In the last few years, the idea of the dangers of climate change has permeated into our culture. Stories of the impact of climate change are appearing in newspapers, magazines, and radio programs. In the last year alone, environmentally-focused stories have appeared as feature stories on the cover of major magazines. What was once a very controversial and much maligned topic, the merits of the global warming argument have largely been accepted worldwide as a challenge of the century.
What was once a fringe topic, climate change has hit critical mass in the U.S. media. I would suppose that just about every major magazine has address the topic through the perspective of the subject matter of the media. Here are some examples:
- Time (April 9, 2007). “The Global Warming Survival Guide” – 51 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference.
- Newsweek (August 13, 2007). “Global Warming is a Hoax – Or so claim well-funded naysayers who still reject the overwhelming evidence of climate change. Inside the denial machine.
- PC World magazine has published tips on adjusting the settings on your computer to minimize its power usage.
- For its 30th anniversary issue, Outside magazine April 2007 “The Green Issue” allocated a $1.00 from the cover price of every magazine sold to the Conservation Alliance – a coalition of outdoor-industry businesses supporting grassroots environmental efforts. www.conservationalliance.com. It is also impressive to note that the magazine switched its Santa Fe headquarters over to 90% wind power.
- Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (October 2007) – “The Green Issue – What you need to know to prosper in the new environment.” The cover entices the reader to pick up tips on “25 stocks that will profit,” “5 young companies on the cutting edge,” “29 ways to save big around your house,” “6 inconvenient truths about carbon offsets,” “Our picks of 19 green cars,” and “3 ways to get paid going solar.”
- Business Week (January 29, 2007) – “Imagine a world in which socially responsible and eco-friendly practices actually boost a company’s bottom line. It’s closer than you think.”
- Chicago (April 2007). The covers notes a feature article on the Green Awards – 8 Earth Angels in Chicago. What the magazine envisions as an annual tribute, 8 Chicagoans who are “pioneering ways to ease human impact on the earth – and helping make Chicago the birthplace of a cleaner, smarter kind of progress.”
The word isn’t just spreading through print media like magazines and newspapers, it is on radio, TV, and the Internet as well. You would expect a cable channel like the Sundance Channel to air environmentally-focused shows like “It’s Not Easy Being Green” and “Big Ideas for a Small Planet.” But when the conventional Weather Channel starts airing a show call “Forecast Earth,” you know a paradigm shift has occurred. On the radio, NPR and National Geographic have teamed up to present a yearlong program called Climate Connections that examines these issues.
I could go on and on, but I think that the picture is clear. We are entering a new era of the “reduce, reuse, and recyle” concepts that will likely impact all of our lives in the years to come.
I should also note that there are also many books that have been recently published (or re-published) that have all kinds of tips – big and small – on how to transform into a greener life. Examples are as follows: It’s Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask, 50 Simple Steps to Save the Earth from Global Warming by the Green Patriot Working Group, Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte, and The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken. I won’t get into them here, but I imagine my ever-growing collection of these types of books to present me fodder for this blog.
Until next time…
Todd
