The vision of an eco-sensitive life as a series of choices about what to buy appeals to millions of consumers and arguably defines the current environmental movement as equal parts concern for the earth and for making a stylish statement. Critics question the notion that we can avert global warming by buying so-called earth-friendly products, from clothing and cars to homes and vacations, when the cumulative effect of our consumption remains enormous and hazardous. NYT
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"It’s as though the millions of people whom environmentalists have successfully prodded to be concerned about climate change are experiencing a SnackWell’s moment: confronted with a box of fat-free devil’s food chocolate cookies, which seem deliciously guilt-free, they consume the entire box, avoiding any fats but loading up on calories."
and my favorite...
"Environmentalists say some products marketed as green may pump more carbon into the atmosphere than choosing something more modest, or simply nothing at all."
“eco-narcissism” is where it's at. guilt free consumption on your beautiful self. i encounter those people all the time, who talk about green earth and turn around and get into their giant suv's and drive away.
most of this stuff is just one big marketing-threaphy-guilt exploited consumerism rolled into one. i am glad media is picking up on it. and i am glad this article is on style and fashion section of nyt.
reduce, reuse, recycle!!! the 70's era environmentalists are still correct. the less we buy, the smaller our impact will be. can we ever shake the addiction to consumerism?
It's inaccurate to represent any shift in consumer habits as exemplified in the article as void of value. Consumption as an action (regardless of whether one sees it in terms of addiction) absolutely has political ramifications.
To quote the end of the article:
"A lot of what we need to do doesn’t have to do with what you put in your shopping basket,” he said. “It has to do with mass transit, housing density. It has to do with the war and subsidies for the coal and fossil fuel industry.”
In fact, those light-green environmentalists who chose not to lecture about sacrifice and promote the trendiness of eco-sensitive products may be on to something.
Michael Shellenberger, a partner at American Environics, a market research firm in Oakland, Calif., said that his company ran a series of focus groups in April for the environmental group Earthjustice, and was surprised by the results.
People considered their trip down the Eco Options aisles at Home Depot a beginning, not an end point.
“We didn’t find that people felt that their consumption gave them a pass, so to speak,” Mr. Shellenberger said. ***“They knew what they were doing wasn’t going to deal with the problems, and these little consumer things won’t add up. But they do it as a practice of mindfulness. They didn’t see it as antithetical to political action. Folks who were engaged in these green practices were actually becoming more committed to more transformative political action on global warming."***
i hope there is still some life left by the time we get down by with 'mindfulness.'
more showcase showdowns...why not pimp an existing house? it seems natural that shopping habits are held as political action since political actions within a corporate aristocracy appear to be more futile than ever. voting with your money sounds somehow tied into a capitalist system, and it makes a great bumpersticker for those who want to give up on trying to change an out of control and negligent political machine. but the two (economic and political) dont meld that easily. they are not parallel, but consumer choices shift quickly, unlike an entrenched political system that bows to the lobbying power of not so green industries and typical power structures.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle = a mantra that tacitly acknowledges the interrelationship of consumption and political action.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle = a mantra that tacitly acknowledges the interrelationship of consumption and political action.
how? wake me when mantras and slogans awaken the lumbering political beast instead of placating a buzz-word addicted populace
mkay, will do
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