Environmental Words "Banned"

Lake Superior State University releases a list of "Banned" words every January. These are words that were overused in the previous year (http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php). Two environmental words or phrases were among the list of "banned" words:

"Green" or "Going Green", and

"Carbon Footprint" or "Carbon Offsetting"

I agree that these words/phrases have been overused in 2008, but just as with all things whose time has come and where there is money to be made, everyone tries to pile onto the bandwagon. Rising energy costs have made us all realize that we need to do more conservation in order to avoid emptying our wallets. This has translated into "Green" building which saves the owners money but also has a great side effect of preserving resources and protecting the environment.

With the release of the National Association of Homebuilders Green Building Guidelines Program, homebuilders now have a mechanism to build green and get certified so that the homebuying public is protected. It is extremely important the consumers recognize how important the certification process is. Since everyone is saying they are green or going green (as evidenced by the banned words), consumers must insist on the certification from a third party source to ensure that they are "green" or "going green".

Green should not become a bad word or a banned word, but it will take consumer pressure to make sure that the word is used correctly and honestly.

We will talk about Carbon later!