example, are probably healthier than other foods but, the additional cost and lack of obvious or immediate benefit reduces the retail desire. On the other hand, the green movement is broad, touching nearly every type of product we use. From building techniques and supplies to the processes manufacturers use to create and package the products we consume. The benefits are obvious, reduced heating and cooling costs, reduced trash in our landfills, reduced pollution, and maybe the most important benefit, reduced guilt.
Guilt may be the most powerful driver behind any cultural shift. If baptist preachers and catholic nuns are any indication, guilt certainly advanced christianity. Rather than calling it guilt, let's call it the innate need for people to act responsibly.
So the bottom line is, enough rhetoric about environmental responsibility has been tossed around over the past few years to create a shift in market demand. I'm sure you remember the disgust over the styrofoam fast food containers and drink holders. That was pre-global warming but the goal was the same. And the result was an industry shift to drink holders and food containers made from recycled and recyclable materials. Today, cars are mostly recycled steel, plastic producers use reground or reprocessed resin, communitys give tax credits to builders who use green products in their buildings. Green has caught on because it is both environmentally responsible and becoming financially attractive.
As the movement grows, simple changes to the way we live will drastically reduce the negative environmental impact. As time passes we will continually learn and adopt cleaner better processes to produce and package the products we use. Slowly environmental consciousness will become cultural norms.
Eventually, solar power generation will become cheap enough that most houses will generate power during the day and the power companies will significantly reduce the fossil fuels they use to feed the grid. Couple that with reduced residential energy requirements because of improved efficiency of appliances and lights and the result will be smaller electrical generation plants and significantly reduced energy bills for the average consumer. This is just my prediction.
Till later.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Is America's Culture Threatened?
I am always amazed that I can find something to talk about when it comes time to write these things. It wasn't difficult to find a subject for this one. I want to share some thoughts on where America is heading.
We are a multicultural society. Multicultualism is one thing that makes us stand out from all other countries in the world. We have always been multicultural. All countries have immigrants who have come from other cultures. However, no other country was created from immigrants and risen to greatness quite like the United States.
What concerns me is that Americans seem to be allowing foreign cultures to lead the way we are allowed to behave. For instance, political correctness has become the expected way to act and communicate. When I was young I recall that a chairman was a man or woman. A Boy Scout was a boy and a Girl Scout was a girl. I remember that if you were a member of a group or club, your actions reflected on the entire group. I remember that at Christmas a manger scene was OK on the city center's lawn. I also remember that we were far more biggoted and even though many of us were one or more generations closer to being an immigrant we were far less accepting of people of color or cultural differences. Yet in some ways, we were more accepting of each others differences. Certainly, we were more sensitive to majority rule.
What I am talking about are the actions taken by a few to change the lives of the many. "One nation under god" is a perfect example. The majority would leave it alone. What do the words hurt. Most people believe in a god. It doesn't say a Christian God or Jesus Christ, so just apply the word god to your personal god. I can understand that if you don't believe in god you might think that these words are not necessary. But before you whine, look around. I think you are seriously outnumbered. I have to believe that you are a spoiled brat whose parents didn't teach that you don't always get your way. I am concerned that in the United States the whining minority is beginning to get their way in instances where they should be put in time out instead.
Look at the muslims. There are a gazillion really fine muslims out there. There are forty-two that are causing all the problems. The forty-two are making the gazillion look bad, giving muslims a bad image. Much the same way that Pat Robertson or Billy Graham hurt the credibility of Christians. Because Pat Robertson is an ignorant, biggoted fool that shoots his mouth off doesn't mean all Christians are.
So look around. Asian children are a powerful voice in the top 10 percent of our graduating classes. Why? They are not a bit smarter than any other color or culture. Because culturally, they are raised to work hard, learn, and acheive. I bet 50 cents that every one of the successful students were taught the very same lessons or at least learned them from somewhere. Successful children are led to success by their environment. Parents, relatives, community, siblings and the environment provided them with the desire to do well. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that every child has the same capacity to learn and succeed. I am saying that if your son or daughter is a gang member it just might be related to what they were taught or the environment we have provided. The caveat to all of this is that children have personalities that are formed by everyone they come in contact with and everything that happens to them. Therefore, parents can provide the moral guidance and tools to make the right decisions however, parents cannot make the decisions for their children.
So here is the bottom line. It is obvious that there is a broad thread of pampered folks in this country who feel entitled to a nearly free ride. With each generation that is born, the number of these people increase. Some of this is due to environment. Never has anyone in this country gone to a grocery store and not been able to get milk, eggs, bread, meat, fresh produce and almost anything one could possibly desire. Not once has anyone in this country gone without because what they needed to survive wasn't available. Disasters or catastrophes may have broken the supply lines temporarily but other than situations like that we haven't done without since WWII. Can you imagine the revolt if the government suggested rationing today?
We always have the freedom to produce and profit from what is needed. Capitalism and free markets dictate what is needed, not the government. Thats really what liberty is all about. It's about contributing to your community through your work and reeping the benefits. The downside is that we can always achieve more. Sooner or later we are bound to consider "more" as an entitlement. Today, when we see a group or culture succeeding we tend to be blind to the hard work it took to earn that success.
Till later!
We are a multicultural society. Multicultualism is one thing that makes us stand out from all other countries in the world. We have always been multicultural. All countries have immigrants who have come from other cultures. However, no other country was created from immigrants and risen to greatness quite like the United States.
What concerns me is that Americans seem to be allowing foreign cultures to lead the way we are allowed to behave. For instance, political correctness has become the expected way to act and communicate. When I was young I recall that a chairman was a man or woman. A Boy Scout was a boy and a Girl Scout was a girl. I remember that if you were a member of a group or club, your actions reflected on the entire group. I remember that at Christmas a manger scene was OK on the city center's lawn. I also remember that we were far more biggoted and even though many of us were one or more generations closer to being an immigrant we were far less accepting of people of color or cultural differences. Yet in some ways, we were more accepting of each others differences. Certainly, we were more sensitive to majority rule.
What I am talking about are the actions taken by a few to change the lives of the many. "One nation under god" is a perfect example. The majority would leave it alone. What do the words hurt. Most people believe in a god. It doesn't say a Christian God or Jesus Christ, so just apply the word god to your personal god. I can understand that if you don't believe in god you might think that these words are not necessary. But before you whine, look around. I think you are seriously outnumbered. I have to believe that you are a spoiled brat whose parents didn't teach that you don't always get your way. I am concerned that in the United States the whining minority is beginning to get their way in instances where they should be put in time out instead.
Look at the muslims. There are a gazillion really fine muslims out there. There are forty-two that are causing all the problems. The forty-two are making the gazillion look bad, giving muslims a bad image. Much the same way that Pat Robertson or Billy Graham hurt the credibility of Christians. Because Pat Robertson is an ignorant, biggoted fool that shoots his mouth off doesn't mean all Christians are.
So look around. Asian children are a powerful voice in the top 10 percent of our graduating classes. Why? They are not a bit smarter than any other color or culture. Because culturally, they are raised to work hard, learn, and acheive. I bet 50 cents that every one of the successful students were taught the very same lessons or at least learned them from somewhere. Successful children are led to success by their environment. Parents, relatives, community, siblings and the environment provided them with the desire to do well. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that every child has the same capacity to learn and succeed. I am saying that if your son or daughter is a gang member it just might be related to what they were taught or the environment we have provided. The caveat to all of this is that children have personalities that are formed by everyone they come in contact with and everything that happens to them. Therefore, parents can provide the moral guidance and tools to make the right decisions however, parents cannot make the decisions for their children.
So here is the bottom line. It is obvious that there is a broad thread of pampered folks in this country who feel entitled to a nearly free ride. With each generation that is born, the number of these people increase. Some of this is due to environment. Never has anyone in this country gone to a grocery store and not been able to get milk, eggs, bread, meat, fresh produce and almost anything one could possibly desire. Not once has anyone in this country gone without because what they needed to survive wasn't available. Disasters or catastrophes may have broken the supply lines temporarily but other than situations like that we haven't done without since WWII. Can you imagine the revolt if the government suggested rationing today?
We always have the freedom to produce and profit from what is needed. Capitalism and free markets dictate what is needed, not the government. Thats really what liberty is all about. It's about contributing to your community through your work and reeping the benefits. The downside is that we can always achieve more. Sooner or later we are bound to consider "more" as an entitlement. Today, when we see a group or culture succeeding we tend to be blind to the hard work it took to earn that success.
Till later!
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