Greenwashing

I stumbled across the term "greenwashing" the other day. According to Newsweek, greenwashing is making false or misleading claims about the environmental virtues of a product or practice. Evidently Boston College took a survey and found that fewer than half of consumers trust the green claims made by companies these days.

And I thought I was the only skeptic out there.

My question is, who defines green? What makes a product "green" or a practice, for that matter? You've probably seen the television ads of a prominent company claiming they have green practices because they power their plant with garbage. I think that is wonderful, but ... is it green? They aren't filling landfills with waste, and they aren't using coal to generate power, but is it really green?

And, here's a question about those energy-saving light bulbs. Do compact fluorescent bulbs really help the environment? I understand that they save energy, and have to be changed less often than conventional light bulbs. But what about the mercury they contain? What I found out was a little shocking.

Even though the compact fluorescent bulbs have mercury vapor in them, they make it possible for less mercury contamination in our environment. That seems a little backwards...but bear with me here. Most of the mercury contamination, at least here in the US, comes from the burning of fossil fuels (like coal). If we save power, less coal will be burnt to generate power, and then there is less mercury released. At least, that's what treehugger.com and wikipedia say.

So, what to do when your bulb runs out...because obviously I don't want to just toss this bulb in the trash. Ikea offers a free take back bin for used CF bulbs. That's awesome if you have an Ikea near you. Otherwise, you have to find out what your local area options are. I can take mine to a household hazardous waste collection site. It's a little tricky to figure out the schedule, as the collection site travels around the county. But, basically, the first Tuesday of every month it is at a fire station near my home. And, it's no cost to me. Perfect.

So, what have I decided about CF bulbs? They are a plus in my house. They may cost a little more to buy at first, but they do cost less to operate over time, and I don't have to run around changing light bulbs all the time.

I'm thinking that CF bulbs really are green...and not greenwashed.

Is it all going to hell in a handbag?

I saw an ad on television today that featured a polar bear mom and baby floating on an ever-shrinking chunk of ice. The ice wobbled and tipped, nearly dumping the poor bears into the drink. The gist of the commercial was that the polar bears were losing all of their habitat and it was all my fault, so please send funds somewhere to do something.

I understand that the ice floes are shrinking, and I feel for the polar bears. I want to make a difference. It would be awesome to crusade for the environment...to stop global warming, and to ensure that the maternal bond between polar bear and cub is never interrupted due to lack of ice.

And, then, reality hits. I have four "cubs" of my own ... each wanting dinner in an hour. They need baths and want to play a bit before bed. There's a ton of laundry to be done, not to mention the grocery shopping for the week. The baby will need his diapers changed about 14 times before morning. I haven't slept a full night in eleven years. What can I do?

So, here's my plan: I want to evaluate the small changes I can make in my daily life. Can I help my family live a little more "green" and save some money in the process? Do I have the time and energy to save the planet? Is this going to be fun, or will it suck rotten eggs?

What do you think? What suggestions do you have? How can everyday people make small changes and impact the world? Can we save it, or is it all going to hell in a handbag, as my Grandma would say.