The Green Street Journal???

Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal had a flurry of articles about being green. It tells you how central the topic is becoming, but it also reveals that there's a certain trendiness that may mask light for heat. A lot of these are scriberwalled so you may not be able to read them. The first two concern Hotel Chains offering Green Options and Mortgage lenders offering green incentives for homes that incorporate green technologies. It's not clear that these are real improvements but it does bring to mind the environment which is a good thing. I hope it lasts, but really it'll be invisible improvements that are long lasting. We don't think of CFCs anymore, because we have alternatives that were the only choice, so there was no choice.

A more whimsical article is the one onJapanese war on air conditioning to reduce energy costs. Air Conditioners were set at 82 degrees, causing a relaxation of dress codes, in notoriously staid Japanese work culture. However, there were stalwarts who refused to give up on tradition.

A lot of the green revolution is motivated by a desire for green. But like the Chinese lead standards which were on the books more stringent than the American ones, when the profit motive gets involved one should be wary at best. The free market, is rarely free.