Sometimes, the Greenest thing to do, is to do nothing at all.
While reading my morning news, I came across an article on Planet Green entitled “Are You Confusing “Greener” with “Green?” Which got me to thinking about an article I wrote called “Do You Want to Do More Than Recycle? How to Precycle.” It all sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it? Greener, Green, Recycling, Precycling. Are we making things harder than they need to be?
Stop. Let’s take a deep breath and get back to basics. We’re not talking about Climate Change here. (That’s a different topic and a different article) What were talking about is getting back to basics.
That’s what got us into all this trouble any way, isn’t it? Doing too much, to fast? Getting caught up in the daily hype and spin of consumerism, self gratification through the iconic representation of material goods?
We’ve spent the last decade trying to fill the space between the floor and the bottom of the Christmas tree with cheap, Walmart junk. We’ve worried more about the brand name on the outside of your purse than what’s inside it. We’ve been listening to the dry hollow sound of cold air sweeping through our floor vents and forgotten what a breeze feels like and what the birds sound like.
Let me say this, Sometimes, the greenest thing to do is to do nothing at all.
The Planet Green article I mentioned above says that Hybrid cars are greener; bicycling is green and grass-fed beef is greener, but not eating meat is green. I couldn’t agree more. In both of these cases, not doing something is the greenest thing to do. Not buying a Hybrid, but riding the bike that’s already gathering dust in your garage and not eating meat are both simpler than the alternatives.
In my precycling article I talk about the energy it takes to recycle something. Not buying that something in the first place (precycling) is greener than recycling it. Case in point. Recycling your water bottles is greener, not buying bottled water in the first place is green.
The list goes on and on:
- Raising the temperature on your air conditioner is greener, not turning on the a/c at all is green.
- Replacing your dated linoleum with bamboo is greener, not replacing your linoleum at all is green.
How far can we take this?
- Taking public transportation to work is greener, working from home is green.
- Buying an energy star rated TV is greener, not watching TV is green.
We can go as far as we want:
- Buying cage free, organic eggs at the farmers market is green. Raising your own chickens is Green. Going Vegan is well, I don’t know, I haven’t gone there, but it’s pretty green!
What I’m saying is that you don’t have to “Go” Green. You don’t have to “Buy In” to Green. You can be as Green as you wanna be, without doing anything at all.
Do nothing, and call it Green.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Just a thought – “Working from home is green.” Yes it is, but while you are in no way implying that to be green you must work from home, I’ve seen this idea out there before. “Everyone should work from home if they want to be green” But I’ve always wondered what the person who works from home and says (from the comfort of their computer) everyone should work from home would do if their internet service went down and they called their provider’s costumer service and were told, “I’m sorry. No one can fix the problem because that would mean they would have to work outside their home. And that’s not green. You said so.”
Just the rambling thoughts of someone who is avoiding getting work started this morning, but a rambling thought I’ve had more than once.
That’s a very good thought Robin. I didn’t mean to imply you needed to work from home, just that there are all different kinds of ways to be Green. We can’t all be pure green, we have to pick the things that we can make change with, and do the best we can. It’s all about doing the best we can with what we have, and with what circumstance and situation permit.
I love this post!
Hurrah for a veganism shout out! I’d argue that going vegan can be green, but it really depends on how you do it. Avoiding animal products is green, but is buying fake cream cheese (that comes in a plastic tub) greener? Not that I don’t love vegan junk food….
Becky,
So many ways to be sustainable, and so many ways to negate that sustainability in the process. You’ve said this before, it all comes down to making smart choices. Vegan cream cheese in a non-recyclable plastic tub isn’t green. Not buying that tub is. -laugh-
Exactly! Haha. Though not buying that tub is sometimes easier said than done, but that’s true of lots of choices I guess.
‘Green, greener, greenest’ comes to mind. In our over-consumptive world, we want to buy something to be green, which ends up being the antithesis. Then the cycle continues to strive to be even greener (upgrade the hybrid or the bamboo, which do not need replacing). Don’t throw away all your clothes to buy organic cotton or hemp. Just think wisely when you do need to replace something. Research the options and decide what’s best for you, your budget and the planet. Not all solutions are one-size-fits-all.
Well said Nan, Thank you!
Great Article Adam!
Thank you Joe. I respect your opinion, so big thanks.
…WOW! do less is more??
That is a GRT! concept to share Adem,
…the one benefit to the ‘Green’ products ‘Hipe’
is the promotion of ‘Green’ awareness ( fist step )
what your talking about I HOPE will become
the next ‘Hipe’ ……………………..( 2nd step )
THNX!
for the share
…peace-
Yes, I love it. We all have to remember that REDUCE comes before Reuse and Recycle and doing nothing is often the Green choice.
It’s that awkward question we get asked, “What are you doing to be greener?” When you’ve already been doing most of the reduce, reuse and recycle things just as part of living frugally it’s hard to say, “I’m doing nothing.” It just doesn’t sound very impressive.
Well, if you’re not already growing a garden, it’s the next step and it’s something Green you can say you are doing. Go plant some seeds!
I have a novel idea! How about making it cost effective to produce our own nuclear energy in America, drilling for our own oil in America, and finding ways to be competitive manufacturing in America?
This way we can STOP giving so much money to the countries around the globe that don’t do anything to be “Green” yet make trillions from us in America. We are one of the “Greenest” nations in the World in when it comes to manufacturing and emissions standards. Let’s make a bigger impact by keeping our money here at home!
Robin – I agree with your “working from home is green” points. Although it certainly has it’s advantages for some people, it really needs to be taken on a case by case basis. Perhaps a remote work center works better for some people or the office is still the “greenest” options. If you’re going to work from home and run the A/C full tilt 6 months of the year, it may not be so green afterall.
Nice article Adam, I couldn’t agree more. Being green doesn’t mean we have to buy all the latest, greatest, greenest items – let’s just be.
I totally agree with you. It drives me crazy when I see cars advertised as ‘green’ – they still cause pollution! It also bugs me when people buy things because they are ‘green’, when it would be greenest not to buy anything at all and just make do with what you have already! Even so-called ‘green’ products/services have an impact on the environment.
Couldn’t agree more. I recently got into a disagreement with a friend over some so called “Green Car Awards”. The organisers had the temerity to award a supercar an award for being green because it has slightly improved its mileage and now does 30-odd mpg. “How can a 30mpg car be green?” I exclaimed! (How can a car that creates any waste be green?).
“Yeah but it shows that it’s going in the right direction,” he replied.
True. But that direction is one of merely eeking out more efficiency from fossil fuels – it’s greener, but it’s not truly green and implying that any car with an internal combustion engine can proclaim to be green conflates what is a very important issue.
I originally intended to post this comment on your previous article about naming things that are non-green or non-organic. I guess it’s better placed here but they both refer to the same issue, that of realising many people’s current lifestyles are far from green and require major change. I just wish the mainstream media were as savvy about it as the people here!
Jamie,
Thank you very much for your articulate comment. I agree with you about how some companies have the (nerve, gall, balls?) to call their products “Green.” We, as consumers and people who care about the environment, must continue to vote with (or without) our dollars and to inform and share others.
Thanks again
i just loved the Quote “Do nothing, and call it green” ……..tehre are some which are arguable. but this article is enough for the person who is in need of understanding this…go green!!!!
It seems to my Adam that you are suggesting that we endeavor and determine some balance in the overall scheme of things. Thanks for a considerable post!