NSA, Margaret Mead and Green

When you think about organizations celebrating Earth Day - today, April 22 - the National Security Agency does not immediately come to mind.

But, the NSA, indeed, has embraced Earth Day in a big way on the home page of its Web site, including a quote from a speech on the original 1970 Earth Day by Margaret Mead - the kind not usually found on the Web pages of spook outfits:

Earth Day is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord.

NSA also plugged its various green projects prominently with a link from its home page, including a program called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design to improve its buildings in terms of worker comfort and environmental performance.

The agency says its also embraced a sustainable design and program that includes use of materials with recycled content, recycling of construction materials at project sites, waste minimization and the use of biologically-based storm water management known as Low Impact Development systems.

I think that Mead - after she would have recovered from the shock of seeing her words invoked by the NSA - would be quietly pleased with the agency's acknowledgement that it is everyone's job to care for the planet.