Green… Really?
Oasis of the Sea's Boardwalk
I wrote about Greenwashing before. I ran across an article in Landscape Architecture, of all places, that I think is a prime example. I couldn’t find it online, but I scanned a copy as a JPG here. In a nutshell, several cruise lines are adding vegetation to their ships. Green roof technology is letting them grow grass. The boardwalk on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Sea has trees and shrubs. Celebrity Cruise Line’s Solstice has a Lawn Club.
It will be interesting to see how this is marketed. www.cruisecritic.com says things like this about Oasis of the Seas, “…like the foliage-filled Central Park (12,175 plants!)” and this about Celebrity Cruise Line’s Solstice, “Kick off your shoes and stroll through a half-acre of real grass.” I haven’t seen these things marketed as “green”, but I can’t think that they are anything but the opposite by the time you figure the additional fuel to move tons of plant matter as well as their support structure. Add to that the manpower for care, fertilizer and maintenance equipment necessary to keep these plants in an alien environment. Heck though, maybe research to keep plants alive on cruise ships will translate into research for sustainable plant communities on the space station and extraterrestrial colonies…
If cruise lines want to be green, wouldn’t it make sense for them to be exploring some of the options that the transatlantic freighters are using such as adding sails and the novel idea of the giant kites? Freighters are also currently slowing their speeds to save fuel and are often making the crossing at slower speeds than the old sailing ships, though carrying much greater quantities.
In any case, I think the agenda is to seem green. Not everything has to be, but it is the trend of the day. Everyone is putting a leaf in their logo and changing their packaging to the drab color of a grocery sack. But everything doesn’t have to be 100% green. I’m not even sure if that’s possible. I do know that forcing a look of green rarely results in real environmental or economical savings.
As I’ve said before, being green isn’t a bad idea. It can be good for the planet and when done right, good for the economy. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. promotes the ideas that make sense. Greenwashing just plays on your guilt.
Washington Gibberish
I am somewhat frustrated by the gibberish that is coming from Washington. Be it Health Care Reform, the so called “stimulus” packages or even just the general budgets. Many would say it has always been like that and I have read some accounts that discussed arguments over bills that nearly came to blows in the 1800’s. There are other records that belie that though. The Homestead Act of 1862 is one such example. Could such a sweeping document be created and passed in such a succinct form today? I think not.
First, if you look at that document (here), which basically opened the West to settlement, it is only two pages long! I would wager that President Lincoln didn’t sign his name to it with 15 different give-away pens either…
News Release from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
ABC Unveils Jobs Proposal for the Construction Industry
Contact: Gail Raiman, (703) 812-2073 Gerry Fritz, (703) 812-2062March 2, 2010 Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today unveiled its 2010 Job Creation Proposal, a wide-ranging package of recommendations that will help to stimulate the construction industry and put Americans back to work.
“We believe these measures are a much-needed first step to get this nation’s construction industry moving again,” said ABC President and CEO Kirk Pickerel. “With construction in this country nearly at a standstill and the industry unemployment rate at a staggering 24.7 percent – more than twice the national average – it is imperative for Congress to enact meaningful job creation legislation.”
MCEDC Culver Representative 2010-2012
I have served as the Town of Culver representative to the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) for the past three years. This took the group through incorporation as a 501(c)6 corporation. Since that time I have been vice chairman of the corporation. My term expired at the end of December last year and I volunteered to be reappointed to the corporation board. I am pleased that the Culver Town Council chose to reappoint me at their meeting, February 10, 2010. (Pilot News Article here.) I have represented Culver to the best of my ability and believe I have served the Town well.
MCEDC has made great strides in the short time it has existed. We have established offices in Plymouth and hired an Executive Director, Administrative Staff and just recently a dedicated Grant Writer. We have a functioning website and have established ourselves as a regional leader with State and local officials as well as site locators throughout the nation. We are currently working to increase our regional position through cooperation and strategic partnerships with surrounding counties.
Lurkers Welcome!
I sat through the testimony and public comment on the Maxinkuckee Village project Thursday and Friday last week and learned that I have a few more lurkers than I realized. My previous blog entry on Maxinkuckee Village was cited directly by one side and I understand the other side references it in some of their online discussions. For those of you dropping in to see what I said, I thought I would make it easy for you and link that previous entry here.
