Published on Friday, November 23, 2007 by The Los Angeles Times

Eco-Friendly Consumption? Critics Don’t Buy It

by Abigail Goldman

What’s the green approach to the holidays?



If you listen to the marketers, manufacturers and retailers, it’s all about buying environmentally sensitive products — biodegradable cards, gift wrap made from wastepaper and glass objets d’art fashioned from old beer bottles.



Some critics are quick to assail the notion that you can go green by spending money, saying that this kind of eco-Christmas is more artificial than a plastic tree.



But others call the trend a way to ease consumers into a greener way of life.



“In a perfect world, the one we don’t live in right now, there’s something ironic about buying your way to green,” said Deborah Barrow, founder of The Daily-Green, a Hearst-owned online environmental guide. “But we live in this world, and this world has people who are heavily invested in a consumerist society and yet they’re more and more interested in going green.”



And in a year with relatively modest expectations for holiday sales, that sounds a lot like opportunity.



In a recent poll, nearly nine in 10 Americans identified themselves as “conscious consumers,” according to the Conscious Consumer Report, produced by marketing agency BBMG.



About the same number said that if products were equal in price and quality, they were more likely to buy from companies that manufacture energy-efficient products, promote health and safety and commit to environmentally friendly practices, the pollsters found.



Those are good reasons for retailers to make sure their green is showing.



Home Depot on Wednesday offered tips for celebrating the holidays in green fashion, including improving a home before guests arrive, decorating it for the holidays and selecting the ideal gifts.



Oh, and just in case you need some gift ideas, Home Depot reminds consumers that it has an Eco Options line of environmentally friendly products.



Others also are getting in on the act. Target Corp. devotes a section of its website to “eco-friendly” merchandise, though it’s a year-round endeavor, the company says. That’s similar to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s green site, which highlights the world’s largest retailer’s own environmentally sensitive products.



Barneys New York’s new catalog, titled “Have a Green Holiday,” offers gift cards saying, “Green Is Groovy,” “Join the Green Revolution” and “Save the Planet.”



The upscale retailer also sells a variety of pricey products that incorporate organic materials or come with the promise to donate unspecified amounts to groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council.



But if none of that appeals, Barneys also highlights an $850 leather tote bag tanned without chemicals and emblazoned with “I am the earth. I love myself and I respect myself,” in French.



All that is rubbing some people the wrong way.



“It’s cynical on the part of the manufacturers and the people who want to sell this stuff,” said Andrew Szasz, a sociology professor at UC Santa Barbara and author of the new book “Shopping Our Way to Safety: How We Changed From Protecting the Environment to Protecting Ourselves.”



“In a world where people want to continue to aspire to middle-class consumption patterns, but they are also wanting to feel like they are responsible citizens who care about social and environment issues, how do they reconcile that? They go shopping for something that declares itself to be ecologically friendly.”



Instead, the best way to be ecologically friendly is to give — and buy — less, said Debra Amador, co-founder of the website Buy(Less)Crap.



The site, launched in April and targeted at the “cause-sumer,” features flashy takeoffs on Gap Inc.’s Red Campaign under the heading, “Shopping Is Not a Solution. Buy (Less). Give More.”



http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/23/5403/

Hope everyone had a nice turkey day. Mine was ok. Although I had to suffer my stepfather! ugh!



Luckily I had my IPOD. I was listening to a GREAT MIT course lecture on Photography and Urban planning and development.



This guy flies his plane all over the country and takes pictures of the land below. The scenes of American sprawl. He then compared OUR countryside (what is left of it) with Italy.. WOW. what a difference. It really gives you a sense of place and what we have wrought in our country and on our land.



The other lecture from the same course is a guy who over 20 years took photos of Camdon New Jersey. How communities change over time. How a community is basically UNCONSTRUCTED and the weak efforts to rebuild it.



Apparently Camdon NJ was heavily polluted and so there is a LOT Of toxic pollution in the soil and surrounding environment.



He showed these houses that were flat up against each other. One would be habitable and occupied and the next one was a burned out shell. Wow..



If you get ITUNES.. sign up for ITUNES university and look at the courses from MIT.. (among others).



http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Urban-Studies-and-Planning/11-309JSpring-2006/CourseHome/





There is a lot of COOL content. I am glad I upgraded my IPOD... I lay in bed last night watching this guy and his photos of Camdon. It is sooo cool.



I also am downloading a Surfing podcast.. I actually LOVE surfing. Big wave surfing.



Gods.. to me.. that is the ULTIMATE sport. You are at the mercy of this huge force of nature and you can't plow it, or rearrange it or anything. It is in control and you can only work WITH IT so it will allow you to ride it.



Just watch surfing sometime. Catch the movie RIDING GIANTs .. cool movie...



(That is where the term TOTALLY TUBULAR came from. The waves form a Tube and these surfers ride in this tube, or pipeline (as they are formally called). )



Sigh. surfers.

:>)



Later

Caelidh

I was listening to Rush a bit yesterday and someone called in to correct him about the economy. The man claimed that he was a Bush Loving, republican Loving person BUT.. he had to correct RUsh about the optimism he was communicating about the economy. THe guy said he is witnessing a recession. He is feeling it and is concerned.



Rush twisted around to state that "well.. I don't know if there will be a recession or not... uhm uh..(mine)... but " and then rush launched into it is all the Democrats fault"... "but see.. the Iraq war is turning around and the Democrats can't use that anymore so now they are playing on the negativism of a down economy to regain their power".



BOth Rush AND Hannity BOTH use this stupid play .... OH the Democrats (ie Liberals) are just a bunch of DOOM AND GLOOMERS.. they are just capitalizing on bad news.. to regain their power.



It is SUCH an old argument and tactic it is nauseating.



SO.. are REpublicans actually THAT much more positive than Liberals.. (or choose your label).





I consider myself a progressive and liberal. Radical sometimes. However.. ironically. I suppose I am CONSERVATIVE in a lot of ways now.. Conservative in regards to consumerism and Conservative in Environmental and sustainability issues. I am a realist. I don't jump on the instant solution bandwagon that relies on cheery optimism and rose colored trust. I am cautious. I am concerned. I am try not to be irresponsible and ignorant. Does that make me a pessimist? Is pessimism actually BAD???? When you are in a plane at 50,000 feet and the engines die... what do you do? Granted.. you are out of control at the at point. Do you figure out solutions or just believe that God will keep the plane up due to your undying faith and belief in him?



Ok. that was a bad analogy. I haven't had my turkey yet...



I am concerned about the eoconomy. I am having to change my lifestyle. My expectations. My interpretation of what happiness means. Those should be GOOD things. It should mean that I am growing and evolving. Shouldnt' it? I think alot about the world. My role and actions in it. I don't believe that I DESERVE much. Except for the right to life liberty and happiness. But Feeling like I DESERVE something isn't neccessarily a selfish action.. it can be... but it is tied in with responsibility. For me.... my liberty is tied in with sustainbility. It isn't tied in with killing others or destroying and conqering others. I would rather take care of my own local back yard. NOT out of selfishness... but it is because It is manageable. Bombing Iran or Iraq or Syria... to "Fight the terrorists' HAS NEVER made me safer. It NEVER EVER WILL.



It makes enemies EVERY TIME. YOu are not fighting for the hearts and minds when you do that. If you take care of your own. Take care of your environment, be responsible. NOt take too much, share, live lightly.. WOW.. it is saying. HEY.. I am not the only person here. I love my fellow humans and we can all live if I don't take so much...



But is that a limiting view? Am I saying there isn't enough to go around? No.. THere probably is.. (althought i don't know how much anymore).... but there isn't enough to go around if everyne wants to drive a HUMMER.... and live in a McMansion. That isn't feasible. Does that mean I am negative and pessimistic? No. I am realistic. I also don't think that chanting "our economy is thriving" is going to do much either.



Sorry. I am not making much sense, as usual. I am hungry....



Just something that jumped into my brain again today....





REMEMBER Tommorow is BUY NOTHING DAY!!!!



:>)



We can turn this world around.. change the paradigm that has been SHOVED down our throats about what an economy is SUPPOSED to look like. I am not going to buy into this consumerist feeding frenzy because I am afraid of the economy ... They amped up all the sales of JUNK you don't need. THat goes into a landfill....



Is that what a sustainable economy looks like? Perhaps we will have to go through a recession.. however scary that may be... to reasess our priorities.... Yeah.. it sucks for some.. but hey.. if you want to go into business selling cheap crap from China... then that is your own tough titties if your business fails because you tried to make a quick buck.



We can have a sustainable community.



Yes...



Peace

Caelidh



Happy.... Native American Awareness day!!!



Quit exploiting those for resources... The world is here for everyone.. Not just YOU.. ;>P



Ok.. off my soapbox.



Peace

Published on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 by CommonDreams.org

Is Corporate Greenmania Real?

by Ralph Nader

The “Business of Green” and “Green is Gold” are among the phrases finding their way onto the nation’s business pages and into the advertisements of major corporations.



After years of corporate greenwashing, is this wave of corporate greenmania for real? Is it more than hype when the New York Times marks a recent article with the sidebar “The market tells producers: It’s go green or goodbye.”?



Well, not if the impetus has to come from stronger regulation or environmentally driven government purchases. Those two pressure points have largely been kept dormant or are de minimis.



When business sees environmental management as saving it money, increasing productivity, becoming more competitive and attracting young talent, the prospect of sustainable policies taking root becomes more likely.



Obviously, it was not always viewed this way by corporate bosses who, not long ago, saw our air, water and soil as their toxic sewers.



There is still a long way to go to “green” the entire supply chain from the mines to the markets.



No corporation illustrates this broad continuum better than the Atlanta-based Interface Corporation-the country’s largest commercial carpet tile manufacturer. In 1994, founder Ray Anderson started his company on its goal as a “restorative enterprise,” which he described as zero net pollution and 100% recycling by 2020. The company is 45 percent there, he estimates.



Anderson speaks figures in his 100 plus lectures around the nation and world. His company’s use of fossil fuel is down 45 percent, net greenhouse gas production is down 60%, while company sales are up 49 percent. Water use is down by a third in its manufacturing and the filling of landfill with waste is down 80%.



“Sustainability,” Anderson told the New York Times, “pays in customer loyalty, employee spent-hard cash,” plus 336 million dollars in savings since 1995.



Anderson is unique in that what he and his team have done is not anecdotal, but system wide in scope. The news is replete with one large company achieving this with lighting or that with their transportation. With Interface, ecological efficiency is across the board.



Since even a stodgy company like General Electric is moving quickly into selling “green” technology as the next profit center, why are the aggregate figures on hydro-carbon use, greenhouse gases still increasing? Because there are no national missions to take these successful examples-these best practices-and make them a mandatory floor for all companies.



I refer to mandatory performance standards by the federal government-not specific design standards-backed up by specifications set by Uncle Sam, who is the buyer of so many products we all use, for its departments and agencies. These include vehicles, building construction, paper and many other goods and services that could be purchased only from solid “green companies.” (See: Forty Ways to Make Government Purchasing Green by Eleanor J. Lewis and Eric Weltman. Available from the Center for the Study of Responsive Law for $10. Mail orders to PO Box 19367 Washington, D.C. 20036.)



Mandatory federal standards and government purchasing specifications brought the people safer cars, higher recycled paper content and greater fuel efficiency for their vehicles and appliances. The deregulation craze of the past twenty-five years ended most of this forward progress.







THE REST



http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/20/5357/

So.. last night I was closing my nanowrimo story and the file became corrupted and I lost it!



I have never had a document get eaten before . It just disappeared.



LUCKILY.... I saved it in another location and I also have it broken up into emails. I usually write in the mornings and at lunch and email them to myself at home.



So I coudl have pieced it together. But crap.. that was a scare...



I am also trying to start an excercise regime.



I am going up to my temple space and listening to music (Kate Bush etc..) and dancing. But I am also trying to work on my abs and arms. I used my excercise ball last night and just sort "dance" while listening to music. I don't think about how MANY ab crunches I am doing. I just play the song and do them to the music... I am going to try and do this at least 30minutes a night.. preferably an hour. Then I am also trying to do temple for 25 minutes. Stillness. I need to start evoking Kyatta.. but I haven't gotten there yet.



The stillness is good. Yesterday, however, my neighbors dogs were of course barking.. which.. drove me nuts. THEN my stupid cat started scratching at the door. I was managing to tune them out for a while.



but still. Damn!



My new ipod is doing well. I am enjoying it. It took me a while to upload my music... but it is now on my laptop. I am using my old IPOD upstairs...



I may give it to my mum.



I felt bad about buying a new one. But It is a tool I use. I am a learner so I wanted more of the video content. And my other IPOD was acting buggy... and I think the battery was going.



It was from 2004...



I am also watching Farscape. I am now on Season 3. Episode ...3 . I am watching an episode a night. GODS I love this show..... I can't wait until Season 1 comes on. There are many episodes I missed too. Good purchase.





Oh.. Did I tell you I am opposed to Nuclear?? Just wanted to throw that out there. It is driving me nuts how this argument is being thrown out there again. NO NUKES.. IF we are going to Iran over nuclear.. then WE CANNOT IN ALL GOOD CONSCIOUSNESS PROMOTE NUCLEAR AS A VIABLE OPTION FOR GLOBAL WARMING.. Is that understood??? Good.



Yes, I am a radical on that point.



I am going to start doing a rainbarrel making workshop next wednesday. YEAH...



Sigh.



I have spent a LOT of money this past week. EEEK. Lots of checks. I am afraid I am going to bounce something.



I hate money issues. I still need to buy shoes and leggings.



and I bought a 40 dollar THanksgiving meal from Wild Oats. But now I am going to my cousins up in Yellow Springs.. I suppose I can freeze it. I have to pick it up tommorow night. UGH.. it is going to be AWFUL.... the traffic.... ugh.



I wanted to ensure that i had a thanksgiving meal.



I will eat it. Hey... I froze pizza I had bought from Papa Johns and it tasted fine after a week of being frozen. I am getting the hang of freezing things.. That helps. I think I had an aversion to freezing food. Thinking that it would tast stale and freezer burnish.. BUt .. so far so good. That helps me out a LOT from wasting food. Although I threw away a big vat of pasta.. which sucks.



My worms are doing fine.. I thought I had killed them off.



I have a lot of work to do. Luckily I am off on Friday as well. I talked to my friend Jenny and I am excited about going up to her dads cabin in the Hocking Hills.. Yeah....



there is a hot tub!!! remember the bathing suit. I will have to submit my Nanowrimo novel a day early since Friday we will be driving up. I will have to crank out my word count. I have been doing ok. My story sucks. Bad bad..dialogue. Plot is vague has a ton of holes in it. Characters are horribly developed.... oh well. trudge on.



I am re-reading the Spell of the Highlander. I just finished rereading Immortal Highlander. By far my FAVORITE still. I picked up a LOT OF clues for the Fever series... OH I LOVE ADAM BLACK!!!!!



Well.. off to work!



bleh...