vovat | What can green do for you? (Reply)

One thing that's been annoying me recently is how often people, especially on the television box, mention "green" products and policies. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with the term, even though there are a lot of things of a green color that are actually harmful to the environment, from radioactive waste (it's always green in cartoons, anyway) to the Incredible Hulk (I don't think those shirts he's always ripping off are biodegradable). I mean, I never had a problem with the name of the Green Party; and while I don't like all of Greenpeace's tactics, their NAME never bothered me. No, I think it's mostly just over-saturation, and how the term has become another advertising buzzword. Remember when everyone was yakking about carbs, or twenty years ago when every other commercial said something about fiber and/or oat bran? The additional concern here is that, when something becomes a buzzword like that, consumers tend to forget the original REASON why they're looking for things that are high-fiber, low-carb, or green. It turns into more of a feel-good thing, with people buying organically grown products not because they actually taste better or have known health benefits, but simply because it helps them feel better about themselves. Which I guess is fine, as long as they don't bother other people about it. It's just kind of irritating to keep hearing the same practically empty terms over and over again.

That said, I'm ALSO sick of people insisting that recycling involves sorting through garbage (granted, I haven't heard that one much recently, but it used to come up pretty often), or that global warming isn't real because it's still cold sometimes (yeah, Hannity, I'm looking in your direction). It's not that I'm not in favor of the environment, just that I don't think buying things with "green" written on the package is the best way to accomplish environmental change.

EDIT: Also, happy birthday to