2007 According to Kristin Underwood: My Grownup Christmas List
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 01.11.07
The other posts in this series can be found here. The first one with an explanation of what this is about is here.
Kristin Underwood
If I could pick any environmental issue to gain national attention in 2007 it would be that climate change becomes not just a mainstream idea in 2007, but that it’s the year that we really do something about it. This issue is very overwhelming and even downright depressing at times, but then there glimmers of hope for such as Walmart and Google choosing in 2006 to reduce their global footprint. Other signs that the tide will turn in 2007 was An Inconvenient Truth, which really brought the issue to the forefront. It really was amazing to see how people all over the planet were not only acknowledging the issue, but also recognizing their responsibility by changing light-bulbs and driving better cars.
In 2007, Treehugger is continuing to push public awareness of climate change with the Convenient Truths Video Contest. So much happened in 2006 to bring the issue to the forefront that it’s exciting and leaves me optimistic to think about what else we can commit to and accomplish in 2007.
For 2007, I’d also like to see solar power (and renewable energy in general) really take off. Doing a quick search on Treehugger, there are almost 400 articles written on this topic alone. The technology is improving as efficiency rates are increasing, and states are putting a lot of money into the expansive use of this technology across the US. As prices come down, and silicon supplies are more readily available, it would be nice to see the use of solar power in developing countries, particularly in areas that are troubled with energy shortages or with environmental degradation due to the use of destructive energy sources like coal and oil.
Unrelated, it would be nice to see the use of hemp expanded (and legalized) in the United States. Industrial hemp is a great source of paper, food, clothing, even chapstick. It’s a fast-growing, hardy, renewable resource that doesn’t need pesticides during production and doesn’t mildew/mold easily. For such a great, diverse product it gets a bad rap due to outdated regulations.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
2007 According to Karin Kloosterman: Butterflies in January
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2007 According to Celine Ruben-Salama: Buy In
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