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I was thinking about all the things people can do to live more green and was wondering, what does it take to be able to consider yourself "living green". Is there a set of criteria, is there some kind of point system where each environmentally friendly you own or do has a certain point value and if you are above a certain score you are considered "living green."
I do several things to try and be less wasteful and more environmentally friendly but I don't know if I could consider myself living green. So how do I know?
I feel that there are two steps: 1) thinking green, and 2) living green.
Thinking green is caring about whether your lifestyle is having a negative impact. Living green is doing something about any discrepancies and imbalances you find.
Someone who recycles paper and plastic is starting to live green, but they could probably live MORE green by continuing to make simple changes and choices. It's more of an off-set system than a point-value system IMO.
For instance, I still have a gasoline car, and even though it gets good gas mileage (30+), I only drive it once or twice a week when I have to travel farther than walking distance or somewhere that public transportation isn't viable, and I bundle all my errands together in a single trip as much as possible. So, I'm off-setting my non-green vehicle by not using it as much. I didn't immediately go out and buy energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs; but when it came/comes time to replace them, I've chosen the most energy efficient ones I could afford and use the less efficient ones conservatively in teh meantime (and I try to get the old ones recycled or reclaimed if I can)
It's all about the off-set and trying to achieve a balance that is reasonable and continually improving. I don't think you have to go completely primitive to live green, you just have to be conscious of your choices and strive to make more sustainable and responsible ones. Someone can be more or less green than the next guy by the amount of balance they restore from the negative impacts of their lifestyle. Green is an interconnected process, not a checklist or race... every small thing you do to live green helps. Just keep in mind that some things that appear green, aren't all that green in the long run -- like some Ethanol from corn... mono-culture cropping, pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and all the energy required to transport and process make it less green than it appears on the surface. You have to dig beneath the surface to determine whether you feel something is really green or not.
I tend to agree that its a spectrum. I'm probably only a pale spring green myself. People who live off-grid or the Ed Begley's of the world are your deep verdant green folk. Its like the difference between vegetarian and vegan. There are levels, and its probably a process over time.
I never considered myself green, but I have almost eliminated the use of fossil fuels while converting waste to energy. However, I refuse to give up my classic cars or mechanical equipment. Just being off the grid or off fossil fuels is "green" enough for me. I also do a lot of dumpster diving and scavenging for the things I need.
How about this....Decide for YOURSELF what living green means. Don't let others tell you. I don't have that right and neither does anyone else. There will ALWAYS be someone living more green than you and someone who will think you should be doing more.
I say just do the best you can and not worry what anyone else thinks. I know that for me, I think about green living more than I do it. I feel overwhelmed by it all, so I just do what I can when I can.
I feel that there are two steps: 1) thinking green, and 2) living green.
Thinking green is caring about whether your lifestyle is having a negative impact. Living green is doing something about any discrepancies and imbalances you find.
Someone who recycles paper and plastic is starting to live green, but they could probably live MORE green by continuing to make simple changes and choices. It's more of an off-set system than a point-value system IMO.
For instance, I still have a gasoline car, and even though it gets good gas mileage (30+), I only drive it once or twice a week when I have to travel farther than walking distance or somewhere that public transportation isn't viable, and I bundle all my errands together in a single trip as much as possible. So, I'm off-setting my non-green vehicle by not using it as much. I didn't immediately go out and buy energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs; but when it came/comes time to replace them, I've chosen the most energy efficient ones I could afford and use the less efficient ones conservatively in teh meantime (and I try to get the old ones recycled or reclaimed if I can)
It's all about the off-set and trying to achieve a balance that is reasonable and continually improving. I don't think you have to go completely primitive to live green, you just have to be conscious of your choices and strive to make more sustainable and responsible ones. Someone can be more or less green than the next guy by the amount of balance they restore from the negative impacts of their lifestyle. Green is an interconnected process, not a checklist or race... every small thing you do to live green helps. Just keep in mind that some things that appear green, aren't all that green in the long run -- like some Ethanol from corn... mono-culture cropping, pesticides and artificial fertilizers, and all the energy required to transport and process make it less green than it appears on the surface. You have to dig beneath the surface to determine whether you feel something is really green or not.
Yeah, and those CFL's contain mercury and are bad, bad, bad. I won't have them in my home, and I am writing my congressmen to repeal the ban on the good ole incandescent bulb, which is sensible.
Those CFL's require a HAZMAT team if you break one (but I broke one in a customers home, and I threw the darn thing in the trash).
This so-called "green" craze is just plain silly, for the most part, and according to what I read, it is turning a lot of people off, so some companies are backing away from using the term in there advertising etc. Just read that a couple of days ago in a trade journal I get.
I never considered myself green, but I have almost eliminated the use of fossil fuels while converting waste to energy. However, I refuse to give up my classic cars or mechanical equipment. Just being off the grid or off fossil fuels is "green" enough for me. I also do a lot of dumpster diving and scavenging for the things I need.
Eeeeeeeew! You've got to be kidding?
I have been driving less, but only because of the high cost of gasoline. Other than that, I have no intention of eliminating gas powered anything. I run my lawn tractor when and as much as I please, and I will use whatever electricity I see fit.
This whole idea is largely because of a hoax that we (man) are the cause of so-called "global warming". When I was a teen, they were saying we were headed for a new ice age, and everyone was scared about that. So, now it's "global warming" Bull Sh_t.
Most of us in the Western world will find it difficult to ever be truly "green" unless you live a self sustaining lifestyle on an organic farm and never leave it.
To me it is about being "Greener" and doing what you can.
The Green Mantra should be :
Reduce ( your use)
Re-use
Recycle
I think it is about being a more thinking consumer and to consider the impact our everyday actions have on the planet.
Shop more wisely,do not give in to the throw away society, reduce your foodmiles, and carbon footprints, try to buy local, buy second hand when you can , recycle, freecycle, give to charities all your unwanted stuff, use public transport when possible, if you can afford it invest in a hybrid or LPG vehicle, do not leave electrical items on standbuy etc...
The main criteria for me is to think before you act basically and act accordingly.
Being greener is common sense . It just makes sense not to waste and not to bite the hand that feeds us , quite literally. The Planet will eventually survive whatever abuse we inflict upon it and regenerate but we need it. It does not need us.
It is just plain stupid and incredibly short-sighted to treat the Earth the way we do.
A little bit of effort and thought seems a small price to pay for our future.
I think this whole green craze is just a way of making money off of people. I'm suspicious whenever a company uses 'green' in their advertising. Watch your wallet!
However, I do things like combine trips. Not so much for this green craze, but for saving time and money - it's just common sense.
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