No longer just hippie, green is finally chic

It seems to me that there's a level of environmental consciousness higher than it has been since the early-'70s. Hurricane Katrina and (because of the Iraq invasion) much more press about oil running out soon, probably have most to do with it. We are seeing with our own eyes the things environmentalists have been talking about for 30 or 40 years. I'm noticing not quite so many doubters and scoffers these days and although the scene is grim, I find that refreshing.

No Longer Just Hippie, Green is Finally Chic, says the LA Times:

"Don't look now, but the '70s are back. Not disco, thank God, but the energy crisis. Gas not only costs an arm and a leg, but consumption is peaking toward that dreaded point where demand may outstrip supply. California's electricity crisis of 2000-2001 may have been orchestrated by corporate bad boys, but rolling blackouts and brownouts could become as much a part of our summers as record-breaking temperatures and water rationing. And speaking of water, we have a problem: There's not enough of it."

And Wall Street Discovers Climate Change, says the Moscow Times:

"The deadliest hurricane season in more than a century has some Wall Street investors sounding like members of the Sierra Club.

"Firms including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are telling U.S. clients for the first time that climate change poses financial risks. With damage estimates for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as high as $200 billion, an increasing number of investors are joining public pension funds in urging action on global warming, which scientists say may be making storms more powerful."

And even the NY Times editorialised on September 28:

Time to Connect the Dots
"Along with ruined homes and upended trees, the recent hurricanes left behind a revived debate about global warming. While some environmentalists point to the wreckage as a kind of retribution for America's failure to control greenhouse gas emissions, right-wing talk show hosts repeat, over and over, that even if global warming did exist, there is no proof it had anything to do with Rita and Katrina."

If you're interested in the latest news on climate change, and I'm sure most people are these days, there's a big popup page of it linked from Daily Planet News -- easy to access any time. Looking for solutions on the micro and macro levels? There are lots of Sustainability and Permaculture news links there too.

Tagged: climate+change, sustainability, hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, rita, environment, global+warming, oil, iraq