Consumption:

 

It's the thought that counts.

By David Short

Have you heard? We’re at the cusp of an ecological renaissance- a cultural movement shifting habits of consumption and pollution into ideologies of renewal and conservation. It is a movement that takes the academic ecological activism of the 1970’s to an entirely new level. Every time you turn around someone is touting a new green commitment. Not convinced of such a shift? You haven’t been paying attention. Even natural resource giants British Petroleum and Chevron are spending millions of advertising dollars showcasing their green efforts. Have you seen the latest Subaru advertisement? It says nothing of sleek new designs or safety records, but instead spends the thirty second television spot letting you know they have the world’s first automotive plant to reach zero landfill status.

To what do we owe this new found, wide spread environmental conscience? According to my special guest Wendy Gordon, Founder of National Geographic’s The Green Guide, it all boils down to repetition:

“I’ve been doing this for over a decade and it’s amazing how we’re still kind of saying the same thing over and over again. I still run into people who say, ‘Wow. I just read this…’ or ‘Wow, I just heard this …’ or ‘Wow. I just learned this…’ and I’m thinking, we’ve been saying that for years. It just takes generations to make changes.”

Generations and incentives, perhaps. For example, did you know that you could have claimed deductions on your 2007 U.S. Federal tax return for converting your home to solar energy? Okay, maybe solar power is a bit over the top for you. How about claiming deductions for new insulation or a new water heater? A new hybrid car could have earned you up to a $3,150 credit on your tax return. Some states are giving tax rebates for rerouting your bath, kitchen, and laundry water to your garden. Did I mention that these profitable ideas also lead to fewer carbon emissions, less fresh water consumption, and less sewage treatment? Those are changes the planet can take to the bank as well.

People seem to be a lot more likely to be philanthropic about environmental issues when it simultaneously gives their wallets a break. “My theory in all of this is that people don’t change their behavior for altruistic reasons,” Gordon continued. “They’re not out to save the earth. That’s not because they don’t worry about it, because they do worry about it. But our shopping choices, our everyday decisions are a lot more parochial. We are concerned about our health, our kids, our pocketbook, you know, much more immediate things.”

That is where we might have a lot more in common with big business than we would like to admit. If large industries can harness the right technology, then they might figure out that pollution prevention pays. If they can reuse chemicals or capture energy from their waste, they just might go green. But don’t expect them to take on this benevolent dogma without some incentive. And while not totally counterproductive, as Wendy Gordon points out, laws and regulations do little to solve long term problems:

“I’m not a big fan of a lot of laws. I actually really think that a lot of our environmental laws deal with pollution (remediation) rather than doing things right in the first place. The Organic Standards are really some of the only laws I can think of that are designed around making farming healthy. From there, everything else kind of falls into place by providing the farmer the tools and advice and standards by which they need to do it right in the first place. Whereas the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act are saying okay, you can do whatever you want but at the end of the day you cannot spew out this much of this chemical. It’s very much this ‘end of the pipe’ mentality that doesn’t really address the problem. There is this “big think” going on, but it’s messy, its’ not easy.”

As I reflected on this last comment I couldn’t help but think that there is no more appropriate indicator of a green renaissance than a “big think.” We’re slipping out of our state of denial. This, as any recovering addict will tell you, is the first step: Acknowledging the problems. Asking the big questions. What crises are we facing? What are the consequences if we don’t fix them? What technologies do we have to fix them? What technologies do we need to engineer to fix them? How can we make this financially feasible? How is our economy- our way of life- threatened geo-politically if we do not conserve? Big think indeed. Fortunately, the consumer seems to be making green issues enough of a priority that large companies are realizing a need to find solutions.

While corporate giants and world leaders seek out answers to problems at times too large to fully embrace, the task for one ordinary person to be a part of change can be daunting. With 3.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions added to the atmosphere annually, one person can begin to feel a bit insignificant.

But Wendy Gordon has faith in the consumer. Banded together and making conscious decisions, we can make a huge difference. It all starts with our thought process. “Making a green choice is all about factoring in other things besides just price, convenience, and quality of product,” she offered. “To be more specific, before you buy something, ask yourself if you need it. I do think that we’re beginning to see a change, and it’s the younger people. The “millenials” are a lot more conscious than their mothers and fathers were- and their mothers and fathers were pretty conscious. They want to know about the company that made the product. They want to know more. So this kind of conscious behavior; this taking a moment to think, do I need this? Does it rise to the quality level that I care about? And when I say quality I mean its environmental impact. When I use it, what am I going to do with it? Just asking the most ordinary question, “What is the impact of this product?”

And while we would like to have answers now to match each of the challenges we face, we must realize that finally asking these thought provoking questions is an important step in discovering solutions. Blind regulation without a moral compass leads to dead ends. Thoughtfulness, however, inspires the kind of action that drives lasting change.

 

 

 

 

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