Jan:  Great post and good for you on completing a year long course.  I know that had to be challenging.  I live in the North Georgia Mountains and we are already seeing some devastating concerns regarding our lakes form the impact of development.  It really is something we all need to think about but I think you make a valid point when it may be viewed as a fad or just another trend.  Even I felt that way to some degree because all of a sudden, all I hear about is going green everywhere I go. I didn't hear about this a few months ago, so it does give the appearance of being a fad and yet, if everyone will go beyond that and really start to understand how our environment is being impacted, I think we should all be able to agree, it's not a fad but a very serious situation that each and every single person can actually do something about.