Being GREEN is not another fashionable trend  of recycling, eating ecological food or the use of solar panels, as many skeptics would argue. Being green means awareness of the negative impact of a relentless climate change that demands systemic reforms to make a real difference. If not, every attempt is reduced to a mere commercial goal that doesn´t change the situation and its not able to reform the system either. However switching to a green age has become a matter of fashion, and a profitable business. The business is to deliver products or services  by a green label that gives an image of a modernity and a sensible business that cares for the environment.

Being GREEN has also an emotional element that is the feeling of trying out new habits and changing old codes of our daily life. Little sacrifices/efforts as: reducing cars circulation, recycling, buying ecological food, changing use of water or electricity suppliers could make a strong difference.1st of all: change an attitude, then a strategy that is the main secret for building a new life. The emotional aspect is essential in the process and consists of being devoid of fear to the new and starts a sustainable process towards green habits.

The most effective way to address revolutionary changes is it through the educational system that transforms minds and build a new way of living individual and professionally. Until this critical moment arrives please, bear in mind that environmental issues are not a matter of private concerns but a public issue that needs to be regulated at State level without individual efforts. However, individual attitudes are paramount and cannot be entirely dominated by a public authority. That is the importance to educate and convince people of the relentless impact of climate change and the influential impact of our private behaviour. Educating, present and future generations towards green patterns of habits. Literally the conjunction of individual efforts could have a crucial impact on global crisis, not only climate change but also other crises like migration. For instance, in Ghana, people are forcing to migrate because of the dramatic rise of the sea that submerge entirely villages.

In political aspects leaders committed with the environment need to reform their agenda substantially giving priority to strategies and budget around adaptation and investment in natural resources. In the near future green parties would not exist and will give way to an entire green political class, above political ideologies. To be green is no a chapter in the political agenda anymore but a part of a solid project to any country with higher risk -or not- to be impacted by climate change.

Investment in Education programs and educate actors of the civil society around green matters become a central pillar for building resilience and to educate the political class.

Being Green and not die trying must be the motto for the next decades. More than ever, individual efforts are more effective and more feasible to achieve results in the short term than big bureaucratic public initiatives have tended to be.

“Falling” or “rolling” into a new Green age? For new generations means “rolling” as is part of their education process. For the old generations -and skeptics- means “falling” resigning to old codes of habits by integrating new concepts.

Never mind if you are falling or rolling, be green is the sustainable investment at individual level…. thus it is just a matter of time…

*Mathilde Roussel, “Lives of grass”