Why "Going Green" makes me feel green around the gills

Everyone seems to want to "Go Green" these days. All the advertisers have picked up on it--packaging now loudly proclaims this or that product as "Green!" or "Environmentally Friendly!" Big celebrity names are no doubt using it to bolster their own careers, or just to maintain a good public image. Big companies are jumping on the bandwagon too, with requirements that "green" supplies be ordered (which equals more money spent) --in the middle of the biggest economic downturn in my lifetime. Naturally there is some genuine concern for the planet and the environment involved--but also a large dollop of concern about the company's public image. What percentage of the whole does each of those occupy? Being a pessimist, you can guess my thoughts on that. Sitting through training about "Being Green" (unless it's taught by Kermit the Frog) is not my idea of a good (or even truly productive) time.

Is going green really "all that"? Let's put it this way--when I found out CFL bulbs last up to 9 years and use only a fraction of the electricity of incandescents, AND that they're not much more expensive, I was sold. You made a better product that uses existing technology in a more efficient way, AND you made it almost as affordable as the old product? Sounds great!

The only downside? What they don't advertise is that those bulbs can't just be tossed in the garbage when they burn out. They have to be recycled a special way because they contain mercury, a poisionous substance that we can't just throw in a landfill. I'm hoping they have fairly convenient ways to recycle these ticking time-bombs I just bought 9 years from now when they burn out. =P

The annoying part is that most of the "Green" products and technologies are much more expensive than standard products, and some have other serious side-effects, like my poisonous light bulbs. And things like recycling can be great if good, accessible facilities/services are in place for people to use, but enough of a royal pain to make you want to purposely avoid them if not. It's easy for big companies and big celebrities--and even governments--to say "Be green! It's important." But if they don't put their money where their mouths are--i.e. in providing easily accessible, user-friendly recycling services, and reasonably-priced, "green" alternatives to current products that won't require a haz-mat suit to throw away, people aren't going to go for it. I recently moved from house in a smaller city that provided a dedicated recycling bin for residents and picked it up with the weekly garbage. I now live in an apartment complex in a larger city with no recycling bins anywhere in sight. Personally, I'm too lazy to put much of my own hard-earned free time into running all over town with bags of recyclables in tow. So guess what happens?

"Green-ism", like any movement, has good points that are frequently carried to extremes. And "Green" training, "Green" celebrity endorsements, and "Green" advertising on every aisle at the grocery store is plenty extreme enough for me, thanks. To the big shots out there trying to promote this--not a bad idea, but for pete's sakes, shut up and DO something to make it more accessible to the common man. Until you do, don't expect it to ever be truly effective.