By Shaun Bailey , Marketing and Communications Specialist, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

Published on March 6, 2008
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In early January, 80 members of the American Dialect Society spent two days debating whether to proclaim “green” the Word of the Year for 2007. In the end, members immortalized “subprime” for obvious reasons, but if not for a poor housing economy, “green” could have easily been voted the most important word of the year, and rightly so. The term is used with such freedom today, it can easily be considered mainstream.

Many media outlets have begun to use “Green” as yet another news segment alongside “Business” and “Life.” Take, for example, the “Going Green” link on the website of NBC 10, a local news program that occasionally airs a segment called “In the Garden.” Similarly, The News Journal of Wilmington has a Web page entitled “Our Environment.” And Channel 3 CBS continues to maintain its Clean Water Project, a watershed education resource located at http://kyw.iewatershed.com.

On the home front, merchandisers are electing to stock green products rather than those deemed harmful to the environment. These range from small businesses like Philadelphia’s White Dog Café to retail giants like the Home Depot, the latter of which launched its Eco Options line of 2,500 products on Earth Day last year. And let’s not forget the many regional businesses in between, such as those enrolled in the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary’s Corporate Environmental Stewardship Program (now under the direction of Karen Johnson).

Countless corporations have begun to implement green marketing plans that play an integral role in their overall business plans. DuPont, for instance, has created Clear into the Future, a community initiative that shares the same mission as the Partnership. Meanwhile, “Green” could have easily been the theme at last January’s North American International Auto Show. Even the Philadelphia Eagles — a billion-dollar franchise — has improved upon its reputation thanks to its budding “Go Green!” program.

Cities big and small have begun to have town hall-style meetings centered on green subjects. Take, for example, the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and its “Town Square: Science for Citizens” series. Every few weeks the Academy — a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research — provides a venue for some of the most forward-thinking environmentalists in the nation. Most recently, this included Van Jones, president of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California. Jones is working to combat both pollution and poverty in a way that has never been done before: by training inner-city youth to take up ranks in a youth corps training program that is part of a Green-Collar Jobs campaign. Using $125 million provided by the Green Jobs Act of 2007, Jones plans to create green job-training programs across the United States.

Now that “green” has become a buzz word in the American vocabulary, perhaps consumers will begin to distinguish between shades of greenness, or degrees of authenticity. Or better yet, perhaps this will serve as a stepping stone for other ecological terms, each one of which is worthy of increased attention. Just imagine if every American knew the meaning of “estuary,” “watershed” or “stormwater,” for example. After all, if “subprime” can make it into the American vernacular, why not “estuary?”

See how you can get the most green, for your green, at the websites below:

• Automobiles: GreenerCars.org
• Commercial Purchasing: ResponsiblePurchasing.org
• Computers: EPEAT.net
• Retail Products: GreenerChoices.org
• Green Investing: SierraClubFunds.com