2007 - Green becomes popular

[taxlady]

2007 seems to be the year that concern for the environment becomes mainstream. I just heard some young, hot, celebrity saying that "Green is cool."

This is a good thing, right? So, why does it bother me? Is it my bat radar/spidey sense going off? Or am I just getting old and crotchety? Maybe it feels like it's a fad and that's what scares me.

Maybe it's all the newby greenies telling me what to do. Oprah Winfrey told us that we can all cut back two paper napkins per day and that this will save some huge number of trees. No, Oprah, I can't possibly cut back two paper napkins per day. I use cloth napkins. I doubt I use as much as two paper napkins per week on average (in restaurants and cafes). Maybe it's my ego getting wounded - all these Johnny come latelies acting like they invented the environmental movement.

I've been a greeny/tree hugger for over 30 years. Tell me something well thought through. Discuss it. Quit trying to teach your granny to suck eggs.

It was hard to get many people interested until the threat of global climate change. I'm more concerned about Colony Collapse Disorder, also known as Vanishing Bee Syndrome and what we are doing that changes the composition of our atmosphere.

Comments

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

One new green thing I've been keen on, even though no one thinks of it as being green, is getting all my music off iTunes. That's digital only, so there's no plastic or paper from the CD case or the CD itself. The lights are all green bulbs now, and I'm even carrying home my cans and bottles from work so they can be recycled. For all people think Cali is so green, it's not. A lot of workplaces don't even recycle white paper.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

Hey, I think of that as green.

I don't print nearly as much stuff as I used to for my clients. I give them CDs with everything on them. I don't print copies of their Tslips and receipts for my files any more, I just scan and save.

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

Wait...why is someone as cool as you watching Oprah anyway?

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

I don't usually. We don't have cable, so we get two French channels and two English channels. I like having the TV on while I work. It makes me look away from the computer every once in a while. Anyhoo, I was going to change the channel, but then I saw that they were talking about green/tree hugger stuff.

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

You know what's crazy? The fact that the military commissaries I shop at are now stocking organic foods on literally every shelf in the store.

[tashamonster.livejournal.com]

"Maybe it's all the newby greenies telling me what to do."

Exactly. I mean, it should be a good thing, right? But yeah, I have the same reaction as you.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

:D

[kino-kid.livejournal.com]

I don't care if someone learns something new and it inspires them to tell everyone about, even if I've been doing something for years.

What bothers me, is something that is important being treated as a trend or "phase".

What happens when it is no longer "cool"?

[cpirate.livejournal.com]

Probably the same thing that happened in 1993/1994-ish, the last time environmentalism was a fad and went out of style - we'll ignore Kyoto and the environment in general for a decade or so, assume everything is great, then eventually realize that it's kind of not.

You know, the usual.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

Maybe this time it will last longer. If there was a fad in 1993ish, I didn't notice. I have noticed a general increase in interest over the years. At least nowadays I don't have to shlep (sp?) my recycling several blocks to a green bell and no one argues with me about using my own canvas bags (instead of their plastic bags) any more.

But, it really does have the feel of a fad that will get forgotten.

[kino-kid.livejournal.com]

Exactly. That's why I hate humans.