Being Green?

I'm extremely cynical of the green movement (especially organic farming, more specifically, the certification process which raises barriers to entry for smaller farmers). It's really all just a marketing campaign - I hope you see through the facade. I agree with George Carlin here

http://www.icomedytv.com/Comedies/StandUpComedy/tabid/484/articleType/Ar...

Live simply, and try not to shit where you sleep, that's all you need to know.

"There is no final revolution. Revolutions are infinite."

I agree with you in some ways, OnThePath, I am also tired of hearing corporations like Windex, Lay's Potato Chips, and Car companies talking about "going green." I have recently heard some information on how hybrid cars are worse for the enviornment in the long run than a normal engine (something to do with the way the battery decomposes I believe) but I do not have any academic backing for that and would love to know if anyone does. Although many companies are profiting on fake enviornmentalism, I try to do my part by living up to my own standard of being "green." I have made small changes in my life such as recycling and reducing my waste by over half and shopping at my local farmers market in atlanta. Most of the green changes I make are for my own personal health and well being, or for the bettering of my community in the struggling economy. I know I can't change the world by biking to work instead of driving or recycling a few bottles, but small local changes can increase our quality of life and eventually create a new mindset about how we treat our bodies and the Earth.

Hi Ethics what a great post!

I feel that I am on the path towards being "green."

But to name something is to own it...I would say that "green" has been recuperated by certain forces of the system that are undermining green's initial coordinates. i would first negate the "green" slogan. it is just a slogan now…a mere selling point.

go brown!

i am an artist and designer - there have been changes in the industry, like non-toxic inks and toners..but as an artist i approach it as a "way of seeing the world" - take for instance the landscape painting...a privileged perspective of a European gaze where perspectival illustration represents an entire colonization of nature and peoples. i think of the problems with art and the "green" movement on this aesthetic level. basically, art should stay away from sustainability. unless one wishes to have it become a mere spectacle, unless one wants to just play the game while the world burns.

i would say it is important to make a shift, but not from a business since. personally i would like to see business stay away from "green." sure it is a big part of the world, and business has the most impact on pollution, but it is important not to see it in terms of political-economy. it is important for a healthy landbase and lifeworld, and too often we retreat into purchasing power under the cool aid drink of capitalism.

I have made a commitment to "be green" by walking to destinations (when i can) as well as growing my own food on the small balcony space i have. i would say it is difficult on two accounts: first, the entire social space is designed for injection and dejection of automobiles and consumption, so in many areas around the nation it is hard to dislodge oneself from this. there simply isn't the supporting infrastructure.

second, i see something very wrong with identification. we identify with the unsustainable system and while it is nice to see "consumers" becoming conscious of their actions i see a problem with pinning it all on individuals. big corporations like to tell us to drive different cars and make person adjustments but they have been polluting for decades and decades. i would like to see, along with the individual change, more pressure on the disasters of the corporate state.

www.iaeruo.net

when the military advertises itself as going green because they put a little solar panel on the roof of a tank to power an ipod playing death metal music to inspire soldier while they war; people think, bullshit, they are using "green" propaganda to stay with an emerging societal trend. Its marketing 101.

it is "green washing" that pisses everyone off....shell pats themselves on the back in every commercial as being some philanthropic leader in environmentalism....everyone rolls their eyes.

but you my friend are of course talking about ethical business practices.

environment, labor, sustainability, and product...are all held to high ethical standards in a green world.

some things to look into:

knowmore.org

participatory economics...parecon (not perfect but full of great ideas)

worker owned industries...(great example in Argentina right now)

vegan restaurants (because of the direct relationship to factory farm boycotting, environmental awareness, and nutrient rich plant based diet for personal health.)

anarcho syndiclalism

DreamChange.org

Do It Yourself or D.I.Y. artists, trades people, and entrepreneurs

that should be enough to blaze a huge trail into the green phenomenon

in general going green to me means having deep respect for life, nature, and Earth. So if you do business or influence others you are lead by your green perspective. simple as that

Should just start composting, have a garden, flush the toilet less, turn the lights off when you leave the room, don't drive as much
- simple common sense things

Don't worry about the corporations, they are just trying to extract more capital from you - save the Earth they say, oh but it will cost more than our previous line of non-environmentally friendly products - oh, but, you don't want to spend extra, what's the matter, don't want to save the Earth!? - wellllp better shell out the extra $$ to save the planet - thank you consumer, you are helping our profit margins
... that's essentially how it works

We can't buy our way to a better planet, once that is internalized, people will start making more little incremental changes in their own lives, realizing that it is the true way to change things ...

"There is no final revolution. Revolutions are infinite."