Go Green!

I recently finished Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman.  What a thought provoking book.  I dare say that Friedman would want us to take it one step further and view his book as an action provoking book.

While reading it, I was on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.  One minute I was flying high on top of the world feeling smug for all of the energy efficient things my husband and I were doing (e.g. buying energy efficient appliances, taking the bus to work instead of driving, using the curlicued light bulbs, having a solar panel to heat water, and having a solar envelope home to name a few).

In the next instant of reading, I plummeted to the depths of despair as I realized the magnitude of the problem.

Then, my can-do attitude kicked in. I decided my husband and I could step up our energy efficient activities.  From here on out, we’ll be taking baths only once a month and washing our clothes only once a month so we won’t need so much natural gas for hot water.  I’ll fix the ‘Sunday dinner special’ (a dried crust of bread and a glass of tepid water) several times a week instead of just on Sundays so I won’t have to use my gas oven.  I’ll do dishes, mop the floor, vacuum, dust, make the bed, and clean the bathroom only once a month.  (Hey!  That’s preserving MY energy.  That ought to be worth something shouldn’t it???)

All joking aside, on one hand I think that everybody needs to feel ownership in the energy problem facing our world.  We all need to permanently modify our usage of energy.  Then, we need to demand that our country develop energy solutions so that we aren’t dependent on oil from countries whose goal is jihad against our country.

I also believe it will take more than just you and me, more than the common, ordinary citizenry to improve things.  It will take the president of the United States to step up, to provide a vision of where our country needs to go in this energy maelstrom, and to have strong leadership to take us down the right path.  The process will be painful at times and we mustn’t have the ‘we’ll-get-to-it-later’ attitude.

President Obama has been lauded as being the first Black president of the United States, the first Black US president to address Congress, the first Black president of the United States to visit Russia, the first Black US president to fix a peanut butter sandwich in the kitchen in the presidential quarters of the White House.  While all of this is commendable, I think the most important color that our president needs to be is GREEN!