In Time For Earth Day, Eco-Luxury

 

How mainstream has the greening of the world become? Fortune Magazine this month joined the lengthening list of big dog old media publishing “green” issues. Car companies, especially the Japanese, tout their energy-efficient vehicles. Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is busy cementing his legacy as the George Wallace of this era, the man who stood on ideology and misguided principle to deny an undeniable fact of experience and history: The earth is warming.   

And then there’s one more measure of mainstream penetration: whether the wealthy are engaged. And by that measure green is hot, and advocates ought to be worried. “Hot” like this has a three year life-span in the industrialized world.  The first year is infatuation. The second year is close engagement. The third year is when hype and celebrity are shredded and society casts the new, new thing back into the cultural shadows.

But while we’re hot it’s worthwhile to consider how the authentic American elite now engage with things green. Here are two striking examples:

First are the healthy, environmentally-sensitive, energy efficient domiciles for the rich in downtown Las Vegas. The capital of America gone berserk has fabulous places to cry over your losses, “0ffering the best in high-end luxury homes and condos built with green eco-friendly technolog and materials.” Transform Real Estate says this about the properties it represents: “There are three new, beautifully conceived and extraordinarily comprehensive condominium projects being built in Las Vegas right now—each with all the luxuries and amenities expected, plus leading green design,  technologies and materials. They are CityCenter, Sullivan Square (see pix) and Green Valley Lofts.”

Second is the opportunity to throw a swanky party, benefit, conference, or some other lavish gathering and have the peace of mind that human excess can be minimized, detoxified, recycled, and reused. How? Talk to dvGreen, which “designs sustainable events without sacrificing style. We show our clients that they can reduce their ecological footprint while still throwing a beautiful party – one that just happens to be Green. By featuring organic food, flowers, and table linens; tree-free paper invitations; donating or composting leftover food; purchasing carbon offsets, and more, dvGreen creates incredible events that you can be proud of forever.”