The Greenest Color

You probably know that "green" is a buzzword that stands for efficiency -- but did you know that green is actually the most efficient color?

In 1977, a study at the University of Northern West Virginia posed the question "Why are plants green?" Scientists used eight varieties of cellular dye on different colonies of bacteria and discovered the green-colored varieties converted sunlight up to 12% more efficiently. Further research showed the effect was not limited to plants, but extended to machines and electronics as well.

The United States, then in the midst of an energy crisis, responded enthusiastically. Industrialists and policy makers responded with green farm machinery, green school buildings, even an act of Congress mandating that appliances be painted green. But when the crisis subsided, so did green's popularity.

The 1980s heralded an age of conspicuous consumption. The Reagan administration repealed laws regulating the color of appliances, and green's complimentary color, red, became the standard color for inefficient muscle cars. By 1988, only one in ten survey respondents were aware that the color of an object could increase its efficiency.

But today, green is making a comeback. Greater interest in efficiency has revived awareness of the properties of the color green, and several governments are changing their policies accordingly. In early 2009, the Danish parliament introduced a bill that would require all factories in Denmark to be painted a rich green.

The United States has similar initiatives on the ballot, and so far they appear to have bipartisan support. After all, the value of red versus blue is a matter of opinion -- but the value of green is Factual Science!