If we're gonna go green, go big.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES WRAP-UP

Lately, it seems, everything is going "green," and it is now suddenly trendy to be an environmentalist. I get e-mails from people with a little note that says, "Save the planet: Please don't print this message."

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I am scheduled to be a speaker at a conference for about the fifth year in a row, only this time, in a bow once again to the planet, they have banned any and all paper handouts. There was an advertisement in a recent edition of the Rocky Mountain News from Allstate insurance extolling me to protect the woodchuck pictured by signing up for discounts and a donation to carbonfund.org for switching to electronic statements rather than paper (odd that the ad was in print; those must be ink-stained "good hands").

There is an explosion in "green" cars and "green" buildings, and if I had a nickel for every time I heard the phrase "carbon footprint" this year I'd have more money than the Powerball winner.

And, yeah, there's global warming and everyone is worried, and it makes sense to do one's part, however small. I am an inveterate recycler, I have switched out all of my light bulbs for the squiggly low-power ones; I watch my water consumption; I try very hard to buy local produce and such. Every little bit helps, and I am all about fostering more good-deed-doing in my fellow citizens.

But I think we need a little perspective here. What with both China and India growing their populations and their Western-style economies at a brisk, double-digit pace, the fact is that the "greenhouse" effect from the burning of fossil fuels and other wasteful, harmful human behaviors is increasing at a pace that is beginning to alarm scientists along with everyone else. The environmental movement may begin with each of us taking small steps, but it is also going to take some adroit international political skills to stem the tide.

I think in the shorter term, say 10 to 15 years, we Americans should look at it less as an environmental movement and more as an issue of sustainability and political destiny. In other words, we should conserve and go "green" to excess, until it hurts and then more, but not to save the planet, which we can't do alone in any case. Rather we should do this to completely rid ourselves of the dependence on foreign oil. That in and of itself will make a strong political statement, particularly with the OPEC countries, and...