What Our Grandparents Can Teach Us About Saving The World

I'm getting more comfortable all the time wearing the "greeny tree-hugger" moniker, though I'm a little sad it's not due to a newly discovered self-confidence, but instead to the fact that being a tree-hugger is increasingly popular. Emily and I have talked a lot about consumerism being the root problem of environmental degradation, and the irony of most "green" solutions that rely on buying a new or different product, rather than not buying one at all and making-do with what you already have or even better getting comfortable doing without. This article was provocative in that direction - even though the "Greatest Generations'" motives weren't "green," the values and willingness to sacrifice behind the motives had a green affect. Will our willingness to be green and sustainable last beyond our ability to avoid sacrificing, or survive the siege of consumerism?