Every town can be a “green town.” Any community faced with rebuilding after a natural disaster, planning new municipal buildings or schools, upgrading retail or industrial centers, or building homes can gain valuable insight from the example of Greensburg, Kansas, set in Thomas J. Fox’s Green Town U.S.A. Here are tips on how to make your town more green:
Work Together.The power of an entire community working together toward a common vision is possible. Reframing politically charged concepts (like “environmentalism”) is entirely possible when you tie in personal values to the health of the natural environment.
Care for Your Neighbor. Community is the beginning and end of sustainability. It is only when we care about our neighbors that we will take care of that which belongs to all of us.
Care for Your Community. Integrate systems and materials that simply make the most common sense. Everybody wants to live in a place that is optimally comfortable and best for their, and others, well-being.
Identify Sustainable Treasures. Establishing a “green town” can be as simple as identifying the already existing “sustainable treasures” in a community and then setting intention in community to increase those assets.
Nature Always Wins. You can profit by working with nature; think of wind turbines, hydropower, geothermal power plants, hydropower, et cetera. However, working with nature has its drawbacks; storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, and more can damage your progress.
Green Town U.S.A. recounts Greensburg’s inspiring story of resilience, community, and sustainability which began on the evening of May 4, 2007, when disaster struck the quiet Kansas city. A tornado topping all the scales touched down, and in a matter of minutes, Greensburg, which stood for more than 120 years, was destroyed. Green Town U.S.A. is a story of hope and opportunity—even in the face of obstacles and difficulties—and provides a real-world proving ground for sustainable solutions.
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GREEN TOWN U.S.A.
Written by Thomas J. Fox
978-1-57826-312-7, $15.00 paperback
978-1-57826-481-0, $4.99 eBook
From Hatherleigh Press. Distributed through Random House.
Available wherever books are sold.
www.hatherleighpress.com