What Does Green Mean?

What does green mean to you?

What does “green” mean to you?  I read the other day that “Green is the new Black.”  Perhaps this is because everywhere you look, something is being touted as green.  The President is pushing for green jobs, products are marketed as being green, businesses even compete with each other over which one is the greenest.

But there is no definition of green to guide us in determining whether an item qualifies.  Neither the Department of Energy nor the Environmental Protection Agency has established standards that must be met for the adjective to apply.  In fact, I would say that its not their role to do so.

So, we are left to our own devices in defining green.  That could be good (no additional regulations), or bad (potential misuse of the term).

What do you think?

Recently, grade school kids answered the question, what does it mean to be green?

These kids sure know what qualifies as “not green!”  But a clear definition of green still eludes them.

I wonder if adults could do any better?  Dell recently asked, “what does green mean to you,” of people attending Oracle OpenWorld 2007.  A variety of responses were recorded in the listening booth:

Is the definition of green too broad?

It appears that green can mean something different to each person answering the question.  Thus, what may be bright green to one, may be barely registering a green tint for another.

Unfortunately, the term “green” is ubiquitous.  Claims of “greenwashing” arise when people believe that they are being duped by the purported environmentally-friendly aspects of a product or organization.  When too many people claim to be “green,” it may no longer be a special, defining characteristic.

Has the label of “green” been used for too wide a variety of things?

How would you define “green,” if you were in charge?