The Meaning of Green

There are no two people exactly alike. Even identical twins, who share the same set of genes, have differences. It is not surprising then that people often have different takes on words, despite those words oftentimes having concrete dictionary definitions. People tend to disagree less about some words than others. However, one case in which the meaning of words draws more conflict is when these words have to do with something controversial. During the past few decades, talk over the environment and government policies has resulted in divisive opinions. A word often heard in the language of the environment is the word “green.” What exactly is it to be “green?”

The American Heritage dictionary contains over 70,000 entries. One of them happens to be the word “green.” In this dictionary, green is defined as: “n. 1a. any of a group of colors whose hue is that of growing grass. b. The hue of the visible spectrum lying between yellow and blue. 2. greens Leafy plants or plant parts used as food or for decoration. 3. A grassy lawn or plot: a putting green. adj. –er, est 1. Of the color green. 2. Covered with green growth or foliage. 3. Made with leafy vegetables. 4. Not mature or ripe. 5. Inexperienced.” While these are the definitions that may first come to mind when a person hears the word “green,” none of them necessarily define the word in the sense that it is being discussed here. At the same time, environmentalists who coined this version of the word did not choose the word “green” out of thin air.

Part of the dictionary definition of green says that a green is a plant. However, even the section about green being a color refers to one of the plants seen around the world, grass. Environmentalists took these connotations of the word in order to form a new meaning for the word for their own use. In the environmental sense of the word, green is used as an adjective, as in “to be green.” This does not mean to be naive or inexperienced. It is not literally to be the color green or to be a plant, although both of these things share part of the meaning. Rather than literally being the color green or being a plant, to be “green” is to be a supporter of those things, and more particularly, the environment. This does not mean that people who are green are supporters of the color green, more that they are supportive of things that are the color green (such as grass, contained within green’s definition) and use this color as their rallying color and symbol. If, perhaps, the grass, trees, and other plants were red, the word being discussed here would instead be “red”.

There are different ways of being “green.” A person can be green. A person who is green cares about the environment and practices environmentally friendly behaviors. They may be called “eco-friendly.” Those who are green wish to waste as little energy as possible and hope to leave a small ecological footprint on the earth, leaving little damage to it behind. One is said to “go green” if they begin practicing environmentally friendly behaviors consistent with a “green” lifestyle. Not only can individual people be green, collections of people, such as factories, companies, businesses, groups, etc. can be considered green. Whether these companies really want to be green or are seeking to attract the environmentally-friendly audience is debatable. For example, some companies may claim to be “going green” by producing more eco-friendly products, such as Aquafina has done recently with water bottles. Along with people, actions themselves can be considered green. Commonly thought of actions that are considered green are recycling and saving water. People may take it a step further by purchasing a hybrid car, using compact fluorescent or LED light bulbs (as opposed to incandescent), or using a water filter instead of drinking water bottles. Finally, objects and places can be considered green. As previously mentioned, there are green cars and water bottles. Within the past few years, supermarkets have been offering for sale “green” reusable shopping bags to be used in place of the plastics ones currently given out. There are many buildings that are said to have gone green. These buildings use resources such as water and energy more efficiently than normal ones do and try to reduce their overall impact on the environment. They might for example, employ solar energy.

As with advocates of many things, there is a wide spectrum when it comes to how “green” a person is. Some people may just recycle or not let the water run while brushing their teeth. Others, however, may be a little more involved with the cause and only purchase products made out of biodegradable materials and eat only organic foods. In addition, there are many people who are not green at all. There are many believers of the claims that theories such as global warming are all scams created by scientists or the government. Therefore, these people do not practice green policies at all, and in fact sometimes act in ways to spite them.
As previously mentioned, the dictionary definition of “green” in The American Heritage, a printed dictionary, did not have the definition of the word “green” as it is being discussed here. Curiously enough, however, when one looks at an online version of a dictionary, such as The Free Dictionary, the last definition provided is, “7. Green A supporter of a social and political movement that espouses global environmental protection, bioregionalism, social responsibility, and nonviolence” (Green 1). Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that further down the page on the website, it references the same edition of The American Heritage from which the original definition was taken. It is certainly noteworthy that the more modern definition of the word is contained in the more modern form of media (note also that this occurrence was not because the print dictionary was an old version). One should also notice that the website capitalized “Green” for this definition, as if it is an official title, such as “Republican” or “Christian.” Finally, from this online definition it is shown that the term “green” has branched out even more, becoming a social movement and referring not only to taking care of the earth, but to taking care of the people on it as well. The green movement has also merged with other things, such as healthy living in general (for example, eating organic foods is good for the environment and the body) and the idea that to live “green” is to save “green,” in reference to money (for example, turning the thermostat up a few degrees in the summer and down a few degrees in the winter).

The word “green” has a multitude of meanings. Something that is green is considered a reference to the environment through the environment’s association with the color green. Many people and things can be green or go green. By understanding this most recent meaning of the word, one can begin to understand many more things involving the environmental movement.

*Picture found at http://blogs.whattheythink.com/going-green/2009/05/checklist-for-going-green