When I read the article in the Times-Union titled "What will 'American Teen' mean to local tourism?" I wondered what else Warsaw had to offer the world other than being the town where a movie/documentary was filmed. Later that evening, my husband and I watched an old NOVA episode that highlighted global dimming and global warming. We've all seen these types of programs many times, but what do we do when we turn off the TV? I thought, wouldn't it be really neat if Warsaw/Winona Lake became known as the greenest community in Indiana? How hard would it be for our community to work together to implement the changes needed to better our environment?
We've all heard about the things we can do to be greener, and many of us are trying to do them. How do we encourage everyone in the community to be actively seeking out new ways to improve our environment, and how do we measure our success? It seems daunting, but I think it can be done. With the support of our local government, business leaders and representatives from all of our neighborhoods, we could collectively implement one change. Once we've all "adjusted" to the change, we could implement another, and so on. Over time, I envision seeing reductions in electric consumption per household, gas purchased per period and volume of trash generated. These values could be compared to state/national averages to determine where we stand.
Some of the changes would be easy and relatively inexpensive. Some, further down the road, might require more discipline. What do you want this community's legacy to be? My preference is that it be for something that benefits future generations. And, if tourism increases because people want to see just what we do and how we do it, then so much the better.
I'd like to hear from others who are interested in this idea.
