So, this is what it feels like to be at the beginning.
Topic: Green Consumption
Questions: What are we really buying? How much is useful and how much is hype? And are we really helping the planet by buying green?
I wasn’t really sure how to deal with such a monstrous topic. So, I Googled it. And while that didn’t help me narrow my focus much, I did come across this article that perfectly articulated the theme of my final project, which I figured would be helpful as a starting point:
Simply put, being green is trendy. Before Al Gore released “An Inconvenient Truth,” global warming was a stereotypically far-left liberal issue. In a nation staunchly committed to capitalism, nobody wanted to change their daily consumption habits for a much-debated theory. “An Inconvenient Truth” not only brought environmentalism to a massive audience; it popularized the movement in a manner that many industries could adapt. Toyota could release hybrid cars. Starbucks could create cups from recyclable materials. American Apparel could manufacture t-shirts made from American cotton. Suddenly, the green movement wasn’t asking anyone to make great sacrifices to save the world; it was asking them to maintain their consumption habits with slightly different products.
It is here that I, and many others, come into conflict with green consumerism. Green consumerism, as a term, is a sort of oxymoron. Consuming at as high of a level as we do rapidly depletes the world of resources and continues adding more carbon dioxide to the air. The United States currently consumes about twice as much electricity and oil as any other country in the world. We’re making a big contribution to global warming. We aren’t going to fix it by consuming the same amount of stuff, but in a more environmentally-friendly format. The current green movement is too easy. In order to slow the impacts of global warming and resource-depletion, we would have to consume less, as a whole. Drive less. Weather-proof our homes. Detach ourselves from our electronic devices.
Granted, I realize that saying “consume less” is providing a simplistic answer to a complex problem. It’s early in this project and I’m still trying to figure out where my research is going to take me. I will say that I was intrigued by the article’s idea that green consumerism is the entry point to a more sustainable lifestyle. I think the green movement has struggled in the past because it has provided catastrophic possibilities that could only be resolved by a complete change in lifestyle. As I’ve learned in social psychology, confronting someone with a fear appeal alone won’t get them to change their behavior. But, if you provide an action plan to initiate behavior change, people are more likely to make the effort. So, you can present a million disgusting pictures of tobacco-related cancer, but no one will stop smoking unless you give them the resources and steps to do so. Green consumerism is a step in the action plan of the global warming fear appeal. People don’t tend to like dramatic change. But, they’re willing to support a cause if it doesn’t ask much of them. We can begin saving the planet by purchasing green products. Perhaps this will be the sparking point that interests someone in environmentalism. They could conduct more research and figure out other ways to become more sustainable. Suddenly, the person driving a Hummer could have a windmill in their backyard. Education is a powerful thing. And though it may be counterintuitive, green consumerism can bring about societal change. There will always be a need to consume, and there will always be a need for industries to produce the items we consume. So long as they’re producing items that are friendlier to the environment, we’re starting somewhere productive.
I liked the Times article. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the Gore film that well, but I doubt that it was advocating green consumerism. Was it?
I guess everything helps, if it really helps. Getting a new hybrid car when one didn't need a car, though, doesn't help.
I guess consuming less is really the most meaningful response, as you seem to say.
I wasn't trying to argue that it advocated green consumerism directly. Rather, I think the film's popularity made being green both accessible and trendy, so it served as a sort of launching pad for green consumerism. It's merely one part of a shift in our culture that brought being green into the mainstream.
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