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| sabra morris editor
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One of our editors brought a curious piece of writing to my attention a few days ago. It was an obituary for the word “Green,” written as satiric commentary, meant to draw attention to the growing concern that the green movement has become too trendy, too glamorized and too easy to adopt by anyone and everyone who wants a piece of the profit pie that comes from attaching the “G” word to their service or product.
We had to admit that the tongue-in-cheek obit, which appeared in a highly respected national consumer magazine, wasn’t far off. As we produce this year’s green issue, we’re aware of the inflation of the green movement. We’ve watched as businesses in our industry strain every which way to define their products as green. We’ve heard it used as a selling point for almost everything under the sun.
It may be true that mass participation in the green movement, while widening its appeal, may have diluted its true message. But that doesn’t mean the original message isn’t as compelling as it was when we printed our first green issue just one year ago. That’s why our goal is still to bring you the best coverage of green life at home. This includes talking to some of the state’s top environmental experts about whose green initiatives are really working and what’s in store for the future. It also includes finding some of the greenest houses in Hawaii right now (they’re beautiful and functional. Check out page 52 for one of our favorites). Finally, it includes bringing you some of the best green products out there, complete with information on where to shop for them. After all, it may not be possible to buy ourselves out of global warming, but each small effort is still a step in the right direction.
As always, our mission is to inspire improvement at home, whether it’s by swapping out old toss pillows, throwing down a new rug, or building a family room addition you’ve been dreaming of. It’s true that there’s a green way to accomplish most of your home-improvement goals these days. That’s why we’re still energized and inspired by the green endeavor. I hope this issue continues to inspire you, too. After all, our children and our grandchildren will thank us for protecting the Earth—and that gorgeous recycled glass bowl—they’ll inherit someday.
Aloha,
Sabra
sabram@pacificbasin.net “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”
- Marshall McLuhan, 1964
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| Terry Rollman Publisher
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Pretty much everything I do now embarrasses my 13-year-old twin boys, but particularly my mission to save our aina, one plastic bag at a time. They say I’m a nerd because I take cloth bags to the market, pick up trash off the street, ask them to take shorter showers. They take for granted the beauty of our Islands, our clean air and oceans. Not me. I appreciate every day how lucky I am to live in a place where we can be outdoors, hiking, biking, swimming, running and surfing year ‘round. One of these days, when I become “cool” again according to my kids (I think that happens around college age) I think they’ll realize what many of us already know about the importance of caring for our planet. And I’ll feel better, knowing that I’ve turned them into a couple of environmental nerds, too.
terryr@pacificbasin.net
