Follow the Green Path

Green light, green-stamp, greenback…we know green is Go! Yes! Yay! How does one color carry so much good-to-go feeling? Connotations are actually something interesting to think about – at least for us wordsmiths. Perhaps you have to go to the literal “root” on this one…the botanical bottom of this story.
Nature provides the process of chlorophyll production which sustains our whole planet. The birth of every leaf portends the future of our food and air. Of course, you need both sunshine and water (yellow & blue) to make green, a formula that works on a color palette as well!
Bombarded with headlines, organizations and catch-phrases that include the word green, I began to ponder green-ness again. Has it become an overused jingle or moniker today? I think so - but very rightly so, I decided. Green does mean LIFE, a color coding for everything most natural and necessary for our survival.
Even our Mendocino County Promotional Alliance is compiling a list of “green” businesses – those who use sustainable practices, in hopes of bringing our county’s 52 local conservation groups together and helping to sell the idea of Mendocino being a Green county, according to a recent Daily Journal article. Our county is green in more than its valleys, trees and plants – including medicinal herbs. Julia Conway of the Alliance admits, “We were green before it was fashionable.” Solar energy know-how and organic wines and ales put Mendocino on the map.
When researching for a column early last spring, I found that many people were involved in huge undertakings of localizing, an effort to conserve our “green” status by going a step further. And, actually, it means NOT going more than 50 or so miles, perhaps, to find essentials for our lives or businesses. The statistic that rocked me, after talking to Arky Ciancutti from Brewery Gulch Inn on the Coast last March, was that 20% of all fuel burned is a result of “moving food.”
The Greater Ukiah Localization Project (GULP) encourages local purchasing and sustenance within our area. The Coast Economic Localized Link (CELL) and Willits Economic LocaLization (WELL) are others in our county marching forward with a strong “green” message.
A seasonal opportunity to buy local is our Farmer’s Market at the Alex Thomas Plaza on Saturday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. Once the nice weather is gone, though, local produce may not be so accessible. We would hope there are indoor gardeners that can supply our local markets with fresh, organic products as much as possible, but we may need more work to achieve that.
GULP also invites interested citizens to help at the Cleveland Community Gardens and asks any other community or shared gardens to keep the group advised on local food production. How - or what does YOUR garden grow? Contact Maureen at moski@pacific.net to get on their mailing list.
Participation in the Ukiah Valley Area Plan (UVAP) allows us a voice in what happens to our communities in more ways than its food sources. Efforts to conserve and preserve will help ensure the viability of our area.
We’re not talking secession or radical politics here; we’re looking at self-reliance and self-sustenance. Can we possibly find everything we need right here in Mendocino or within our region? Possibly, but it may cost more. The price is critical or prohibitive to many, but the philosophy may have a greater impact on us in the long run. What is your future worth? How about the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren?
When I look back on growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, I recall the excitement and convenience which plastics, polyester, pesticides and food preservatives offered our parents. These were developed to eliminate their drudgery and hard work, potentially giving them more time to relax and enjoy life. Who knew those improvements would greatly affect our mindset, making us ignore questions of long term effects on our bodies and our planet?
One local songwriter Kristine Robin (also a wonderful musician who warrants her own feature article in the near future!) produced a powerful and inspiring video to accompany her song “One is the Sun.” Link to her presence online at http://www.kristinerobin.com/.
I found myself writing some lyrics over ten years ago – as a concerned parent and questioning adult – wondering what to do about correcting the misguided actions of past decades. I imagined handing my child a gift – our abused planet, which she receives with tears.
I ask her,
“Can’t you ignore a few shortcomings, ozone holes and global warmings?
Just needs a few more landfills, naval graveyards and toxic dumps.
Every world struggles through time and picks up a few bruises and bumps.”
Of course, she takes it, but without gratitude, as I leave the scene.
“Sadly I go, looking o’er my shoulder to watch her.
Working with love, she restores and waters her wildflower lawn,
caresses a cloud, protects her wood.”
Perhaps with music and poetry, as well as policy changes and hard work, we can eventually heal our world. We must try.