When most people think of the people involved in sustainability and the green living movement most people think of liberals, hippies, treehuggers and the like. And, when I lived in California, that's what I assumed too. But since moving to Colorado I've learned not to make assumptions. The reality is that progressives don't have a monopoly on green living. Regardless of what the leadership of the different parties are doing, sustainability is something that people from all political parties are involved in.
When I go to my local Green Drinks or meetings of the Pikes Peak Sustainable Business Network a good percentage of the attendees are Republican. As are many of in the natural birth and parenting circles. In fact here in the west there is a particularly large percentage of conservatives in the renewable energy industry. Living off grid and being independent of government run utility companies fits well into the wild west, cowboy, independent, fend for yourselves culture of the western states. There are also conservatives in many other sustainable industries.
In this era of strong political polarization and distrust of "the other party." I think sustainable living is an area where we can find common ground. We all come to sustainable living for different reasons, with different backgrounds, and with different definitions of what it means. While most of us accept the science of global climate change, that doesn't mean there isn't a place for those that don't. There are plenty of other reasons to be an environmentalist even if you don't believe in climate change. I know people in the renewable energy industry that don't believe. At first glance that seems odd given that they are in renewable energy, but if you understand the culture of the west, as I mentioned above, it makes perfect sense. Do I wish these people accepted the science of climate change? Of course I do. But rather than focus on where we disagree, I'd rather find common ground to build a bridge.
I think sustainability and green living is a unique opportunity to build trust, understanding and respect across the political isles. It is an issue focused on hope for a better world for our children. It's an area where things are moving very fast and we can see a relative quick results from our actions. We all want clean water, clean air, and safe food. Where we differ is on how to get there. If we can stay focused on where we have common ground rather than giving each other a litmus test for purity of thought, we can accomplish a lot of great work, and use it as a model for those areas where we are still bitterly divided.
Map courtessy of Mark Newman, Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan
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