The above article was in the NYT this past week as a hopeful (and realistic) vision for the future of American society spurring from local communities. States and towns across the country have been increasing their environmental awareness and putting this consciousness into action over the past year. Implementation of eco-conscious projects have sprung up coast-to-coast including an entire Kansas town being powered by wind-generated electricity from a community wind farm (Greensburg, KS). In Long Beach, CA solar energy has been harnessed for parking lots, pay stations and trash compacters. While in Madison, Wisconsin 2,500 acres have been developed into a solar-energy maximizing "Northeast Neighborhood" where streets run east-west to ensure that all buildings are positioned for ultimate solar-energy usage. And the sustainability plans don't stop there-- in Dallas and Seattle campaigns to increase awareness and eco-consciousness are spanning generations gaps and language barriers-- Texas has programs to teach its youth about protecting the environment while the Washington state city is spreading the conservation message by offering installations of compact fluorescent light bulbs (installers speak 5+ languages in order to reach out to diverse neighborhoods in Seattle). All of these efforts curb CO2 emissions while raising awareness of environmental impact and motivate citizens to protect their environment in ways both big and small.
Per ecosystems and habitat conservation, communities in Nevada have planted "turf conversion" on a million square feet of municipal land with drought-resistant flora to create something like a "blooming desert" (Henderson) while various locations in Maryland have rented a herd of goats/sheep (paid for by the state) to eat invasive weeds in wetlands in order to avoid using lawnmowers which destroy the habitats of the endangered bog turtle. Similarly, in the Outer Banks all stores (retail, grocery etc.) are required to use paper bags or incentivize consumers to bring their own reusable bags in order to prevent plastic bags from being ingested by sea turtles around North Carolina's barrier islands. Again, this eco-consciousness is spreading via legislation, positive norm diffusion and a general increase in environmental awareness across local communities and even American society at large.
Even where I'm from in New York, our most recently elected mayor is a member of the Green Party and we have a string of solar-powered street lights down "main street" which runs through the center of town. And in DC there is a plastic bag tax to avoid pollution of the Potomac and fund efforts to clean it up. These actions may be minimal compared to other communities in, say the mid-west, but do demonstrate the "effort into action" pattern being seen from coast to coast in our slowly greening consumption nation. To me, these actions offer hope for a change in USA's wasteful and dirty tendencies as well as for a green future for our global environment.
