One of the big things that separates human beings from other forms of life (other than obvious physical features such as opposing thumbs and gigantor brains) is our capacity to hope, dream and aspire to greatness. This ability is SUCH a gift. It is really awesome when you think about it. Whatever we can imagine, we can aspire to. And we do. We get it done, for better or for worse.
Today, I'd rather not dwell on getting it done to the detriment of society. We see enough of that in the news. You can check out any of the front pages if you need a heady dose of reality on this lovely Monday. Personally, I need some Life, Liberty and Pursuit in my world. So today my focus is on a community that is getting it done for the better. When their city was completely leveled in the physical/tangible sense by an EF5 (i.e. RIDICULOUS) tornado on May 4, 2007, the citizens of Greensburg, Kansas were crushed. But not for long. Soon, they realized a monumental opportunity lay before them--they could rebuild their city and they could do it using the greenest technology available; they would show the world that the heartland of rural America is ready for sustainable living in every sense of that concept.
Even Leonardo DiCaprio, a Hollywood Champion of sustainable culture, realized how incredibly meaningful this project and this community can be to pushing mainstream America Green. He's producing a documentary series on the transformation on the Discovery Channel/Planet Green, because the word HAS to get out about this. I totally feel his excitement! I mean, think about it!!! The ENTIRE city is going to be LEED PLATNIUM CERTIFIED. Yes that's right, I said PLAT-TI-NIUM. God I love me some Greeny Bling Bling.
I feel at a loss for the right words to explain just how huge I think this is. I have butterflies fluttering around my stomach writing this!!! Such a courageous and pioneering effort; one that will hopefully go down in history as a step akin to the giant leap for mankind we took when landing on the moon. That might seem a bit overblown to some, but just wrap your mind around the fact that this is mainstream, normal, conservative, rural America seeing and acting on the big picture in a way most of us can't even fathom.
And if they get it, so can everybody else. That's why the step is so huge. Walking on the moon was a magnificent feat and proved what humanity CAN do when we sink our effort into something. This step shows what humanity WILL do with all of our power and knowledge.
America was built around the premise of choice. And boy do are we facing a doozey of a decision! Will we save the planet we marvel at from space? Or will we squander it?
Greensburg's vote is in. How will you cast yours?
