Talking about a Greenolution

You can’t walk out the door these days with out being bombarded with an advertising message about how “green” so and so company has become. Or how “green” so and so company has always been. Every magazine I have opened in the past few months is celebrating their “green” issue. Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s great, truly! That said, however, being an environmentalist today can be confusing stuff. Embracing Green – and all of her friends, Sustainability, Eco-friendly, Carbon Offsets, Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, etc. (you get the idea) is anything but straightforward.

Perhaps the best approach to becoming “green” is similar to the one we encourage here at Leave No Trace. You start at a place where you feel comfortable and advance from there. For many people, Leave No Trace is nothing more than packing their granola bar wrapper and runny nose tissue out from a day hike. Similarly, becoming “green” can simply be recycling or switching regular light bulbs to fluorescents.

We hope that when people gain more knowledge and outdoor experiences, they will continue to embrace Leave No Trace and take on more of the skills needed to minimize their impact as they enjoy their various outdoor pursuits. This will likely happen with the Green Revolution as we learn more and more about the impact that each of us has just living our normal daily lives. Through our collective efforts with Leave No Trace or small changes to become more green, each person’s actions really can make a positive difference. So embrace both, starting at your own comfort level and taking it from there.