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Editoral
Green used to be a color. It used to be a word that described a neophyte, a place to sink a putt, the complexion of a person feeling ill.

Now, it's a word that calls to mind one thing, which in turn means a million things, the sum of which are starting to mean nothing at all. Got that?

Sometime in the past few years - years that brought us An Inconvenient Truth, organic produce at Walmart, hybrid SUVs and Barack Obama - the green movement went mainstream. This development is largely a good thing, helping to popularize practices like recycling and energy conservation, drawing attention to the perilous state of our resources and building support for new eco-friendly technologies and programs.

But like most bandwagons, we fear this one is beginning to strain under its own weight. If the green movement is to remain a vital force in the new decade, it needs to reclaim its meaning, refresh its message and reinvigorate its followers.

Starting to feel like you're at a Joel Osteen seminar? Well, the analogy may not be too far off. In the days since major companies started cashing in on the trend, the green movement has at times resembled the mega-church movement, rife with feel-good messages, slick marketing campaigns and sanctimonious leaders.

To wrest environmentalism from certain Disney-fication, its leaders and enthusiasts ought to deal in specifics, in hard facts and demonstrable goals. Note to all businesses everywhere: Please, please, please stop telling us that you're green or going green, or, worse still, making puns with the word.

With the term reaching a saturation point, fresher, more specific terms like cruelty-free, LEED-certified and community-supported agriculture (CSA) - or even a return to old-guard terms like conservation - may have more impact on the public.

In truth, the green movement comprises hundreds of smaller movements, all vying for our support and many at odds with one another. Big corporations such as Walmart, for instance, do contribute to the organic foods movement, throwing their considerable weight behind companies such as Stonyfield Farms yogurt. On the other hand, they are the villains of the sustainable communities movement, which also has its roots in environmentalism. Confusing, yes, but for most of us, teasing out these purposes and counter-purposes constitutes a far more useful and rewarding practice than blindly picking up a product because it has the word "green" on the label. The splinter effect could ultimately make the movement stronger.

On the other hand, enthusiasts shouldn't forget that the many elements of the green movement share a common cause and common message. To refresh that message, leaders need to embrace not just new terminology but a new tone that steers clear of preachy-ness and pathos. Noah Wylie's weepy save-the-polar-bears commercial may serve to open the wallets of a certain demographic, but it surely further alienates the segment still throwing stones at the movement, not to mention the early adopters of environmentalism who gravitated to it, in part, because it was hip and a little edgy. To temper its inherent virtuousness - what could be nobler than saving the earth? - the movement would benefit from a dip in the dunk tank of humor and irreverence. Think NBC's recent "green week," which, gimmicky and over-the-top as it may have been, at least brought some levity to the cause by tossing it to the lions of Thursday night comedy.

And while we're cracking wise, maybe we should also try a little - dare we say it? - selfishness. While concepts and trends like global warming and organic farming are under attack, some of the most successful sub-movements of the green movement seem to be those that combine earth-friendly practices with me-friendly practices. The local foods movement, for instance, combines elements of environmentalism, community values, health-consciousness and thrift.

Coming fast (but not too fast) on its heels is the slow foods movement, which, the Huffinton Post recently reported, is making inroads into nearly every other aspect of life, from architecture to transportation to fashion. Behind it is the idea that slowing down, doing things right and making thoughtful, informed choices can benefit the individual, the community and the planet all at the same time. It's also a radical enough concept to reinvigorate those starting to grow weary of the term green.

Saving the earth is a decades-long proposition requiring the long-term support of multiple sectors. It can't hurt to update the marketing strategy now and then.