Green Options

Kennedy was not known for his environmental politics, but what will be his legacy vis-a-vis the environment and energy? Will he be remembered for what many viewed as self-interested and elitist opposition to the proposed Cape Wind project, an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound, barley visible from the Kennedy’s Hyannisport compound?

This morning I watched Obama’s inauguration in a high school theater with several hundred young men.  Everyone was captivated.  As our 44th president delivered his speech, I kept thinking about the applicability of many of his words to the world and sustainability in its broadest sense.  Here, how President Obama’s speech - originally written to encourage and inspire America in the face of crisis - can be expanded and applied to sustainability. Today, instead of tips, a call to action and pull of spirit.

A World in Crisis

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. . . Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

Environmental groups are criticized for their “doomsday” scenarios.  Rainforests are dwindling, corals are dying, population is exploding, and global warming is ominously threatening.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Beyond America, there is a nagging fear that the earth’s decline is inevitable.  Will fewer children have access to clean water?  Will they starve?  Will they know that polar bears and tigers once lived outside of zoos?