Living Green: Translating Trends to Tendencies

“Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, ‘What were our parents thinking? Why didn’t they wake up when they had a chance?’ We have to hear that question from them, now.”
–Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth (2006)


In 2006, when Al Gore said these words, green living was an emerging trend. Environmental experts and activists saw this as the perfect opportunity to voice their concerns over the state of our planet. They addressed many environmental issues, including global warming, animal conservation and climate change, and presented the harsh realities of what will happen to our planet if we didn’t start taking these issues seriously. All this information turned “living green” into a fast spreading global trend, with the message appearing in car commercials, on billboards, in documentaries and advocated by celebrities worldwide.

Today, the attraction of a green life hasn’t worn off, proving it to be more than just a trend; in fact, it appears only to be forming a stronger following as it becomes more engrained into our everyday lives. Could it be that the words of caution have actually cemented themselves into our culture for good?

The attraction of green hasn't worn off, despite the common fate of trends.

“Absolutely,” says 17-year-old Vincent Lepage. “A lot of people have seen that it is uncomplicated, even beneficial, to take the green path in their daily lives. People saw that it’s possible to live green without leaving anything of their ‘ungreen’ life behind.”

Eco-friendly products are now much easier to find and use due to large corporations utilizing their power to spark change. Irresponsible consumerism used to be a leading destructive contributor to mass pollution. Currently, however, it’s rare to not be presented with a consumer’s green alternative. From Chevron and Wal-Mart, to Whole Foods, Coca Cola and L’Oréal, large corporations contributing to green efforts has expanded hugely.

Jeanne Simon, a grade 12 student from West Vancouver Secondary states: “I think [green living’s] on the increase; more people are recycling now than 10 years ago and now there is more that we can recycle.”

Media has played a major part in influencing society to embrace green living. With the release of the film The Day the Earth Stood Still in 2008, the filmmaker’s message was evident: we need to protect our planet. The producers of the film walked the walk of reducing their carbon footprint. Twentieth Century Fox implemented a department within the production team dedicated to reducing the studio’s carbon emissions. “We reduced paper consumption by using digital means, the caterers used biodegradable materials on set, everyone was given reusable water bottles, biodiesel was used in generators; there was a way of approaching our daily work so everyone, department heads and individuals, had an input in reducing emissions,” comments Pete Whyte, the assistant director of the film.

With the Internet, a new wave of “electronic activism” and media access has surfaced. Environmental news, petitions and emails have become a go-to for the modern, fast-paced individual allowing them to become an individual activist. It allows the Everyman to become part of a community of trailblazers set on influencing political change without leaving the comfort of their own homes.

The once explosive trend of eco-friendly products and cultivating a sustainable lifestyle has endured criticism and controversy, and has since become a societal norm – so much so that it has become a social faux pas not to be an activist. And the next generation of children are learning green habits at a young age. “You save energy by switching lights off and not letting them stay on all night, and turning off water,” says 5-year-old Pierce Whyte when asked how he could save energy in his house. “It takes Mother Earth a lot of energy to make water.”

It is when conscious efforts become second nature that we, as a society, are aware of how embedded eco-friendly habits are in all of us.