I am excited and proud to be a part of the ‘ZiptoGreen’ team. I will be writing a monthly column covering various aspects of ‘green’ building, technologies, philosophies, lifestyles, and culture. 
 
Humankind has gone through an amazing development in technologies over the last several hundred years or so, changing the way most of us live, and dramatically changing the planet in the process. We have been affecting the planet for thousands of years, but never like we are now. And while the industrial revolution of the 1800s and the agricultural revolution of the 1900s has brought prosperity and abundance to a large portion of the world’s people, there are huge areas of the planet that have yet to see these benefits.

While many of us now face the task of cleaning up the mess we’ve made and are attempting to mitigate the destructive ways of our past, many societies in the second and third worlds are still striving to develop the industries and economies we must consider replacing or modifying. These countries, from east Europe, Asia, Africa, to Central and South America, are still struggling in their development and are not interested in slowing development or giving up the benefits of industrialization. Convincing some of them to join the ‘green’ revolution will be a challenge in many ways. 

Yet with every challenge there are opportunities, and with the science, technologies and knowledge that we possess today, we have the ability to live comfortably on this planet while at the same time wisely using our technologies in thoughtful, less harmful, and more sensible ways that do not destroy our ecosystem. 

If most predictions are correct, the learning curve will need to be short and all of us must pitch in. It is my intention to bring to your attention and to share with you many new opportunities and ways of living gently, yet fully and abundantly on this planet. Hopefully we will all join the team to think about, learn, and implement better ways of living on this beautiful planet, and to help “keep it green.”