Going Green: our planet vs money

Since America is known to be a rich country, many feel it is ok to consume as much as they want; as long as they are able to. Although America's society is formed this way, they do not realize how much their consumption and waste has caused destruction towards our planet and it also jeopardizes our lives. In the past few years, there have been reports about global warming; but many people did not pay close attention to it. Since it is hard to ignore the signs of global warming now, more people are now trying to create ways to save our planet.

Although there is not a perfect solution to this problem, changing some of our actions can be a start to saving the planet. One person who has taken the stand to make a difference is Robert Congel. Congel's idea of helping to save earth is by creating a mega mall with the theme “going green”.

Many may believe Destiny USA is an example of green washing because, they are using the theme “going green” as a way to manipulate people into visiting the mall and increase their chances of spending money. Some examples on how this project is contradicting is the transportation, trying to change mother nature, and consumption/waste.

Little, A. G., (2005, June, 10). N.Y. megamall aims to run on clean energy.Grist Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msncom/id/8048486/page/2/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Union of concerned scientists. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/

These are some pictures that are displayed in Carousel Mall to represent Destiny's purpose

Is the dream of Destiny on the right path? (proposal)

As I continue to look further into Destiny USA, I decided to focus on the goals of Destiny being green. In a Grist Magazine, author Amanda G. Little introduces the plans of Rogert Congel. She explains how Destiny USA will run on 32 Megawatts of solar electricity. She also explains how Congel hopes this plan will attract many tourist, and become a paradigm-shifting catalyst for the nation's renewable energy use. Although the plans of Destiny USA seem to be beneficial, I would like to look further into the future and see how the plans of being green are proceeding. Can Destiny keep up with their goal of being green? I would like to look into how this will effect the rate of consumerism. Since there will be more stores and restaurants built, it seems that there will be more consumerism and more disposal, and more waste.

Little, A. G., (2005, June, 10). N.Y. megamall aims to run on clean energy.Grist Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msncom/id/8048486/page/2/print/1/displaymode/1098/

The Mall of America and Bloomington

I wanted to look into the city that the "Mall of America" is located, and compare the statistics of people before the mall was created and after.

By 1990 Bloomington grew to become Minnesota's 3rd largest city with a population of 90,000. Two years later, Bloomington gained the upper hand in creating a visitor base with the grand opening of Mall of America. Mall of America is the largest retail complex in the United States and has become one of the largest tourist attractions in North America with an average of 39 million visitors every year.

Population
Bloomington, located in Hennepin County, Minnesota, is the largest suburb in the Twin Cities with a population of 90,000. The entire Twin Cities metropolitan area has a population of approximately three million.

http://www.bloomingtonmn.org/media_statistics.asp

Are they really going green?

I think there are many companies who are saying they are becoming more green, but I believe they are using that as a way to attract people's attention. I think people; including myself, need to look more in depth about this situation. Destiny USA is a perfect example of a company that is focusing a lot on going green. They're doing a lot of things to show that they are "more green" such as, painting different parts of the mall green, and designing different symbols that represents "going green". Having displays about being more green is ok to do, but I think it takes more than billboards and paint to be more green. The way Destiny is being created and the equiptment that is being used should also be something they look more into.