Spreading the Green Word

I've been bogged down with moving back into the house. I also took a week off to help my mother in South Carolina get her house updated and sorted out. I want to report on a couple of events that lead me to believe that green is no longer just for the initiated.

I had a new piece of furniture delivered to the house in Sonoma and it just so happens that the day it happened on the day that the painters were finishing up and we had a house full of workers who were putting finishing touches everywhere. I was caught off guard when one of the delivery men pointed out that he normally can smell the effects of new construction when he walks in the door. He said that it normally caused him to wheeze a bit. But this house was different, he pointed out. It is always nice to get unsolicited confirmation that your work is recognized.

Then there's the South. I grew up in the South, so I lovingly embrace its traditions. But often times, it means that there is healthy skepticism for anything new. And I feared that this was the case. Of course, my elderly mother seems game for being part of any new movement that makes her life easier and more productive. She still teaches university and is a whiz on the web, which she uses for her literary research. I've been very heartened by her interest in all things environmental and green. She regularly sends me articles that she's clipped on alternative fuel cars (she's subscribes to Car and Driver magazine) and features from the Wall Street Journal.

She enlisted the aid of Roy Grubbs for his painting services and insisted that he use the low-VOC paint from Sherwin Williams www.sherwin-williams.com (Duration). She rescues greyhounds so she needs a durable and washable paint. So far, the results live up to expectation. It was fairly odor-free. It went on well, according to Roy. And the gentle test scrubbing that I did before I left seem to hold up.

I spent the week adding the "expert" commentary on green design to anyone that my mother would engage in conversation on the topic. While I understand the look of polite tolerance that one often encounters in the South, I do think that we "converted" several skeptics in our travels around the Charleston area.

It's all about spreading the word and living by example. Isn't everything?