Green
We find the colour green in many aspects of day to day life. It is a colour that we see everywhere from the moment we walk out the door and see our garden to when we are sitting at the traffic lights waiting for them to change to green so we can go.
The colour green also represents politicians and political parties as a nature symbol and is well known as being the colour of money due to the term ‘greenback’ being used in many Hollywood films seen all over the world.
Green is a colour used to symbolize nature and it is no surprise to see the colour Green be used as the name for organizations such as Greenpeace who are an environmental activist group.
Greenpeace is dedicated to issues such as climate change and saving our forests. It is there to try and protect and conserve the environment for those that are here long after we have left this earth.
Green in Politics
With the green colour being used for environmental issues with Greenpeace it has also become prominent in politics with the Green movement.
Green politicians throughout the world champion the cause of the environment. There are more than 100 of these Green Parties in politics. In Australia there is a Green Party called “The Greens’. Their origins date back to the 1970s when there was many public debates to prevent the construction of the Franklin Dam in Tasmania.
The Greens are currently pushing for the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs. The Australian government has already announced that it will phase out incandescent light bulbs in favour of the energy efficient compact bulbs by 2009-10 after their own tests concluded that the use of these bulbs resulted in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Countries
Green is also associated with Ireland. The "Emerald Isle" and the Irish holiday St. Patrick's Day are just two of the things we associate with Ireland and the colour Green. The colour Green is also one of three colours on the Irish flag which is Green, White and Orange.
The Green Shamrock, a three-leaf clover, is the unofficial national symbol of Ireland.
Green in Sport
The Australian team colours are Green and Gold and you can be see them worn by Australian soccer teams, basketball, netball, rugby league and rugby union teams. The Green and Gold colours are also worn by Australian athletes at the summer and winter Olympic games and world championships.
Australian boxer Danny Green is nicknamed, The Green Machine. The current WBC Interim Super Light Middle Weight World Champion will take on IBO light heavyweight boxing world champion Antonio Tarver in a world title bout on December 1.
Sporting teams around the world wear green in their colours because of their Irish or Celtic heritages. Celtic in Glasgow, Scotland is one of the two biggest clubs in the country while the Boston Celtics have green in their uniform because of the large Irish community in Boston.
The Green Monster is the most famous outfield wall in baseball and can be found at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Park is home of the Boston Red Sox who have Wally the Green Monster as the teams MLB mascot.
Green Minerals
The green Emerald is a valuable gemstone that is the traditional birthstone for May. The Emerald is also the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Cancer and Taurus. The green emerald is a mineral called beryl that comes in an array of other colours including red, blue, yellow and is also colourless.
Beryl has a hardness of between 7.5 and 8 on the 10 point Mohs scale, which is used to determine the hardness of materials.
Green Emeralds are so popular but rare that manufacturers have been producing synthetic emeralds for jewellery since the 1960s.
Green Plants & Animals
There are many animals on the planet that are green in colour. You will find green butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, lizards, snakes, and many different types of birds such as parrots. Most animals are green in colour to contemplate their surroundings and help them camouflage to hide from predators.
The Budgerigar, nicknamed budgie, is one of the most common green birds that we see. Many people have these small parrots as pets in the home and while the wild budgie will be green in colour, birds that have been bred by humans can range in a host of different colours.
A person who can make plants grow well is sometimes called a "Green Thumb", referring to the plant stained fingers of such an avid gardener.
Many plants are green because of a green pigment called Chlorophyll. In Photosynthesis, the plant converts light energy into chemical energy with the areas of the plant containing the molecule Chlorophyll to attain the light energy being green.
Green in Finance
The Australian $100 note is bright green in colour and is easily recognizable. The AUD$100 was first issued in 1984 as a large greyish blue paper note with a portrait of Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson on the front with Australian astronomer John Tebbutt on the reverse.
The polymer plastic note came into circulation in 1999 replacing the $100 paper note, which has a portrait of soprano Dame Nellie Melba on the front with First World War general Sir John Monash on the reverse.