‘It’s American Idol for greens’

One local man has begun the incredible hulking task of finding the world’s greenest human being.
“It’s American Idol for greens,” said Boyd Cohen, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, of his online competition to find the most environmentally friendly person on the planet.
The project aims to raise global awareness about what a green lifestyle entails and to challenge people to do more.
Cohen, who worked on a project connected with Al Gore’s Earth Hour concert series, said he was frustrated by messages about doing little things for the environment: Turning the water off when you brush your teeth, recycling, or using compact fluorescent light bulbs.
“Every little bit helps, but if you look at the state of the planet right now, we’re a long way from being able to get to a sustainable existence.
“If we don’t make major radical change in behaviour and in lifestyle at a collective level around the world, we’re not going to make it as a society.”
Changes that people can look at doing, Cohen said, include changing where they live, how they travel and the type of company they work for.
Cohen has moved from a detached home in the suburbs, to a townhouse, to a condo in Downtown Vancouver.
“People in North America are so stuck on this desire to have a large home with a fence and three cars for everybody, and that lifestyle is completely unsustainable.”
The competition, which launches officially tomorrow on Earth Day, is comprised of 20 questions, the last, a 250-word essay on why that person is the greenest human being on the planet. The questionnaire is posted on Cohen’s website, www.3rdwhale.com.
The contest will close after three months and people will vote for the top 10 greens from each country and again for the greenest human on the planet.
In addition to bragging rights, the winner of the greenest person in the world competition will have a pod of belugas named after them.
–jeff.hodson@metronews.ca