It’s human nature to take what good or charitable things we do and perhaps try to use them to gain accolades from others or to boost our image among our peers, attempting, at times, to look more righteous than the commoners around us.
In a day and age when scientists tell us our planet needs a plethora of eco-heroes just to survive, it’s easy to see how, sometimes, our motives may get twisted and bent out of shape. Trying to save the planet, or save face? New terms have been born such as eco-snob and eco-show-off, and somehow they threaten to undermine the very essence of going green itself.
We all want to show we care, and no eco-conscious person wants to be caught committing a green ‘taboo’. But as we strut down the street with our trusty reusable bag, we may suddenly decide we need one that declares in simple language, “this bag is green!” Not that there’s anything wrong with a bag that announces itself as green. It may truly want to save the planet too, and thus the future need for bags. Ok, kidding. Perhaps we decide that we need a trendy new designer reusable bag, even one to match every outfit. Unconsciously, we start turning reusable back into disposable. The same goes for other products as well.
Disposing of one product in favor of another because it gives an outward appearance of being ‘more green’ isn’t a sound solution to the problems we face. As we get caught up in the marketing of a myriad of green-claiming products, we may still be contributing to a wasteful and unhealthy approach to living. Being environmentally thrifty implies, at times, making do with things that, put simply, do quite well.
Eco-snobs may drive around in their hybrid or mini car, (nothing wrong with either) in clear view of the world, looking quite green. When in the privacy of their own homes, green sometimes goes out the window. By making sure we do our part, even when no one sees, such as by conserving water and sorting the recycling, we are truly making a difference. After-all, we’re not trying to save the planet to look good.
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What a great post!
Thanks Julia! Just a little bit of food for thought. We shouldn’t be trying to save the planet to look good – we should be doing it because we genuinely care about the earth.
What a good article! So true, just BE GREEN as opposed to showing off how green you think you are!