Green Awareness - Where Did it All Begin?

I considered a number of topics to write about for this contest but finally decided to take a look at the history of the Green/ Environmental Movement and found some interesting historical facts and figures. So here we go on a journey down the Green Memory Lane ....

I found the history of the Green/Environmental really dates back around 270 years ago when 363 members of the Bishnois, caste in India gave their lives in order to prevent trees being cut to provide timber for a kings fort.   The story basically goes that when the kings men came to cut the timber, one member of the group rushed out and hugged the tree and said cut me first if you are going to cut this tree. The kings men did just that. When the community saw what happened 362 other individuals stepped up and hugged the tree and were slain. Only when the king himself came and saw the tragedy did he order his men to stop. Whew!!  These are the first recorded "tree huggers" in history, and they gave rise to the modern tree hugger.  Read on.

In this country the late 19^th century had John Muir  and Henry David Thoreau writing about mans relationship with nature that spurred the creation of the first environmental groups including the Sierra Club. Aldo Leopold's  book "Sand County Almanac" published in 1949  also appears to have been a huge influence in the conservation field. In 1962,  Rachel Carson's book " Silent Spring"  detailed the dangers of pesticides(especially DDT). It was here that the pairing of land conservation issues with problems of environmental pollution began and the foundation of today's environmental movement was established.

n April, 1973 a group of villagers again in India began the peaceful disobedience of stopping deforestation in the Himalayan Mountains by hugging trees before they could be cut down. This later spread throughout many of the provinces and began known as the Chipko Movement   Almost all of these protests were local in origin and slowly spread as people saw its success in changing policy in India. This is where our modern phrase of "tree hugger" originates with a big nod to the 363 Bishnois you set the example 200 years earlier.

It was also in 1973 that the Endangered Species Act was passed and from there many of the environmental groups we know today sprung up.  

Looking at where the Green Movement in this country has come from in the last 50 years is pretty impressive, although there are miles to go before we sleep. But  I see an evolution happening in regards to more and more people, businesses, and corporations understanding that the old paradigms are not working any more. Here in Asheville new paradigms are being created every day in regards to Green Awareness. There is the obvious motivation for folks to become more Green due to the high cost of energy. But there is also a greater awareness that Green, Healthy Built homes and offices have a greater payoff in regards to overall health and sense of well being. For businesses this translates into higher profits due to increased employee productivity and reduced employee turnover.  For homeowners it means raising children in healthier environments. I believe research will eventually show that these children have fewer health problems and less allergies than those living in what we call a traditional home today.

The Awareness of Green is spreading and growing. When a company like Wal-Mart jumps on board with Green Initiativesyou know things are moving in a totally different direction. Although we have to wait and see if they live up to their goals, other businesses are also jumping on board As janeanne's earlier blog Green Goes Mainstream showed this trend is real . Citigroup has launched a real-estate portfolio review,so that it can investigate what levels of renovation or operational changes are needed to earn LEED ratings (or equivalents) for everything from Citigroup's office buildings to its data centers. The company has also  LEED-silver rating as a target for all its new office and operations facilities around the world They have crunched the numbers and for them being Green means earning more Green $$$!

So when the big multinational corporations have seen the Green Light, get ready for a major shift to occur in all segments of our economy because the Green Locomotive is on the tracks and will be heading your way sooon!  Many thanks to the people who started us on this path so many years ago, and especially to those brave souls in India who gave me a whole new appreciation for the phrase tree hugger!