Going Green
One of the unexpected outcomes of having a complicated pregnancy and having to spend a lot of time waiting in doctors’ offices is that I have ample time to read a variety of magazines (at least the varieties that are to be found in the typical OB/GYN office). Well the April issues of all the home and garden, parenting, and cooking magazines just came out. Given that Easter is in March this year, I suppose that they all had to come up with some other trendy April event to focus the issue on. So in honor of Earth Day, I’ve read a good number of “going green” articles recently. And while these articles have been generally informative, they have also been highly amusing.
There is of course the home magazine that interpreted “going green” beyond environmental themes and had a whole section on incorporating green (as in the color) accents in your house. Cute. The fitness magazine that encouraged readers to buy an eco-sports bra - which of course was only “eco” because a tiny portion of the sale would be donated to some earth friendly cause. I’d really love to know how green (if at all) the production of said sports bra really was. My favorite was an article on “Growing Green Kids” that listed as its number one way to accomplish that as watching a nature movie with your kids so that kids will “develop empathy for the natural world.” Okay, I’m not opposed to watching movies but doesn’t that seem just a bit counter-intuitive? (to give the list credit, gardening made it as #4 on the list).
What struck me the most though were the underlying attitudes present in all of the magazines. Going green wasn’t necessarily about caring for the earth or for others - it was about helping you have a better life (which yes I know is kinda the premise behind most of those sorts of magazines, but still). The message was to say, eat organic for your own health. There were even lists provided as to which foods to buy organically and for which ones that “didn’t matter.” But of course the criteria for “didn’t matter” involved solely the amount of toxins you personally might be exposed to - ignoring anything to do with the amount the earth or the farmers might have been exposed to. Then there were the fashion articles on how to dress eco-friendly and still look trendy and cute (as mentioned above the definitions of eco-friendly varied widely). And it seemed like great lengths were taken to somehow fit what people already do into the idea of “going green.” For example do you know that you are eco-friendly if you shop at Walmart? They apparently provide space for plastic bags to be recycled, so therefore they must be eco-friendly (duh). The message I came away with is that I really don’t have to change much to care for the earth and that going green is just another way to feed my selfish tendencies. It was a bit depressing.
I know I really shouldn’t criticize, each magazine also provided some really good information. But some things just really make me wonder.
Julie Clawson
Topics: Environment |
March 18th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
i agree with what you’re saying. but my larger comment has to do with the horrible quality of magazines at the baby doctor’s office. i was there for 45 minutes and just about jumped through a window. i would have killed for a highlights magazine.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Your post reminds me of the one magazine I’m always tempted by at the grocery checkout — Real Simple. But from what I’ve seen flipping through it, real simple usually involves some real expensive gizmo or gadget. I don’t think a publication that pays the bills through advertising can be relied on to tell us much of use about simplifying our lives or living “green” for that matter.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Great post. Anyone who doubts that materialism and commercialism are forces to be reckoned with need only look to the magazine racks.
This sort of reminds me of the Red campaign, launched by Bono and Oprah. The idea is that you buy cool shirts and cell phones and shoes, and a percentage of the profit goes to help fight AIDS. (I wanted one of the t-shirts, but couldn’t bring myself to fork out the 40 bucks…My husband pointed out that we could make a direct donation and make a bigger impact with the same amount of money.)
However, I can hardly blame charitable organizations for taking advantage of consumerism. If it helps clean up the environment, help an AIDS orphan, or shelter the homeless…why not? If materialism is the inevitable vice of our time, perhaps it makes sense to take advantage of it.
Again, great post.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I so hear you on this one!! We’ve been in the process of going green in our home over the past year and a half and that’s what it is- a process. I think what bothers me, on top of the ongoing theme of “me” and serving self, in these articles is the “easy” mentality. The whole “in 5 easy steps you can ease your conscious while making little sacrifice”((rolls eyes)). Not to say that martyrdom is the answer but these articles feed in to this mindset of the “easy” way. Want to save the earth? Press “RED easy” button HERE…….
March 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I run up against this kind of mentality all of the time. People can’t quite seem to understand that when I talk about eating organically (as you said) I’m not just trying to eat healthier, or when I talk about energy conservation, they think I’m just trying to save money. While both of these results are great bonuses (except eating organically somewhat cancels out the monetary bonus of reducing energy expenditures) they really can’t grasp the fact that they’re secondary.
We live in a world all about personal benefit, so when something counter-cultural to that idea comes up it must be quite confusing for the adherents of the old philosophy.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
That thing about organic has driven me crazy for years! It really pushes my buttons when media doesn’t even address the impact food production has on the earth when they’re deciding the essential items for organic.
I don’t suppose any of those magazines hopping on the green wagon mentioned the single biggest (and most necessary) lifestyle change we could adopt to make a real impact: STOP consuming so much? No? I didn’t think so.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Wow. You know you hit it at the core. So much of what is wrong about the right causes that are championed are how they are all about me. That is sort of the whole thing Jesus calls us to get over–it being all about me. Great post, Made me think!
March 24th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I say, count it as a cost (or sign) of growing awareness. Every reality has its cheesy easy side. But something has to be in our awareness first. I like that environmental issues are becoming a part of our culture - maybe this is a sign of it.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Julie, Thanks for the post. I used it as inspiration for my message this past Sunday. The ‘go green movement” has picked up so much steam that the environmentalists and enviro organizations that I support are becoming irrelevant with their current missions. Seems like they may need to reevaluate their place just like so many churches are doing.
I concluded that it doesn’t matter how we change our behaviours unless we ” Love God and love people” and allow that worldview to impact our actions, it isn’t sustainable. We will continue to steal from our neighbours, other creatures and future generations. As with so many questions about ” how to think” or ” how to act” it begins with how we love.
Thanks for the inspiration.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
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