April 16, 2007

Thomas Friedman's Geo-Green Strategy

Having effectively demonstrated that The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman is campaigning for energy independence. His cover article in this Sunday's New York Times makes the case that "going green" is the key to putting "our post-9/11 trauma and the divisiveness of the Bush years" behind us, that it will "reknit America at home, reconnect America abroad and restore America to its natural place in the global order — as the beacon of progress, hope and inspiration."

Friedman continues,

In the world of ideas, to name something is to own it. If you can name an issue, you can own the issue. One thing that always struck me about the term “green” was the degree to which, for so many years, it was defined by its opponents — by the people who wanted to disparage it. And they defined it as “liberal,” “tree-hugging,” “sissy,” “girlie-man,” “unpatriotic,” “vaguely French.”

Well, I want to rename “green.” I want to rename it geostrategic, geoeconomic, capitalistic and patriotic. I want to do that because I think that living, working, designing, manufacturing and projecting America in a green way can be the basis of a new unifying political movement for the 21st century. A redefined, broader and more muscular green ideology is not meant to trump the traditional Republican and Democratic agendas but rather to bridge them when it comes to addressing the three major issues facing every American today: jobs, temperature and terrorism.

Read "The Greening of Geopolitics" in the Sunday April 15th New York Times.

For more Friedman's Geo-Green Strategy:
- Check out "geo-green" Friedman's proposal to reduce energy consumption and dependence.
- Watch a preview for "Addicted to Oil", his Discovery Channel documentary
- Check out his interview with Grist Muckracker Amanda Griscom Little.

Read More in: Conservation | Energy Savers | General News | Weekend Reading