Mohammad Chughtai | Assignment # 5 – Essay | MKT 410 – F13 | 9/24/2013 |

The Green Revolution

Al Gore spoke a few days ago at the world’s Social Good Summit about an issue that has become commonplace in today’s media: global warming. We know much of Gore’s bid for presidency in 1999, in which he ran – unsuccessfully - on a platform of responsible energy consumption. Fourteen years later, Gore is still arguing the same points, but with increased vigor.
Its no surprise that after fourteen years of heavy campaigning, many Americans are well aware of the issue; in fact, many have changed their buying habits to reflect this growing concern – one the private sector has not failed to capitalize on. In this essay, I will attempt to first define global warming, touch on the “going green” movement and how it’s affecting consumer buying habits, explain how the car industry is being affected and the describe some of the motivations a company may have to “go green.”

What is global warming?
As with any business discussion, we must first understand the topic being discussed. Global warming debate has becoming increasingly prevalent in news media, T.V. shows and popular culture in the past few decades.

Defined as an increase in the overall temperature of the earth, global warming is a topic that has been debated furiously from both sides. The EPA estimates that the earth’s temperature has risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century. While this may not seem like much (and opponents to the global warming theory are quick to point this out), large bodies of information show that small changes in average temperature lead to significant changes in global climate. Global warming impedes the growth of food sources, affects the temperature of large bodies of water, and can devastate populations living in low altitudes.