As the environmental movement prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, there's no question the economy has taken a toll on the ability of people and businesses to be green.
It doesn't mean they aren't still trying, but they might have changed how they try to be environmentally conscious.
“As much as the market throws these terms around, it is driving people to do the right thing whether they're intentionally trying to do it or not,” said Ryan Olsen, store manager for Wilmington's Progressive Gardens.
Saving money was always one of the primary arguments for being green, even if it did often take a back seat to saving Mother Earth first.
What the economic slowdown has done, though, is allow that message to seep in even more, said Elise Rocks, co-founder of the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance.
A few years ago when the building boom was in overdrive, she said, developers and contractors didn't really have the time to embrace the economics of green ideas.
But now, with everyone watching every penny, there's more of a motivation to highlight the tax and dollar savings that can come from using, for example, less water and energy in a building.
“It's obvious that when we start coming out of this that people in the industry want to have that edge,” Rocks said. “And the public is demanding it.”
One company that has already reinvented itself to reflect the changing economic conditions is Wilmington's Mott Landscaping.
Owner Steve Mott said nearly 90 percent of his traditional landscaping business eroded during the economic meltdown.
“But the green roof industry has grown even during the recession,” he said.
Mott said the popularity of vegetated roofs is growing because of economics as much as anything to do with being environmentally friendly.
“They pay for themselves in 5-7 years,” he said, referring to the energy savings from the nontraditional roofs.
Many green roofs, like the one on New Hanover Regional Medical Center's new women's and children's hospital, also have an equally important role as a healthy and relaxing escape for the building's inhabitants.
The sputtering economy also has changed “green” patterns at the individual level.
At Progressive Gardens, $25 bags of organic soil are no longer flying off the shelves as they did a few years ago.
But Olsen said $8 bags are still moving quickly.
“There's definitely still a cost issue there,” he said. “But people still want to do the right thing.”
That includes a strong interest in home gardens and organic products – a desire fueled by the drumbeat of food recalls and worrying stories about the chemicals getting injected into our food supply.
Wednesday morning Jessica McCready joined a steady stream of locals stopping by the Wilmington store to pick up their first box of the season of chemical-free vegetables from Cottle Organics in Rose Hill.
McCready said that while $300 for 12 weeks is a chunk of change, she sees the community supported agriculture program as a learning experience as much as a way to make sure her family eats healthy.
“I want my children to know where their food comes from, what it looks like coming out of the ground,” she said, adding with a smile that she'd also have to bone up on what greens she was getting and what exactly she could do with them.
Joining McCready in claiming his first box of greens was Paul Perkins.
“There is that excitement of not knowing what you're going to get,” he said as he checked out the collard greens, radishes and rutabaga in this week's organic offerings with one arm, holding his 2-year-old son, James, in the other. “Plus I'm happy what I'm not getting, namely all those chemicals. We already have too many of those.”
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