It's Not Always Easy Being Green by Gia Machlin, August 13 2009, 1 Comment
What? Blasphemy! How can you say that, Gia? Isn't the whole point of EcoPlum to make it easy and convenient for people to go green? Yes, it is. As a matter of fact, when we were starting EcoPlum in 2007 and brainstorming over a slogan, "Where it's Easy to be Green" was high in the running. We ended up going with "Where it Pays to Buy Green" and I'm glad we did. The truth is, some things about going green are easy and some are not.
There are many things that are no brainers: turn off the lights, recycle, don't idle the car, turn the water off while brushing your teeth - easy. Other changes may require a little bit of effort - remember to take your reusable bags with you when you go shopping, take shorter showers, print on both sides of the paper, turn in your old cell phone for recycling.
Then there are things that are a downright pain in the rear end: trying to find organic strawberries when the regular strawberries are displayed so prominently and attractively in the front of the produce section, resisting the temptation to buy shiny fun new school supplies for my kids when I know last year's pencil case is still perfectly usable, and my favorite, running around town trying to find a place that has a water fountain or tap water after I've forgotten to bring my daughter's reusable water bottle out with us - those "disposable" plastic water bottles are looking really good right now!
Joel Makower, executive editor of Greenbiz.com says in his blog that mainstream consumers won't change their habits until green is the easier, better, no-brainer choice. I hope that is not the case. Have we gotten that lazy and self-centered as a society? I mean, we don't just throw our garbage on the street, we make the effort to walk to the corner and throw it in the trash can. We don't run red lights or cut lines at the movie theater just because we are in a hurry. So why do we not think twice before taking home our groceries in those horrible disposable plastic bags?
We need to get to a place where it's just not acceptable to generate waste at rate at which we do, even if it is a little inconvenient. Kermit was right after all, it's not easy being green. I chuckled when I read this post in Marketing: Green that says "behaving responsibly can be a pain in the ass." But he is so spot on! I'd really love it if you would share your stories with us about some frustrating (and possibly comic) experiences in your journey to go green!
Comments
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Gia Machlin on May 14 2015 at 10:53AM
Here are the original comments from WordPress in August 2009:
Pepper McColgan August 14, 2009 at 3:40 pm [edit]
You too are spot on! And if you think it is sometimes a pain to be green for yourself and your family you should try running a green lodging while meeting guest expectaions and the requirements from various government agencies that have a say in your operation. All on a limited budget. The encouraging thing is that sometimes everything comes together in a splendid fashion! Even better, someone will say “Wow, I can do that.” I love that.Jensen August 17, 2009 at 12:43 pm [edit]
However much I despise bottled water, I am still struggling to remove it entirely from my life. With the current state of the U.S. public water system, just remember to bring a reusable water bottle with me (a tough enough feat with my memory) is not good enough. Getting to a gas station on the freeway and having to choose disgusting chlorinated tap water over yummier bottled water is a tough call. Maybe I need a bottle with some sort of built-in filtration system, I don’t know. There’s nothing more I would like to see than the bottled water industry go belly-up, which is why it makes it ever-more frustrating when I give in and buy a bottle on the road.Con August 17, 2009 at 1:35 pm [edit]
We tried to make good choices while renovating the kitchen, including eco-friendly bamboo flooring. Well, the installer ordered the wrong floor — so the cartons had to be shipped back to CHINA. And we waited three weeks for the new floorboards to be shipped FROM China. So my eco choice now has the carbon footprint of BIGFOOT. (We like the floor though). I also outlawed bottled water, but the kids lose or damage the $10 refillable water bottles within a month, and most of them are not recyclable in my community. So really not getting ahead here am I?Gia August 19, 2009 at 4:51 pm [edit]
Thanks so much for your input I understand your frustration with bottled water! There’s a new company, primarily in NYC right now but expanding nationwide called Tapit – http://www.tapitwater.com. They are about helping people find clean tap water when in need. Check them out! Also, bottled water isn’t necessarily the cleaner alternative, check out http://tinyurl.com/nkt2ts.Pablo Solomon August 19, 2009 at 6:57 pm [edit]
Hi Gia, I am known around the world for my drawings and sculptures of dancers. My wife and I are also well known for our conservation efforts. We have been “going Green” for over 30 years. In fact, our ranch is not only a state historic site and an official Texas Wildscape, but was nominated for the highest award in Texas for environmental restoration and preservation in 1997-98. I was featured in an April 2009 National Geographic article on the first Earth Day by Mark Anderson. Here are a few simple suggestions—as an artist and designer I have many more which are more elaborate, but these will work for anyone. You might enjoy this story Gia– For several years my wife and I lived in an upscale golf course community of Houston. We lived on the main entry boulvevard which was separated by a series of esplanades. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the automatic sprinklers would come on and water the grass on the esplanades. They would run so long that water would run off and down the drains. Keep in mind, that this was drinking quality water being wasted by the thousands of gallons. The sprinklers would come on rain or shine, drought or flood. I finally had enough and bought a gizmo to cut off the water—this after the sprinklers came on after a flooding rain of 8 inches in 2 hours. Well, you might think that the homeowners association would commend me for saving water and money. But instead, they sent me letters warning me that I would be cited by the police if I turned off the water again. So I decided, OK I just play along. Because our house was on the downslop of a small bump (no real hills within a hundred miles of Houston) I dammed up the water running along the street curb with a sandbag and siphoned the wasted runoff water into my yard. By the way my yard was the only one in the neighborhood using native plants—another source of irritation to my neighbors. Fast forward to 2009. We recently visited our old neighborhood after moving out 20 years ago to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. As is typical for suburbia, since Green is now the thing, people are putting in solar this and that and are collecting rainwater. Of course every SUV has a “Stop Global Warming” bumper sticker. And the sprinklers still come on every Tuesday and Thursday.Kenneth Baker March 31, 2010 at 5:46 am [edit]
It’s great that solar is more affordable then ever. As many here have suggested, it’s always best to shop around and compare quotes. Plus there are differences in solar panel manufacturers, mounting and other equipment. It might not require as much research and planning as redoing a kitchen, but you should at least know what is going to be on your roof for the next 25 years. You can search and compare options at FreeCleanSolar.com . They have a directory of local solar panel installers representing most every solar panel brand including Sunpower, Kyocera, Sharp, Evergreen and Sunwize. You can also find information about state solar rebates, federal tax credits, solar financing and leasing, system costs and the benefits of going solar. The bottom line is that many homeowners and business owners can afford solar power today.