Older eco-activists are logging on--and spreading the word
For 64-year-old Joyce Emery, gray is the new green. The Ames, Iowa, grandmother of six began a personal environmental crusade by often swapping her car for a bike. But when Joyce bit the Web to find out how she could do more, she couldn't find a site that allowed easy access to like-minded people. So she cofounded an online community: www.greenseniors.org. Now, thousands know her by her blogosphere name--Green Granny--and they visit the site for advice, news, and stories of 50-plus "green heroes."
Green Granny's just the tip of the melting iceberg. As talk of global warming escalates, older Americans are increasingly taking a stand on the environment. Tellingly, a recent consumer survey found that people over 55 are more likely than any other age group to conserve energy in their homes. And these eco-elders are organizing online.
Max Lindberg, 76, records his Greening the Golden Years podcast (www.thelindbergreport.org) from his apartment in Tucson, Arizona. The show features interviews with activists and authors. And Robert Lane, 90, helped create a website called Gray is Green (www.grayisgreen.org), after convincing his Connecticut retirement community to conserve energy. "Our generation defeated fascism and Japanese imperialism," he says. "But we exploited the earth. So we owe it to our grandchildren to do what we can to repair it." --Jeffrey R. Young
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