Could green destroy culture? Maybe...but maybe not.

On the subject of Abu Dhabi's new green city (also see the Dot Earth blog post about sustainable cities), here is a link to one of yesterday's Wespeaks, entitled "Could green destroy culture?"

I thought this was a really interesting opinion. The author notes "While the environmental advantages of promoting and constructing green cities are clear, such planning may also accelerate the homogenization of, and even destruction of, cultures around the world." He points to the dominance of Western economic and cultural practices as a major culprit in a worldwide decline in cultural diversity.

I find myself agreeing that there is a danger of cultural homogenization that accompanies the rise of super cities...and that "industrialization, global capitalism and technological innovations that facilitate communication and transportation" are "all features of a modernization process and mindset that has accelerated the homogenization of cultures around the world." I definitely see that the dominance of a Western model isn't helping the "climate crisis"--particularly in regards to consumption patterns elsewhere in the world(there's that whole mindset of "why should we cut our emissions when you won't do anything about your own? if you can live that way, why not us?" which to me is pretty understandable).

However, I want to point out that there is another sector of the "green" movement that is not about large, potentially homogenizing technological advances. Maybe I'm exaggerating this, because I don't know how big it actually is, but there definitely exists a movement championing all things local. Recently there has been a push to grow and eat food locally, to encourage biking and other forms of alternative transportation, and to make communities more conducive for walking (New Urbanism). The key to this movement is diversity--diversity of transportation, of food, of options. I believe cultural diversity fits in here, too. To me, to advocate for the local is also to advocate for multiple and varied ways of living--for different patterns of living.

Personally, I've been grappling with the huge question "how much do we give up to be green?" (I'm pretty sure I've alluded to this crisis in other posts, somewhere in this blog). Becoming a greener person means giving up or modifying significantly certain elements of our existence. My example is paper. I love the feel of paper, especially books...and in particular owning my own books. Paper products hold meaning to me beyond just their functional use--they are imbued with some sort of romantic quality I have a hard time defining. Great...but one of the things you do as an environmentally conscious person is to cut down on your paper usage. And while I'm definitely not going paperless any time soon, the eco-part of me is constantly nagging and pushing for the rest of me to give it up and read my course pack or whatever online. The point I'm trying to make is that yes, the green movement does have the potential to destroy or cut down culture (whether on the grand, global scale of cities or in the minutiae of my life and maybe yours), but the local aspect of the movement has the potential to do the opposite.

Okay, props to you if you actually read that. I just went on a major rant instead of rewriting an art history paper that I really need to fix. Hahaha...(in case you can't tell that was one of those "I'm laughing because I'm really screwed and actually I'm crying" laughs). Anyway, what do you think?