The New Green Economy - A Sign of the Changing Zeitgeist?

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The Short Term Effects of Our New Green Economy by Markus Taylor

Thinking "Green" is not only a trendy way of thinking, but a probable way out of the economic mess our societies face, after the breakdown of our previous economic system. Solely because the "Green" economy, is the only way forward, if the effects of the industrial revolution on our environment are too be reversed.

One major area of the "Green" Economy is the reinvention of how we use our resources, and how we create a sustainable economy. Simply moving away from our dependence on oil, coal and nuclear energy dependence, without affecting the current way we live now. This thinking is not feasible, because our existing "Green" technology will never completely substitute more traditional forms of energy, until we start using it and developing it through our use of these technologies.

This means that we have to "change" from a consumer society, to a part-consumer society, that consumes wisely and not recklessly. We have to save energy, whilst implementing new energies until they develop enough to match our expectations if we still want to live the way we did before the crash of 2008. Otherwise, we have to travel less distances, consume less, recycle more and ultimately create new industries that provide work for those employed in now obsolete industries before the "Green" Revolution. This includes the automobile, coal, steel and plastics industries.

Solar Energy is the natural successor to most of our traditional energy sources. It is relatively expensive to install, but the benefits are long term, because it is free energy. One drawback is that solar energy depends on us cutting back, and saving energy as well, in a society where electrical appliances are common. Therefore we have to step back in time and either depend on more energy saving products or simply turn off many of the gadgets and appliances in our homes, that make life more convenient. This is a lifestyle change, that depends on us using less, and leaving perfectly good appliances in our garages or basements.

Already, we have the technology to build hydrogen, or solar powered cars, yet most of us drive petrol based cars and our automobile industries depend on selling petrol based cars. An industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people, that in economies facing high unemployment, somehow need to switch over to using these energies, without adding more unemployed people to our faltering economies.

Green "transport" means that we may have to travel less, use more public transport and rethink the way we use our cars. This is because existing "green" technologies will not match the way we are used to traveling now, but will develop, like the petrol based automobile did, step by step over a period of time. We need to change our attitude towards the way we use transport, and sacrifice our dependence on the automobile as it is today, before we reap the benefits of this revolution in transport.

There is no doubt that we need to change, and sacrifice in order to make this new "green" revolution work. Just like in the early 18th Century, we changed from farm workers to factory workers, but ultimately this engine of change will bring opportunities, and in the long term benefit us all.

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