Here is an interesting article in the New York Times called, “Buying into the Green Movement” which discusses how green consumerism may be conterproductive, and “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.”
They quote Paul Hawken, an author and longtime environmental activist who says,“green consumerism is an oxymoronic phrase,” he said. “The fruit at Whole Foods in winter, flown in from Chile on a 747 — it’s a complete joke. The idea that we should have raspberries in January, it doesn’t matter if they’re organic. It’s diabolically stupid.”
Despite green consumerism, civil society continues to find solutions to our most difficult problems - equality, rights, and environmental restoration. As a result of Paul’s work, his staff at NCI created WiserEarth (www.wiserearth.org), an online tool for improving the connections between the millions of organizations and individuals that work in this segment of civil society. If you are concerned that slightly changing market forces are not enough to address the massive social and ecological problems facing us today - check out WiserEarth and find a group that works on something you care about.
This is a good article– I’ve talked with a few serious consumers who were affected by it. I especially like the last paragraph where they say that green personal buying habits are if nothing else symbolic of the new attention and focus on the issues at hand, which I think is pretty cool.