So we all should be purchasing organic food from farmers markets, adorning ourselves in bamboo and hemp fabrics and convert our homes to clean living domiciles? Hooey!

Yes, I said hooey! One of my gripes about the 2008 incarnation of the so called Green movement is the emphasis on being "Green" without the acknowledgement of the expense of trying to implement a "Green lifestyle" on a fixed or stretched to the bone budget. Or trying to do that living in urban areas or places far away from Los Angeles or New York.

It seems as though this is more a marketing campaign than a real understanding of our behaviors and practices that are having a harmful effect on the planet.  I know I'm not alone in my thinking.

Yes, I would buy Bamboo sheets, towel and pillowcases. I would purchase Hemp clothing and paper to run through my laser printer. Clean veggies, meats and consumables I'd stock up on in a heartbeat. If I could afford it. 

Human beings need food, clothing and shelter. We need the tools to acquire the basic necessities. The tools over time can change. If we continue to look at surface fixes (and yeah, you should buy fluorescent light bulbs) instead of long term changes we will be looking to our neighbors in Haiti as an example of the heartache to come.

I don't need to be "Green" to be cool. I want a community sustainable infrastructure that will work for 21st century people. A little from the past mixed with a little from the future.  I want that infrastructure to be adaptable to where a person lives on the planet. Not only do I want a community based infrastructure, I want one of my own that supports my lifestyle with accessible resources.

It is hard to hear information about Sustainability with the arrival of the Eco-carpetbaggers and Greenwashers. We need to run the blighters out of town with knowledge, information and a plan. For ourselves and our descendents.

My word is "Sustainability".  I have folks you need to see, hear and be inspired by. You don't need to be movie star cool to start thinking about sustainability issues.  And you don't have to move out to the country to put these practices in place.

Patti at Garden Girl TV is right where most of us need to start thinking. Re-greening the city and controlling our own food supply. 

As I looked around the city and talked to my fellow Urbanites I realized just how dependent we are on the outside world, and after Katrina devastated the gulf coast, it became clear that not only was I on to something, but maybe sharing some of the innovations I have been working on for years would be important in preserving our culture for future generations. Starting a garden and growing your own food isn't as important as knowing how-to live sustainably and build Urban Sustainable Living systems. Ultimately what I do is find ways to innovate and invent methods under the umbrella of permaculture design principles to fit into Urban landscapes and lifestyles.

Michelle at What Does A Body Good is trying to find her way to safe clean food. She slips of the grid and then works her way back to finding what works with her life. Diane's Big Green Purse blog contains everyday tips that folks can use. Diane also has written a book by the same name that focuses on the power of women's spending to affect change.

Speaking of spending, I got to give props to blogs like Cheap Like Me, it is a combination of sustainability, personal finance and a recipe or two tossed in for good measure. It tackles topics like how do you stay green when you have to buy a car and  how do you distinguish between a need and a want.

On a community level there are a number of places that are starting to build that infrastructure. An example would be The Stapleton section of Denver, Colorado has a sustainability master plan for their community.  

There are a colleges and universities that are starting to incorporate elements of sustainability into their campuses and curriculum such as the University of Maine's Sustainability Project, The The Yale University Sustainable Food Project and the University of San Diego at Santa Cruz The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems.

And once again I am way over 500 words so I gotta stop.  I have more about Sustainability next week as we look at how people of color need to be included in any environmental decisions.

CE Gena Haskett is all over the place at Out On the Stoop and library loco at PCCLibTech