Welcome back to the Planet Forward blog, we’re a couple of weeks into the New Year and we thought we’d take a look back at the top 10 green trends in 2011. TIME Magazine published a list of their top 10 green trends of 2011 and you’ll be surprised by some of them. The topics are diverse ranging from electric vehicles to increased nuclear fears to fracking.  

TIME Magazine’s top 10 green trends in 2011:

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after earthquake and tsunami March 14, 2011 (photo credit: reuters.com)

1. The Return of Nuclear Fears
On March 11, a colossal earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan.  In the worst atomic meltdown since Chernobyl, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex was severely damaged by the disaster which eventually caused a meltdown. There’s still research underway to determine the long-term effects of the Fukushima disaster, but reaction in the nuclear industry was quick as Germany and Japan announced drastic reductions in atomic power. 

2. Climate-Change Skepticism
Back in 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain believed in global warming and had a plan to reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable energy.  “Today it’s easier to find an iceberg in the Sahara than it is to find a major Republican candidate who believes in climate science. As a result, climate change has become one more politically polarized issue — which means any national action from the U.S. has become virtually impossible.”

3. Fighting Old-Fashioned Air Pollution
The fight against air pollution continues and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented mandated change.  The EPA established “new rules for power plants and industrial facilities that will reduce smog and air pollution and improve public health.”

4. Going Local
It’s not just about shopping locally sourced foods and products; it’s about local government’s taking action to combat climate change while recognizing that federal governments move at a snail’s pace.  For example, “California enacted an ambitious cap-and-trade program that will mandate greenhouse-gas reductions, despite political opposition. Cities like New York and Portland, Ore., continued to press on with plans to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.”

5. NIMBYism
NIMBYism which means “not in my backyard,” includes greens fighting against development.  The biggest victory came for NIMBYism when they pushed Obama to postpone the Keystone XL pipeline.  The Keystone XL pipeline was planned across the Midwest US and would have brought crude from Canadian oil-sands. Most activists and environmentalists honed in on the carbon risk of the oil sands, but it was the ordinary folks in Nebraska who were concerned about the risk of a local oil spill where the pipeline was planned to cross.  I’m sure everyone saw the media coverage on the numerous protests that occurred.

6. Electric Vehicles Go Commercial
In 2011, the Nissan Leaf and GM’s Volt began selling their electric vehicles to eco-conscious drivers.  The number of drivers is still small at less than 10,000 of each model and the Volt has come under fire (literally) for safety as a result of battery fires that can occur during collision. However, we certainly hope that the trend will continue towards more electric vehicle options from car manufacturers so they become the norm on the road, not the exception.  Drivers at large have to recognize that to help combat climate change, we have to reduce our dependency on oil and fossil fuels.

7. The Fight over Fracking
What the frack?  “Environmentalists have serious concerns about the risk of water pollution associated with hydrofracking — and many of the people who’ve leased their land for drilling are having second thoughts. As a result, fracking has become the hottest environmental issue in the U.S. — much more so than climate change — and there’s a real possibility that the expansion of gas drilling could be blocked in states like New York. The U.S. could be entering a golden age of gas, but only if it can figure out the environmental challenges.”

8. Greens Sour on Obama
Obama’s recent moves to postpone the Keystone XL pipeline and improve gas mileage have helped, but environmentalists are still disappointed with his progress over the past 4 years.  “After eight years of the climate skeptic George W. Bush, Obama represented himself as someone who believed in science, who was willing to make the U.S. a leader in the battle against global warming. He promised cap and trade and drafted the greenest Cabinet in U.S. history, with luminaries like Energy Secretary (and Nobel Prize–winning physicist) Steven Chu. But less than a year before the 2012 election, many greens have soured on Obama. He’s blamed for not putting enough energy behind the push for cap and trade, which finally died in the Senate last year. He’s accused of kowtowing to polluters, watering down regulations on smog and other air pollutants.”  I don’t think this bodes well for green support for Obama in the 2012 election.

9. The Solyndra Mess
It’s not uncommon for companies to go bankrupt especially with the current state of the economy, but all hell broke loose when solar panel manufacturer Solyndra declared bankruptcy in September 2011.  Why?  Well, not only were there 1,000 employees now out of work but Solyndra received $500 million in government loan guarantees.  Did Solyndra waste they money?  “Not exactly. The loan-guarantee program was going to be risky — support for insurgent technologies always is. And recent reviews of the Department of Energy’s loan programs have shown little waste. But Republicans seized on Solyndra as evidence that renewable energy wasn’t worth government support — and they’ve kept the issue in the headlines ever since. Expect to hear about the “Solyndra scandal” a lot between now and November.”

10. The Billion-Dollar Disasters
With 14 separate natural disasters costing $1 billion-plus, the US hit an all-time record in 2011.  Although scientists continue to struggle with the connection between climate change and extreme weather, there’s no question that the hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and droughts suffered were warning signs.  What does the future hold and how many billion-dollar disasters will the public have to cope with in the future?

And that’s it for TIME’s list of the top 10 green trends in 2011. Quite frankly, a little depressing. What do you think the green trends will be in 2012? 

January 18, 2012
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