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Green green green green green - bull. Going out and buying all new stuff made out of bamboo raised on the other side of the world and shipped here is not eco-friendly.

A tree killed my father

I think its funny how everyone is advertising their efforts for being "green" and "Eco friendly." ... Target has 10 ways of reusing their plastic bags printed on the side of it.. Ikea decided to charge like 5 cents per shopping bag or something to get people to use less bags.. poland spring has been flaunting a new plastic bottle design that uses 30% less plastic... i guess we're supposed to be kissing their asses or something for all their efforts? *rolls eyes*

Here in Kansas, "Greensburg", the city that got crushed by the F-5 tornado a year ago is to be a "green city".... I'm still not sure what that means. The rebuilding looks like a typical city, whats green?

My university is really into the "green" thing, though the school was originally an agriculture college so it makes sense. The cups and silverware in our dining centers are completely environmentally friendly. The silverware are made out of potatoes (though they feel like plastic) and our cups are made out of corn. My friend is a barista and she hates the cups because when you put hot water in it, they melt lol.

Capitalism... *sigh*

Would you like your eco-friendly organic oatmeal wrapped in plastic in a large definitely not eco-friendly factory somewhere in a cleared jungle now sir?

onmywayA tree killed my father

What?

I was talking about this the other day with a friend, that using "green" is now just a marketing scam.

I say stick to shorter showers, recycling, and turing off the lights when you're not using them. Call it whatever you want.

Oh, bosh, I've been green for years.

I really should brush more.

HndsmKansan saidHere in Kansas, "Greensburg", the city that got crushed by the F-5 tornado a year ago is to be a "green city".... I'm still not sure what that means. The rebuilding looks like a typical city, whats green?

Just newer building materials that happen to have used less energy in their creation as well providing better insulation thus saving on energy costs. It's really just saying were going green by using a newer and more advanced building product.

Might be a few solar panels or wind turbines. The latter has been springing up around recently.

Doesn't matter. Americans will believe anything they hear on television. I saw some coal ads touting the green virtues. Whatever.

it's not easy... being green

XRuggerATX saidDoesn't matter. Americans will believe anything they hear on television. I saw some coal ads touting the green virtues. Whatever.

Cleaner coal

They've also discovered that they can scrub emissions from coal plants with algae. The green stuff grows off the exhaust from the plant, reducing pollution and potentially providing an easy and less land intensive source of ethanol.

My green pet peeve is people that don't bring their reusable bags to the grocery store. I love how the cashiers at Whole Foods always guilt people "Now you did bring your own bag today?"

For me, the "green" label (whether it is accurate or not) at least raises the consciousness of people to the fact that where a product comes from and where it ends up may be worth consideration.

If concern about the future becomes fashionable, I certainly wouldn't start complaining.

The national debt has indentured future generations. The least we could do is give them a healthy planet on which to toil.

I'm blue... if I was green I would die.

I like the warcraft Orc version better:

"It not eezie being gweeen!"

Well what did you expect? This is America! We commercialize this stuff here. I find it hilarious Tim that you're so surprised by it.

Commercialization has benefitted the Green movement but it comes at a price. The price being, you get your message out but in return you sell the soul of your cause.

That goofy Subaru commercial is my favorite.

Get used to it, you'll have that.

I am with Carlos on this one. Any efforts at being green are appreciated and I will patronize a more green company over a less green one. Ya, a lot of it is a big fat scam (like new, high efficiency plastic windows) but with the world swirling in the bowl I am happy for any little change and marginal effect.

My gripe isn't the push to be more conscious, it's the use of it as a selling tool for something that is not conscious.

There is a marketing term for this exact thing - it's called Greenwashing.

see the Wikipedia definition:

Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The term Green sheen has similarly been used to describe organisations which attempt to appear that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.

Many companies do it, it's up to us, the consumer to do our research and look past the bullshit. Same thing as actually reading nutritional panels on what we eat.

What's not to love about it? An entire unassailable moral philosophy based only on meaningless buzzwords. All you need is a whiny catch in your voice, a finger pointing at the nearest plausible witch, and whammo: Instant moral superiority.
Nobody can call you on the BS because it's all BS to begin with.

Yeah. At Ruby Tuesday we decided to "go green."

the ONLY difference is that we now ask if a customer wants lemon with their water, rather than just giving it to them, because less lemons means less shipping, producing, etc. which will save the environment. Just by lemons. Lemons are the only cause of pollutants in the world now.

capitalism is a pretty way of saying greedy. we take our shopping bags to all the stores we go to and usually get clerks asking us what shelf we found them on so they can ring up a price for them. they get confused when we explain and some stores they get fussy and irritable. "everything HAS to go in a bag!"

we take our stuff out of the plastic bag they huffily filled and leave them there at the register ^_^

Trends crack me up. Pinkberry is a good example of how ignorant people can be. It has to be the single most vile slop I've ever tasted but for some reason especially in the LA area people flock to that puke in a cup. Same applies with all this green shit. I have hardwood floors in my home. I was ready to replace my area rugs. The whole concept of green friendly area rugs was so shoved down my throat it made the whole process completely annoying.

Bunjamon saidI was talking about this the other day with a friend, that using "green" is now just a marketing scam.

I say stick to shorter showers, recycling, and turing off the lights when you're not using them. Call it whatever you want.

It may be a marketing thing.....but I don't think it's a scam. Most businsses are for profit and going green prolly help their image and sales....who cares if it does. The bottum line is that if all his green talk results in good changes for the planet, and our behavior.........great.

the company i work for uses geo-thermal heating and cooling for it's 20,000sq ft facility. sometimes, going green does make a lot of sense. this has certainlly cut down our energy costs dramatically vs using forced air for heating and cooling.

We prefer the term "sustainable" here at U of Idaho. Chiming in as an Environmental Science major here, every class I've ever taken, the economics plays a huge factor. If you are going to propose a project, you have to also propose funding sources. If you are going to propose that a company change on its own, w/o involving legislation, you have to show that they will make enough money from targeting a new demographic or that they will save enough money to make it worth their time.

As for buying bamboo from the other side of the world..um, if you are buying all new stuff you're kinda missing most of the point of being green.

In other news, the building where I work is in the process of finishing our green roof. Its pretty sweet.

I'm glad someone finally said it... All this green makes me wanna vom...

as a landscape architect, i too, kinda want to chime in on this. not ALL of it is hogwash..err...greenwash.
LEED Certification gives info about the Green Building Rating System.

i will say, it's often readily apparent which companies are doing it for the right reasons and those who are bandwagonning (is that even a word?).

well, im bi on this matter, (haha, it was funny in my head) i go both sides for this green thing.

i agree with it because when i was back at school and doing all my own shopping etc, i noticed everyone using the reusable grocery store bags; lots of clothing stores issuing recycled bags to customers and giving them a dollar off their next purchase, provided they use that bag again; an influx of workers using the busses, walking to work, and lots of bikes (most likely due to the heinous gas prices); and now that im home in the states, i notice none of this, its actually sickening to me now to see how many people still drive their hummers (my neighbours alone have 2...), no one uses those recylced bags, my mom never even heard of it, and i start to wonder, is the green concept just easier to adapt to in canada?

on the other side of the argument (the one against it), my only complaint would be that it came too late, like, really is it only when we see the bomb's shadow that we decide to change? think about it, the only early solution i saw to this gas dependent/wasteful world was the toyota prius, so way to go toyota.

that my opinion, and i now open the floodgates to all who disagree

oh, and to ya'll that call this a trend/fad...for all our sakes and the sakes of our future generations, it better be a wee bit more than a "trend"

really, if they wanna make it a fashion/status statement to go green, well, thats awesome cuz thats what seems to get our societies to follow anything

sorry, im not a tree hugger or "one with the nature" or hippie, but my idea of summer doesnt include a smog index

I don't think you should buy something solely based on the fact that it has "Green" written on it, or some small token green benefit included with it's purchase. That's just big business looking down on us and taking advantage of the "buying power" that social trends allow them.

I myself have been green for years, but not as much on a worldwide scale as most advertisements would like you to think is a 'good thing'. "Think globally, act locally" is my accepted motto. If you can make a difference in your own home, neighborhood and/or city/county, and you want to help out the "Green" cause; than that's what I would recommend. The most profound actions tend to be the smallest. Picking up trash at a park, recycling your bottles, newspapers, and cans from home and work will make a big difference in the long, and will be some extra change in your pocket. Carpooling, walking, cycling, and taking safe public transportation is a great way to save yourself the agony of filling up gas, help make yourself healthier and cut down on carbon emissions. But if you don't feel like buying green products cause you feel overwhelmed, than feel free not to. They may just be a sham and not as green as they would like you believe. If you really want ecofriendly furniture, than you have to learn how to cut the lumber yourself, learn upholstery and/or basket weaving. You just feel that you've actually accomplished something, as well as helped save the environment.

nicensmoothla saidas a landscape architect, i too, kinda want to chime in on this. not ALL of it is hogwash..err...greenwash.
LEED Certification gives info about the Green Building Rating System.

My workplace is LEED certified

Most of the wood in the floors and display racks came from the old torn down outlet in Maine. And of course we have the biodegradable plastic and recycled cardboard hangers.

And of course were doing away with paper schedules now. I have to collect everyone's info info and send it away. A computer makes the schedule for me now, or at least it should within the coming weeks. I guess I'll be cashiering more often now...

Of course we're still polluting the globe thanks to imports from China and Indonesia. But I seriously doubt any business could survive selling items only domestically produced with green efforts in mind. People complain enough over $49 dollar slippers I doubt selling them at $89 with an American made tag will make a difference.

Trance23 said[quote][cite]

My workplace is LEED certified

Most of the wood in the floors and display racks came from the old torn down outlet in Maine. And of course we have the biodegradable plastic and recycled cardboard hangers.

And of course were doing away with paper schedules now. I have to collect everyone's info info and send it away. A computer makes the schedule for me now, or at least it should within the coming weeks. I guess I'll be cashiering more often now...

Of course we're still polluting the globe thanks to imports from China and Indonesia. But I seriously doubt any business could survive selling items only domestically produced with green efforts in mind. People complain enough over $49 dollar slippers I doubt selling them at $89 with an American made tag will make a difference.

that's great. and it's true - i doubt we will ever stop import, as long as cheap child labor is available in other countries. the leed building movement is gaining momentum. hopefully, businesses will begin to see the current start-up cost outlay will eventually amortize, by both a reduction in overall maintenance and day-to-day operation costs...and benefit the environment. the owner of my former company calls it 'doing well, by doing good.'

Cheap Child Labor, isn't so cheap in third world emerging states. The $5 they make a day goes a long way there. You would take that away from them?