Green the Capitol

I find that Nancy Pelosi’s Green the Capitol initiative is an excellent proposal to making society more environmentally friendly, for it demonstrates logical goals and plans that could realistically be executed. Just a few of the hundred plus changes that are being work towards are: selling only fair-trade coffee in its cafeteria, purchasing carbon offsets for the Capitol power plant and using carpeting and paint made of low-volatility organic compounds. This bold move is a step in the right direction to encouraging Americans to follow in their government’s footsteps. By having the House of Representatives become the “first carbon-neutral legislative body in the world,” it’s setting the example of what they're wanting Americans to do. If the government makes the plan of “going green” a priority then it only makes sense that Americans will catch on to how much better this sort of lifestyle could potentially be.

There is a road block however; by creating a sense of mockery in this blog this discourages people of taking the new “Green the Capitol” plan seriously. Mark Hemingway, the author of this blog, mentions Green the Capitol’s offices most prominent member Allison Rogers frequently in his writing, but is sure to emphasize the fact that she’s Miss Rhode Island 2006. By drawing attention to that is he possibly trying to get readers to turn their heads away from what she’s desperately working towards? It seems that he’s trying to make Roger’s come across as a woman with just a pretty face and no capability of successfully executing this plan.

Hemingway is targeting all fellow Americans by writing this blog and one can only assume that he’s writing this to keep them from falling into the government’s “trap.” It’s obvious that he’s against the Green the Capitol movement and he feels the need to make others aware of this so called scam. While his facts are credible he still finds a way to camouflage his personal opinion in there to make it seem as if it’s the actual truth.

He makes it clear that he thinks making these environmental changes are a waste of time and cheating Americans out of their money when in fact it’s the complete opposite. In 2006, the House’s energy costs amounted to $15 million. In 2008, after the implementation of Green the Capitol, the House was spending over $20 million. The program claims that by 2017 it will have reduced the House’s energy use by over 50 percent, resulting in a significant annual savings. It’s apparent that this is a huge money stretch over an approximate ten year period, but in the end it’s going to enhance the economy so there’s no scam of which Hemingway claims there is. Green the Capitol could only benefit the entire nation and deserves all the support it can get. It’s not right for people like Hemingway to down talk a plan that has barely begun and not been given the opportunity to reach its full potential.



Author: Mark Hemingway
Date: July 27, 2009
Time: 4:00 AM
Title: Greening the Capitol
National Review Online (NRO)