About Being Green…

An info-editorial by Bob Buddemeier, based on input from Gini Armstrong

In the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, “It isn’t easy being green.”  Well, it just got easier at RVM –Gini Armstrong is organizing a Green Team.  According to Gini, the Team will have a two-pronged approach to making RVM a more environmentally friendly community.  One prong will be providing information and encouragement to support individual action and more constructive lifestyles; the other will be providing RVM and PRS management with encouragement, support and information to take appropriate action in day-to-day operations.

Gini points out that there are many opportunities for conservation in the areas of chemical, plastic, and water use.  With respect to energy, she uses the solar energy applications currently advocated by Jim Ellis as the kind of initiative that can be undertaken.  For more information or to participate, contact Gini in person or visit the Green Team table at the upcoming Opportunity Fair.

For those interested in living in ways that are (more) compatible with Nature, formation of a Green Team is a Big Deal.  Why?  Why does Kermit think it’s not easy?  Because it’s complicated.  The thing we call Nature is VERY complicated.  Plants and animals (all the way down to the insects and even further – fungi and bacteria), water, air, soil, all interact in many ways invisible to ordinary people.  And if we’re talking about complexity, people – individually or collectively – add another very knotty layer to the interaction.

The thing about having a positive effect on the natural processes of the environment we live in is that a series of steps is required.

• You have to decide what you want to affect – if you try to do everything, you are likely to accomplish nothing.
• You need to decide what you can affect – dedicating yourself to the impossible, or even the extremely difficult, is another good way to accomplish nothing of significance.
• You need to decide how to create the effect you aim for – system complexity means that there’s a lot to know and understand to avoid wasted or even counterproductive effort.

That’s a lot of decision making.  Realistically, it’s likely to be out of reach for any individual.  Enter the Team (Green, in this case).  More people, if they organize and cooperate, can collect more information, evaluate more opportunities, make better decisions (we hope), and by combined effort have more effect.

An example – the US Geological Survey estimated that in 2015, the United States used 322,000,000,000 gallons of water per day.  If you save a gallon per day (average household use is measured in hundreds of gallons), good for you, but it’s kind of a small dent in a large amount.  Persuade every resident to save a gallon, and that’s 1.000 gallons not used, which is beginning to look a little bit more like the great big number (which is now 322,999,999,000).  Persuade PRS and RVM to save some comparable fraction of the water consumed by Dining Services, Wellness, and Facilities, and you dial down the total some more.  Those accomplishments, or some fraction, become more achievable as you combine the efforts and influence of more people.  But you need to add one more bullet to the list above.

• You need to decide how you are going to measure your effect. No matter how well-considered you think your actions are, without knowing the before and after, you are flying blind in terms of maximizing the benefits to Nature (and the people who are part of Nature).

So Go, Team, Go!  Green, Green, Green!