Getting Green the Right Way

While the “Green New Deal” calls for killing the current economic system, impact from the Covid – 19 pandemic may move the greening of our country quicker. The most dramatic change has been the ability of businesses to continue to operate with many of their employees home bound. New and improved technologies including video conferencing and faster internet facilitate work including collaboration. The onset of 5G internet and eventually other phases will further the ability of workers to be efficient from a home base.

Working from home means there is less traffic. Coupled with on-demand rides and autonomous vehicles, home workers may in fact eschew owning a vehicle all together. Fewer owned vehicles means fewer spaces to house these vehicles. New homes will not need garages. Streets, office complexes and shopping centers will not need (as much) parking freeing up space.

With more workers no longer going into the office, there is less (no?) need for an office in the first place. Large office buildings can be converted into living spaces that cater to home bound workers. Meeting rooms with technologies that facilitate enterprise and the like can further this “green” movement. Building management would be wise to also provide social interaction both within work and recreation. Still, there will be a glut of commercial office space and those buildings can be razed and the land used for other purposes……like green things.

So now we have fewer parking lots and streets that no longer need to be as wide to accommodate parking vehicles. There will be fewer commercial buildings, many in places that previously were lacking green spaces. What do we do with all that space? GREEN IT UP! Parks, arboretums, hiking trails, outdoor gyms, lawns, etc. Our society is changing rapidly, and this pandemic has shown how we can thrive under duress. Let’s use it to further the green agenda but in the right way.