I wasn't so sure a year ago. I thought that despite the county seat's name, Greensboro and the surrounding areas lacked progressiveness regarding sustainability in comparison to other cities, such as Portland and Seattle.
Admittedly, when I first moved here in April 2006 to work for the News & Record, I was more concerned about finding a cheap place to live while I sold my house, learned my beat, met friends and found out what kind of entertainment the city had. But months went by and I started making changes in my lifestyle (partly motivated by tight finances), such as resuming a childhood joy of bike-riding, walking to stores for exercise and gardening. I asked myself, where are all the bike lanes? And man, these neighborhoods are so spread out, I don't know if I have the time and energy to walk two hours round trip lugging bags of groceries (I lived in northwest Greensboro for about eight months). I stared at people standing in the cold rain at city bus stops from the comfort of my five-passenger sedan. When I moved to an apartment in Lindley Park, I had to drive to another neighborhood to start a garden (thanks to a resident's beneficence). And you know the saying, out of sight, out of mind. And when I tried to cut back on my carbon emissions by hanging my laundry to dry, I was told no clotheslines outside. So I bought a rack and hung them in an already crowded bedroom.
Then I learned about climate change and peak oil and shortly realized that what were now inconveniences in a car-dominated society could turn out to be liabilities. Were these issues on the radar of city and county governments and community organizations? Fortunately, I now know that some groups in the county and state are trying to address these challenges and help residents prepare for what is to come over the next few decades: skyrocketing oil and natural gas prices, unpredictable weather patterns and possibly a global economy that must reverse itself and become increasingly local. Peak oil is only beginning to hit the mainstream consciousness and I agree with some who say the subject will likely overtake climate change in public debate this year.
So what are the residents of Guilford County going to do about this? Will we continue to look for the same solutions to our economic and social problems? How innovative can we be in transitioning to a lifestyle that is more local, energy efficient and less dependent on fossil-fuels (i.e. gas-powered automobiles, industrial agriculture). Do we have the political will, resources and persistence to make this area an attractive and viable place to live 20 years from now?
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