Tomorrow is the day the whole world watches as the United States swears in a new leader of our country.
Barack Obama’s inauguration will be the 1st green inauguration in history…
Right?
Maybe, but then again, maybe not.
Here’s the rundown of the "green" elements to Obama’s inauguration tomorrow.
Do you think it’s really green or just greenwashing?
An estimated 4 million people will descend on the nation’s capitol tomorrow for the inauguration ceremony and festivities.
Though the Presidential Inaugural Committee plans to take some pretty cool simple steps to make this the greenest inauguration ever, many people, such as Neal Boortz, think it’s not nearly enough.
Neal quotes Dan Beard of the Chief Administration Office, saying,
"This is something that’s going to consume massive amounts of energy. If you believe that global warming is man-made, then the Obama Inaugural ceremony will do more to add to man-made global warming than any other political event in Washington, D.C. this year."
How COULD the Inauguration Be Considered Green?
TreeHugger has a pretty cool rundown of 5 major green aspects to the inauguration.
Some of those include:
- Obama will be sworn in on a blue carpet made from recycled materials
- The PIC has recruited 6,000 volunteers to pick up and recycle the God knows how many tons of trash that will liter the streets of D.C.
- The horsey poo will be scooped up and sold to a local farm
WorldHum reports that the PIC is also offering electronic media guides, to cut down on both printing and additional trash.
The Hill thinks that the several small eco steps, like the recycled carpet, will do little to cover the Inaugural footprint.
What Can I Do to Help Green the Inauguration?
If you’re actually one of the 4 million people that acutually get to go to the Inauguration, US News has a Green Inauguration Visitor’s Thrifty Guide to Washington D.C..
Earth911 has a great post up about 8 Ways to Green Your Inauguration.
So do YOU think that the steps being taken qualify this as a "green inauguration"?
Around here we really applaud any step, be it big or small, but should more be expected from an incoming president who says that the environment and alternative energy are such big deals to him?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I’m here.
