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The recent Earth Day come and past has revealed a potent lesson, at least to me: while awareness of green issues is at an all-time high (and growing still) our unified capacity to mobilize to achieve further-reaching goals remains somewhat in disarray.
Yes, millions of people observed Earth Day last Wednesday, and did great green deeds like planting trees and taking their kids to educational environmental events. But the nearly-incomprehensible magnitude of all that remains to be done is daunting to say the least. There are so many steps being taken in the right direction, and so much passion on subjects like fighting climate change and environmental stewardship.
And the truth is, we could be doing more. Which is why I found it compelling when I stumbled upon Max Gladwell's post on a Call for a Green Constitutional Convention.
The gist of the post can be summed up in its subhead: "The Green Movement needs a framework and a set of guiding principles upon which we can all agree."
Combining the fiery patriotic rhetoric of America's founding fathers with new goals of fighting for pollution regulations and a move towards sustainable practices, the post outlines the manifesto as follows:
As Patriots of the Green Revolution, we're calling for a Constitutional Convention for sustainability. We're calling for a gathering not unlike the origins of the greatest nation the world has ever known, The United States of America. We're calling for the founding of a new Green Nation that has no borders, a nation that exists to serve all of humankind for all time. This is a call to declare our green independence and to draft the Green Constitution.
The Green Constitution, evidently taking its cues from the original document, would be a text agreed upon by leaders and participants of the modern environmentalist movement. It would lay out goals, standards, and rules by which the movement operates. Forging and enacting the document will be an uphill battle:
We see tremendous parallels, both historic and philosophical, with the current green movement. We're fighting the tyranny of air pollution, water pollution, and the unchecked consumption of our natural resources. We're the Patriots, and we're challenging the Loyalists.
But, with so many ardent supporters of green causes, the time is ripe to unite and agree upon a set of guiding principles (it's hard not to use the bombastic language after you've been reading it, trust me):
As it stands, we've formed the green colonies. We've built a green army and so many green militias. Our leaders are in place, having been nominated, appointed, and elected. The time has now come to declare our independence, to establish a Green Constitutional Convention, and to frame the Constitution for a sustainable world.
Hyperbolic? Maybe. But do those seeking a greener way forward need to unite under a common banner to more effectively tackle the challenges at hand? Perhaps.
More on Green Revolution:
Houses Getting Smaller- Green Revolution or Tight Money?
Shifting The Agricultural Research Paradigm: Green Revolution II
Thomas Friedman: There is No Green Revolution
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