Personal Development

Going green: A fad or here to stay?

By now, we’re all familiar with the term “going green.” We’ve seen An Inconvenient Truth. We’ve watched the Oprah “green” episodes. We’ve read tips on going green in everything from our company newsletters to our local newspapers. And, some of us have actually done a few things to change our ways.

Personally, I bought grocery bags made out of recycled water bottles. I started using Seventh Generation laundry detergent. I also made some smaller changes, like unplugging the toaster when I’m not using it, which never occurred to me before. I do still drive my car, but I also carpool whenever possible.

So, of course, my husband, like husband’s often do, called me on it. Was I just jumping on the “green” bandwagon because Oprah said to? (For the record, I had my grocery bags well before I saw the Oprah episode.) Was this whole green thing just a fad that I (along with millions of others) had fallen into?

Well, I hope not.

For one thing, I don’t why you wouldn’t go green. Even if you’re skeptical on the whole global warming thing, why wouldn’t you want fewer plastic bags in landfills? Why wouldn’t you want safer foods? Cleaner air? It just makes sense, right?

While I hope green living is here to stay, I won’t be totally surprised if people go back to their days of not recycling or stop buying more expensive cleaning products. Perhaps, some of it is a fad.

But, it’s also my hope that we continue to do small things. I mean, really, how hard is it to unplug the toaster?

photo credit: trishalkeenoy