EDITORIAL: ‘Greening’ for dollars

Everybody’s jumping on the “green” bandwagon, and now even local hoteliers are seeing dollar signs in “eco-tourism.” It’s an interesting concept: the idea being that environmentally aware tourists would rather spend their money in a city and with businesses that promote “green” policies and whose residents practice “green” living.

The Laguna Beach Visitors & Convention Bureau is taking the concept as far as possible, promoting “green” visitor services in Laguna Beach, such as the various hotels and restaurants dedicated to myriad ways of protecting the environment “” from on-site recycling and use of biodegradable products, to reduced energy use and other operational measures.

Spend with us, the bureau is saying, and you’ll help the environment, too. It’s a message that just might add some dollars to the city’s struggling economy.

Thinking and acting “green” has become a mantra in Laguna, and it’s not just empty words “” people put their passion for environmentalism into action.

Of course, everyone wants to be “green” and reduce their carbon footprint, recycle, use renewable energy and not pollute or trash the city’s natural beauty.

As for visitors, once they’re here, they still need to be educated in the obvious ways to keep the city’s natural resources pristine: not to trample the tide pools or leave trash on the beaches. Local volunteer groups have been attacking the problem for years, with some success. In fact, it’s becoming clear that living “greener” is not only good for the environment, but for the economy as well, especially in an era of diminishing resources.

President Obama is redirecting the nation toward not just energy self-sufficiency, but to make the U.S. the leader in manufacturing renewable energy products like windmills and solar panels. He hopes to turn the Midwest “rust belt” of abandoned steel and auto factories into a belt of renewable energy factories. For their part, struggling auto makers are taking a new road toward reduced use or no use of fossil fuels in engines.

With the “triple threat” of a struggling economy, global warming, and huge energy needs, the city and the country as a whole are not only thinking “green,” but seeing greenbacks from new, state-of-the-art technologies and the idea that “green is good.”

Just two days past Earth Day, the Earth is looking a whole lot greener than ever.