Green Language: how do you say…? - 03 Oct 2007
Ever wonder where all those words like “carbon footprint” or “carbon neutral” came from? As I had breakfast this morning, I asked myself; are we going to invent even more words as the whole world starts “talking about”, the planet?!
So we all know about “Green”, “Eco” and “Planet” but new ones like “Habitat”, “Species”, and “Ecosystem” are being used more and more by the media, even though at the origin they designed to describe the distribution and abundance of organisms, their relationships with each other, and how they influence and are influenced by their environment.
It isn’t “easy being green” today because installing energy-efficient light bulbs and showerheads in your home is no longer enough. You have to describe it in words. “Offsetting”, is that what you’re doing? This “new thing” (a compensating equivalent) has also become increasingly trendy recently (note: Laneo does not support these initiatives), and there are a number of sites around the world that have sprung up to answer demand, but where did that word come from? I ran across a blog post at The Guardian by Alison Benjamin on “Green Language” that’s worth a read as she develops this topic even further.
I think it’s interesting to see how we as a society “label” most everything we do. What I believe is most important to increase global awareness and action for our planet is that each culture and language maintain their own unique way of explaining their acts and beliefs.
Maybe one day that will come to be known as – “ECO-TRADITION”.
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