The news media and marketers have overwhelmingly turned environmentalism into fashion thus distracting the population from the serious issues of environmental degradation and global warming. With environmentalism being high profile, in part due to the success of Al Gore’s 2006 “Inconvenient Truth” documentary, the mainstream green for the most part say that buying products promoting eco-friendly is a good first step. How ridiculous is it to tell people to consume more in order to reduce impact? By buying something green (or not) with the assumption that we are solving global environmental problems is a complete misconception, the most significant part to the problem is consumption. The genuine solution is to reduce ones consumption of goods and resources. Reports show that many products marketed as green pump more carbon into the atmosphere, not to mention other effluent and environmental stress, than choosing something more modest or simply nothing at all. The consumer has embraced green living, and for a great part the mainstream green movement has embraced green consumerism. We must question the notion that we can avert global warming by purchasing so called earth friendly products while the overall cumulative effect of our consumption remains enormous and hazardous.
“There is a very common mind-set right now which holds that all that we’re going to need to do to avert the large-scale planetary catastrophes upon us is make slightly different shopping decisions,” Alex Steffen“
To many people believe we can buy our way to heaven, so to speak, along with the overwhelming assumption that there is an easy way out.
Less will accomplish more and informed choices must become the mainstay within our daily lives, along with common sense which is far from common these days.
October 14, 2008 at 6:24 am10
I think markerer’s and advertisers do what they do best which at least puts issues into peoples mind-set and while cant imagine retail sales in this econemy going through the roof. I like ” the genuine solution is to reduce ones consumption of goods and resources.”
yea, get creative with what you already have and when you do shop make smarter purchases. Thanks for the artical. Ange-
October 15, 2008 at 6:24 am10
in other words: go to the dump if you need anything! in other words, recycle/upcycle or suck it up. nothing really bad is gonna happen if you dont get what you think you need…and something really bad might if you do. right?
are you guys all coming to the kickass birthday party or what? i am serving nachos ‘cuz im dirt poor…they’re cheaper than ‘tators…i dont come and visit all the way to marysville ‘cuz i dont have an “all terrain” stroller…so, if you see one let me know 🙂