American Green

I haven't really touched much on the Environmentalist movement on this, or my other blog, but perhaps it might be time to touch on that, if only for a change of pace...

I used to be big into environmentalism as a kid. Joined the GAIA society at school, hung out with the hiking club, which was run by a really cool tree-hugger type lady and I was a member of 3 or 4 different bird-watching clubs.

Then I kind of swung the other way - got big into the Capitalist side of thinking, but that's a dark chapter in my life.

I think a lot of what the environmentalist movement is doing currently is good, but at the same time they do a lot of dumb things as well.

On the other hand, it seems the anti-environmentalists types do some dumb stuff too.

I think there's middle ground somewhere, and perhaps this week, I'll try and work on finding the middle ground.

What got me thinking about this though, was a comment I heard made on the radio this morning.

The gentleman was talking about the American Dream, and included in that dream "Cheap Energy".

Now believe me... I'm a big fan of cheap energy. My car has allowed my family and I to visit wonderfully beautiful places, and I like my electronic gadgets too. But with that said, I'm also conscious that using that energy carries a price in addition to what I pay for gas and my utility bills.

Is "Cheap Energy" really part of the American dream though?

What do you think the American Dream is?

And for extra credit, how do you think that could be blended with an environmentally friendly approach to life?