Everything seems to be green these days, have you noticed? We're all constantly being subjected to how incredibly green society is today. The TV bombards you with commercials about green products and their new and improved green packaging, stores are suddenly carrying more sensible lines of green clothing and accessoires, grocery stores are displaying green goods in more prominent places, even businesses are spending huge amounts of money for green initiatives, green consultants and green solutions, all paid for by green government funding. You can get a green mortgage on your house, a green internet connection, and I'm guessing, probably even a green meal at McDonald's.
I often wonder, how much of all this greenness is actually seeping into the minds of my fellow members of society? In my own circle of friends, I'm the only one who drives a hybrid car, religiously switches off the lights in every room except the one I'm sitting in, and lives in a house powered mainly by solar energy. Ok, I am an extreme case, admittedly, but is my perception of being green really so far removed from those around me?
It saddens me to see gas prices sky-rocket and that it has no effect on the amount of cars that pollute the air we breathe. It devastates me to hear reports about the rising sea level, increased CO2 emmissions and polar bears helplessly adrift in the North Pole without any icebergs left to climb onto. It broke my heart to find out that a dear friend of mine doesn't own a single energy-efficient lightbulb. As I type this, I look outside my livingroom window at the ecosystem I live in, and am aware that for us and the world to survive another century, let alone a millenium, a lot more symbiosis needs to be going on between the earth and its inhabitants. Designing a smaller jug of washing detergent and sticking a recycled label on it just won't cut it.
I am in no way suggesting that everyone trade their cars in for one with rechargable batteries and a plug, but it would be wonderful. I can't expect all my friends to boycott the energy conglomerates and install solar panels on their rooves, but it would be wonderful. And I certainly cannot for a second presume the most powerful countries in the world would ever place saving the environment higher on the list of priorities on their political agenda. But that really would be wonderful. Let's face it though, no government I know of thinks the environment needs saving.
The thing that worries me the most about the current mindset about being green is that it is a trend, and as everyone knows, trends are constantly being replaced by new trends. I remember when being green was trendy back in the 80's, then that way of thinking vanished into the archives of history, like stonewashed jeans and shoulder pads. And now, 20-some years later, it's finally found its way back into the media's spotlight and the peoples' consciousness. What was the state of the environment all that time? Exactly as we left it, and getting worse.
For some reason, being green has an odd reputation. I've come in contact with people who have the silliest notions about being green. I've made a list of the top three being green myths I'd like to set right, right now:
Myth A) You pay a lot more for stuff.
Myth B) You have to make too many concessions.
Myth C) It's a waste of time since it won't make a difference in the long run anyway.
As for Myth A, let me tell you from firsthand experience, living green is living cheap! I drive a Prius, which saves me money on gas. I live off the grid, which saves me money on monthly utility bills; better yet, now that the alternative energy system is paid off, I live for free.
As for Myth B, there is a common misbelief that living off the grid requires major concessions and is actually the equivalent of camping outdoors. Not so! We have a household with what we consider the basics: a washer, a dryer, two computers, a flatscreen TV and a complete recording studio, all running on our inexhaustable supply of alternative energy.
And when it comes to Myth C, that being green is a waste of time - it's common knowledge that if everyone does their relatively small part, it'll without a doubt make a monumental difference in the bigger picture. That's what being green means, to me. It means you're aware of the bigger picture, not just what's going on in your own personal future. Because the paradox is, if we don't keep our eyes on the bigger picture, there won't be much of a future for any of us!
When it comes to people wanting to be green, I see the same question proposed in a hundred different ways in glossies and newspapers and on TV all the time: 'What can I do to make a difference?' I think it begins with a fundamental change in mentality. Once you accept that there is a problem, which there is, you're well on the way to being a part of solving it. Stuff like turning off the lights, not letting the faucet run and recycling cans is common knowledge nowadays, and I think a change needs to be more fundamental for it to really work. It's more than replacing all your lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones, but it's a start. But the most important thing is to know that being green isn't a trend, it's a necessity.
But for now, I'll stop feeling blue, because I'm in the pink when I'm green.
As for Myth A, let me tell you from firsthand experience, living green is living cheap! I drive a Prius, which saves me money on gas. I live off the grid, which saves me money on monthly utility bills; better yet, now that the alternative energy system is paid off, I live for free.
As for Myth B, there is a common misbelief that living off the grid requires major concessions and is actually the equivalent of camping outdoors. Not so! We have a household with what we consider the basics: a washer, a dryer, two computers, a flatscreen TV and a complete recording studio, all running on our inexhaustable supply of alternative energy.
And when it comes to Myth C, that being green is a waste of time - it's common knowledge that if everyone does their relatively small part, it'll without a doubt make a monumental difference in the bigger picture. That's what being green means, to me. It means you're aware of the bigger picture, not just what's going on in your own personal future. Because the paradox is, if we don't keep our eyes on the bigger picture, there won't be much of a future for any of us!
When it comes to people wanting to be green, I see the same question proposed in a hundred different ways in glossies and newspapers and on TV all the time: 'What can I do to make a difference?' I think it begins with a fundamental change in mentality. Once you accept that there is a problem, which there is, you're well on the way to being a part of solving it. Stuff like turning off the lights, not letting the faucet run and recycling cans is common knowledge nowadays, and I think a change needs to be more fundamental for it to really work. It's more than replacing all your lightbulbs with energy-efficient ones, but it's a start. But the most important thing is to know that being green isn't a trend, it's a necessity.
But for now, I'll stop feeling blue, because I'm in the pink when I'm green.
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