Comments on: Is not being green a “social faux pas”? If so, will green imposters follow?

By: Milan

Milan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:18:02 +0000

To me, it seems like calling people on not being green is a far bigger ‘social faux pas’ – especially if you ever bring up the climatic impact of regularly taking long flights.

By: Eric Childs

Eric Childs — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:31:43 +0000

Oops…pressed “submit” to soon. I was going to mention that what one thing about environmentalism is that fundamentally, the philosophy underpinning it is logically sound. Call it not shitting where you sleep. All it takes is a little understanding of the science and then the hard logic of doubling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, or not depleting nonrenewable resources, eventually kicks in. THat’s something environmentalism has going for it, and it’s one reason it won’t be a fad like any other. It will change quite a bit, there will be a lot of silliness (there always is), but the fundamentals are strong.

By: Eric Childs

Eric Childs — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:17:39 +0000

There’s no question that where there’s morality, there’s hypocrisy. Turning something into a fashion statement might have some short-term appeal, but you also risk cheapening it. Turn something into a social faux-pas, and you get people doing it for reasons of embarrassment, status anxiety etc, rather than the original intention.

But things like not smoking, wearing seatbelts and not driving drunk are not just “socially unacceptable”. They’re also just really really bad ideas. It just took us a while to appreciate and fully internalise the level of risk involved with these activities. Human beings just aren’t that good at understanding probability.

By: Josh Cobden

Josh Cobden — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:06:48 +0000

I wonder if any of those Bullfrog Power lawn signs have been stolen by green posers!

By: Josh Cobden

Josh Cobden — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:42:06 +0000

The idea of fake solar panels and misleading stickers promising efficiency on gas guzzling autos made me chuckle, but you’re probably not far off, Tyler. Though I have no proof other than anecdotes, I believe many people knowingly take false comfort in greenwashed products… (“The label’s green, I’m sure all this PVC biodegrades!”) But the gap between being complicit and being misleading oneself probably isn’t a big one, especially when social pressure gets added to the mix. For this reason, we need to find ways to inspire people to go green with wins vs. shaming them. That said, if keeping up with the Jones’s starts to mean reducing one’s footprint vs. buying more junk, a little stigma might not be a bad thing. Good post.

By: Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:28:39 +0000

When I look at my own environmentalism, I have to be very careful to not get sanctimonious. I recently met an old old friend who had purchased a huge new SUV. I immediately sneered at it, but only later realized what I’d done. I drive a small Jetta that runs on biodiesel as often as I can find it, but my footprint is probably way larger than my friend’s. And that’s purely due to my stormchasing. Yes, I’ve seen what lies in store with climate change (which I call climate disruption – thank you Hot, Flat, and Crowded) having been through multiple hurricanes, but am I any better just because I use biodiesel? It was an eye opener for sure and sometimes it can difficult to look at yourself, especially when you like to think of yourself as green.

By: greengrift

greengrift — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:25:05 +0000

I’m comfortable with the choices I make. All this green sanctimony is sickening.

The survey result only convinces me that this has nothing to do with the environment. If “environmentalists” truly care about me wasting resources, their sneers are likely to make me more intransigent in my behaviour. Maybe its time to try another tact.