Green: The New Red, White and Blue

Thomas Friedman looks at environmental patriotism

Comments (0) By Julia Youssefnia Thursday, Jan 24 2008

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman knows that going “green” is not just another marketing slogan. In his 2007 documentary screening today at Rice, Green: The New Red, White and Blue, Friedman delves into why “green” — that is, environmentally sound — practices became popular in the first place, and examines what American citizens are doing to push the green movement from being just a fad to being a concrete policy initiative. For the film, he traveled the U.S. looking at the different environmentally friendly technologies that American businesses and families have adopted. These include wind power, hybrid cars, biofuels, energy conservation and other methods. Some might be surprised that in the film, he visits notoriously unprincipled Wal-Mart Corporation (sorry, that’s allegedlyunprincipled Wal-Mart), which has created a “green” superstore (although we suspect this has more to do with marketing than general goodwill). Rice University professor Dr. Kyriacos Zygourakis, who heads the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department, will be on hand at the screening to answer questions about how you, too, can go green. 7 pm. Rice Media Center, 6100 Main. For information, call 713-524-3000 or visit www.cleanhouston.org. Free, but donations accepted.
Wed., Jan. 30, 7 p.m., 2008