by Steven Jefferies

What is green? We hear a lot about green things we should do these days—what green food to eat, which businesses are green, which car is the greenest to drive. Have you ever heard of “green washing?”  It seems everything we do can be seen to be green or not green. How do we know what is the best, the greenest, thing to do?

The Natural Step Monona invited some experts in the field of green information to help you answer those questions. And so as not to cause any confusion, we call the program Green Tuesdays. No, Tuesday isn’t any “greener” than any other day of the week, but it’s the day for this enlightening and entertaining series of lectures, films, and conversations on sustainable living. Those attending Green Tuesdays: Films & Lectures on Sustainability (the full name of the series) will be exposed to great amounts of green information and receive first-hand answers to their green questions.

Green Tuesdays are hosted by The Natural Step Monona and the Monona Public Library. They began as a four-part series in whitest January. Despite the weather and color confusion, the programs were so popular it was decided to continue them. The series continues once-per-month through August and every-other-week this fall. Each runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

On May 20, the first offering of the season, Gary Peterson presents The Natural Step & Urban Sustainable Design. Peterson will describe eco-municipalities—cities that adopt and implement sustainability objectives throughout government and the community—from the perspective of an experienced city planner. He has participated in both a Sustainable Sweden Tour and Sustainable Leadership Training at Tufts University. Peterson will show examples from Sweden, Copenhagen, Prague, and Vienna, along with comment on U.S efforts.

Those who attended The Natural Step Monona’s What is Sustainability? A Marketplace of Ideas event last September, know Peterson to be an engaging speaker. Due to time constraints and the number of presenters, many in the audience were left eager to hear more about the practical and realistic solutions witnessed in Europe and efforts stateside. With Green Tuesdays all will have the chance to enjoy his full presentation.

On June 24, Ellen Rulseh and Susan Priebe from Earth and Water Works will share practical knowledge and expertise about native plants for rain gardens, shoreline buffers, prairie and wetland restoration, and green roofs.

Some highlights of future Green Tuesdays are:

Rebecca Anderson, Director of Advocacy for Trek Bikes, will speak about the One World, Two WheelsSM  program that encourages people to use a bike instead of a car for short trips.

Tom Eggert of the UW-Madison School of Business will present Business Risk and Reward in the Global Warming Era about the evolving role of business in addressing pressing social and environmental challenges.

John Reindl, recently retired Recycling Manager for Dane County, will speak about his own waste reduction efforts.

Green Tuesdays: Films & Lectures on Sustainability lives up to its name—screening films made possible by a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council. The films include: The Ecological Footprint, A Lot in Common, Natural Connections, Everything’s Cool, and America’s Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie.

Green Tuesdays offers engaging subjects and includes practical information you can use to tackle a project or start making changes towards more sustainable living.

The Green Tuesdays series is free and open to the public. 

Instead of racing around at the end of your workday, stroll on over to the library. Join your neighbors and friends to learn something new, discover mutual interests, and forge friendships right here in our community.

Come, be green on Tuesday so you can be greener all the other days of the week. Green Tuesdays have less to do with color and more to do with the way we live—protecting the present and preserving the greenness of our children’s future. (I just had to refer to “green” one more time!)