Green revolution

by Dan Scagnelli

In the ‘90s, green was little more than a colour. In the noughties however, it became associated with a climate–change agenda that would shape global policy with the slogan: ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’.

In the past decade, we have witnessed everything from green movies, green bands, green food – to the rise of green cars like Toyota’s hybrids.

Everywhere we looked we could see the recycling symbol, our local Marks & Sparks started charging for plastic bags and we brought our own nature-fibre bag when shopping for food.

We were constantly reminded by costly adverts to cut our carbon emissions, to turn our lights off, to wash at 15 degrees and to walk rather than drive.

We were also informed that fossil fuels were bad and that houses built of sustainable materials was the way forward.

Green giant

So who is the jolly green giant behind this new-age green revolution?

Enter Bill Clinton’s former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize Al Gore. His Oscar winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth on the global warming issue, received several accolades from experts and critics alike and inspired a whole generation to think green.

However, as several claims made by the documentary could not be proven, when it is shown in schools, teachers in the UK are legally obliged to point this out.

He is also the man behind the Live Earth music festival, which aimed to raise awareness of the green movement among the current MTV generation.

Some of the celebrities who voiced their support for the green agenda were Kanye West, Ludacris, Razorlight, Foo Fighters, Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, who sang at the eight international concerts, hosted by self-confessed green celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. 

The Hollywood elite were not the only ones jumping on the bandwagon, shunning the pool and the SUV; our own politicians also warmed to the green policy and in 2006 David Cameron was often seen cycling to work and embraced a slogan for Tory voters: “vote blue, go green”.

Similarly when voted into office, American president Barack Obama vowed to create a “green economy” based on “green-collar jobs” and “a green New Deal.”

However, as the Western world is increasingly becoming concerned with recycling everything down to the inside of our loo rolls, countries like China are only now experiencing something of an industrial revolution, which has seen the country develop rapidly, with correspondingly high emission levels. Whether a balance can be found, only the next decade will tell.