The green movement is a little off-colour, according to research from pollster Ipsos Mori. In the UK at least, environmental concerns reached a peak in January 2007. A year on they have dropped by more than half, replaced by increasing concern over the economy.
Along a similar vein, the International Herald Tribune reports that the market for clean, green technology is showing signs of overheating, too. It must be the greenhouse effect.
At a time when I am actively doing more than I ever have before, this comes as quite a surprise to me. Maybe people are less concerned because they are now starting to do something about it?
>Whatever it is, I think the whole "green" space is now hotting up rather than overheating. It's certainly in no danger of meltdown. And I think it's down to the increasing influence of "bright" greens, the latest shade of green being used to categorise different types of "greens".
Dark greens believe that environmental problems are part of industrialised capitalism that can only be solved by political action.
Light greens see protecting the environment as a personal responsibility, a lifestyle choice. (They are not to be confused with "lite green", used to describe companies engaged in greenwashing - misleading consumers about the environmental practices of the company.)
But now we have the bright greens, who believe that better designs, technologies and social innovations are the means to make the required changes in society.
I'd like to think I'm sitting between the latter (and lighter) two at the moment. I don't know what that's called on the colour chart, but it sure is a good time to be green right now. And it's a damn sight more interesting than worrying about an economy you can't fix.
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