The New Charleston Green is Not for Sale
Posted by Chad Norman November 5th, 2007 .
When Stephanie Hunt contacted me about the article she was writing for Charleston Magazine, I was thrilled. It was yet another sign that Go Green Charleston was being taken seriously as a local environmental resource, and I was happy to help. I answered some questions and provided a list of local green organizations. I couldn’t wait to read the article - with all the amazing green initiatives going on in Charleston, it was sure to be a watershed moment for the local movement.
When I finally saw the issue on the shelf, I was practically drooling over the cover. I was stoked to see that we made the list of resources…after all, we’ve only been around for 5 months, and that felt appropriate. Stephanie certainly did her homework, and the article was packed with local names, places, quotes, and killer photos (cheers to Ben and Christopher!) But as I finished the article, a troubling pattern had emerged…
I was a little dismayed that the local green nonprofits had basically been shut out of the article, with the focus instead on green businesses. While I do believe these businesses are important to the green movement, I don’t think a sustainable future can be bought. We need help, not a itemized bill. A $359,000 green home in Mixson Avenue is not going to help the other 99.9% of us green up our existing homes. Eating organic grub at The Sprout is not going to help deliver leftover local produce to the less fortunate. Am I missing something here?
There are plenty of green organizations that are new and just starting to make their mark, including Fields to Families, The Little Green Bag Project, Charleston Green Drinks, and Go Green Charleston. But there are also passionate organizations that have been providing environmental leadership for years. Why aren’t they mentioned? Organizations like the Seewee Center, Lowcountry Earth Force, the Mount Pleasant Open Space Foundation, the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, and the Lowcountry Environmental Education Program (LEEP) certainly reflect the new “Charleston Green” as well.
Speaking of LEEP, Ian Sanchez has been doing amazing work with local kids for years and he’s the closest thing Charleston has to a green celebrity. But you’ll have search hard to find his name. It’s mentioned, just not in connection with LEEP. Instead, it’s in a one-page article about OM BioFuels, a for-profit business where he is a partner. If I were him, this would rub me the wrong way.
I really do believe that being green starts at home, with every decision we make. You better believe that when the time comes for my family to build a new house, I will definitely be looking at these local businesses to help me build green. But until then, I need to reduce my consumption, energy use, and driving. I need to recycle like a madman. I need to reuse items and repair others. But most importantly, I need to talk to, educate, and share ideas with everyone I know - and so should you. We’ll achieve a sustainable future by working together, not buying together.
The New Charleston Green starts at home, not the mall.
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I do partly agree with you, but I feel it was good to provide the information on residential green building so that people who are looking for a new house know that there are options besides the typical cookie cutter neighborhood with little or no energy saving features. Why be so negative?
I actually think there’s a lot of positivity in my post, both towards the article and my vision for a sustainable future. I honestly believe that getting our community on the right path will involve a lot more working together than buying together. Don’t you?
Thanks for this post.
One of the things that has really concerned me about the “Green Movement” is that it’s too much about consumerism and therefore has ignored those of us who cannot afford expensive cars, solar paneled homes, or organic food.
It truly needs to be more inclusive in order to have any real chance at success.
Green business certainly isn’t more important than the nonprofits that have been out there but the fact is it may be what is different. There has been a sea change in the past year or two and a lot of that has been business waking up to what the nonprofit and academic world had known for a long time. For better or worse, news is about what’s new. In addition, the fact is most of us don’t build our own homes or car or produce most of the things that we use every day. Businesses do, and until the businesses change we have very little choice about much of our impact on the environment. And new technologies tend to start out expensive and then drop in price; it’s just the way the market works.
You’re also conflating one issue. There are two reasons to, say, buy organic, one is the health of the person, the other is the health of the planet. The planet is just as helped whether a rich person or a poor person eats the food. In fact, much of what buying green is about is individuals paying more to prevent externalities that do affect the other 99.9% of us. Or for a reverse example a car passing through a poor neighborhood puts out emissions. The reduction in emissions from the rich person’s Prius may do more good to that community than it does for the driver (for the moment we’ll pass on the question of whether they could have gotten there other than by driving).
On NPR this a.m., the journalist did a bit on the organic foods he feeds his 3 daughters. He decided to track for a week what they ate and where it came from. The bowl of cereal his girls were digesting every morning came from all over the planet. Mango from Mexico, oats from 1200 miles away, spices from a couple of different continents. Their meat came from New Zealand. Their milk processed in PA. Refrigerated tankers, airplane cargo holds, and refrigerated trucks and trains were all used to get the food to their local healthy food mart. While most certainly these meals were healthier than many other options, not so healthy for the planet, eh?
Food for thought.
I think that is exactly why it is important to support local businesses (and why doing articles on them is good!). It is unfortunate that right now you kind of have to choose local OR organic, that’s changing in Charleston…and it’s because people are supporting local farmers, especially ones that do things more organically. AS this trend continues, more businesses will be greening up but if people don’t know about them, how are they supposed to support them? I say Charleston Mag did a great write-up on green business but of course, it shouldn’t be at the expense of non-profit exposure but in ADDITION to. However, after trying to get Charleston to open up to greener thinking for many years, I’m happy they did an article at all. Not to mention most of the businesses they spotlight fully support (with the $$ from their businesses) those non-profits. The thing that really bugged me in that issue was the “eco” house In Mt.P….really?
Great stuff Jaime (and everyone else). You are so right - green businesses are vital to any community becoming more environmentally sound. That’s why we support green businesses here, and are about to launch the Green Businesses Map. I hope they do the same and support us - we all want the same thing.
I encourage everyone to read the book “Animal Vegetable Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. It speaks directly to what Jennifer Mathias (above) refers to… the best start for all of us is to pay attention to where our food comes from- and to buy, or grow, accordingly. The Slow Food movement is gaining strength in Charleston, check it out.
On another note, what is sustainable about building NEW homes, regardless if they are considered “green” or not?