The difference between a normal and a green person

The term “green” is often used in different situations to describe things that relate to an eco-friendly environment. For example, “green” energy or “green” power is described as an environmentally friendly, typically non-polluting source of energy (Green Power Market, n.d.) and a “green” building is described as “an environmentally sustainable building, designed, constructed and operated to minimize the total environmental impacts.”(Build Green, n.d.).

Then what meaning does it have when we describe a person to be “green” in this case? Does it mean that the person is green in colour? Or is he/she a greenhorn at work? No. In this case, we refer to a “green person” who is living green, where “living green means making choices in our day-to-day lives that enhance, rather than just reduce, our impact on the environment, and that move us in the direction of a sustainable lifestyle—one that is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and humane.”(Living Green, 2007).

One will be able to identify a “green” person from a “normal” person when they are placed together, as a “green” person’s attitude towards consumption and lifestyle is different from a “normal” person. Some of the attributes that will be discussed in this article to differentiate these two types of people are their different attitude towards recycling, utilizing of eco-friendly products in their environment and their enthusiasm for planting and greenery.

A “green” person and a “normal” person displays different attitude towards recycling; we can see this by the way they treat their disposable items, goods or materials. For example, with a plastic bottle, a “normal” person usually finishes the contents of a plastic bottle and throws it away in a normal trash bin. A “green” person, however, recycles the bottle by reusing it as a container or a water bottle until it can’t be reused than dispose it in the recycle bin for plastics (Rogers & Kostigen, 2007). This shows that compared to a “normal” person, a “green” person will always try to reuse and recycle whatever he uses.

A “green” person tries to utilize more eco-friendly products than a “normal” person. For example, a “green” person prefers to use gas grills when having BBQs to cut down on the amount of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds¹) generated by the grills, whereas a “normal” person will use any type of grill available as long as it is convenient for him/her (Cohens, n.d.). The reason why a “green” person prefers gas grills over other types of grills is because the gas grill produces much less CO2 than other types of grills. Again, this shows the difference between a “green” person and a “normal” person.

Another difference that can be found between a “green” person and a “normal” person is the enthusiasm for planting and greenery a “green” person has. While a “normal” person may know planting as a form of leisure, a “green” person will know that planting trees and more greenery help to purify the air and combat the greenhouse effect. As was stated in TreePeople (n.d.), “Trees absorb carbon dioxide, removing and storing the carbon while releasing the oxygen back into the air”. In addition to the knowledge of the benefits that plants and greenery have for nature, a “green” person usually owns a garden that houses a variety of plants and flora which he/she will maintain with care and dedication. Therefore, one should be able to find more greenery and plants around a “green” person’s environment than that of a “normal” person’s.

In conclusion, just by comparing the above differences between a “green” person and a “normal” person, we will notice that a “normal” person is one who is likely to forgo the small details that can help save the environment, whereas a “green” person is one who is eco-friendly and environmentally conscious of themselves and the place they live in.

^NOTE

¹Volatile Organic Compounds ^– Volatile organic compounds are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. (U.S. Geological Survey. n.d.)

Reference

Build Green (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2008 from

http://www.buildgreen.co.nz/definition.html

Cohen, M. (n.d.). Energy efficient homes. Green building - "The Green Person".

Retrieved March 12, 2008, from

http://www.energyefficienthomearticles.com/Article/green-building----The-Green-Person-/2599

Rogers, E., & Kostigen, T.M. (2007). The green book: The everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time. New York: Three Rivers Press

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (n.d.). Green Power Market: Green power defined.

Retrieved March 1, 2008 from

http://www.epa.gov/grnpower/gpmarket/index.htm

Living Green (2007, January). What does "living green" mean?

Retrieved March 14, 2008, from

http://www.livinggreen.org/livinggreen.cfm

TreePeople (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2008, from

http://www.treepeople.org/vfp.dll?OakTree~getPage~&PNPK=59

U.S Geological Survey (n.d.). Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Retrieved February 19, 2008,from

http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/vocs.html