The Nightmare That is 'Being Green'

Main Entry: ¹green

Pronunciation: \ˈgrēn\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English grene, from Old English grēne; akin to Old English grōwan to grow

Date: before 12th century

...//...

10 a often capitalized : relating to or being an environmentalist political movement b : concerned with or supporting environmentalism c : tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)

Concerned with or supporting environmentalism.  That small part of the definition can drive someone crazy.  If you have the tendency to allow changes or ways of life to ingrain itself deep into your soul, what would you expect?  Paper or plastic or reusable bags?  Locally grown or organic from the grocer?  Buy in bulk or buy what you need right now?  The list goes on.

That's the struggle one who is trying to implement changes that lead to a more green lifestyle.  What should be taken into consideration is a simple question, how green is green?  Any step taken is one more step than before.  The market is continuing to make efforts to cooperate and even educate consumers.  Yes, I said market, not the government.

The major reason behind the market making efforts is the consumer voicing their desire for greener products, packaging, transportation, and locations.  The second reason, and probably will become the top reason, is the cost savings.  Reusable bags are typically purchased, some as cheap as $0.50 and as expensive as $5.00, and in return prevent the business from providing a bag.  On a small scale the savings from reusable bags is minor, on the large scale it can save stores thousands of dollars at all levels of its' structure.  The hope and expectation is these savings will carry forward to the consumer.

Why can this drive you crazy though?  If you delve deep into the issue a small question can turn into a large question mark!

For those who use a local farmers' market to purchase produce.  Charlotte has a great market out on Yorkmont, these booths are stocked from farmers throughout the region and require the produce to be transported on a daily basis to the market.  Then the patrons, typically, drive to the market.  Both situations decrease the level of green due to fuel use yet increase with their local proximity.

Let's go to the grocer, depending on their system, the produce could be transported thousands of miles (a standard estimate in this debate) before arriving at your store, in turn you have to drive to also.  On a large scale, the belief a business holds is their system is efficient, more specifically, energy and cost efficient.

The paper or plastic debate.  Plastic requires oil or natural gas (natural gas is the leading part of plastic bag production).  Paper requires trees.  The better way for one to decipher this puzzle is what matters to you?  Plastic is annoying and difficult to store at home, paper bags typically lay flat and are structured for use.  Paper requires more space in storage and transportation.  How about this though...

To make all the bags we use each year, it takes 14 million trees for paper and 12 million barrels of oil for plastic. The production of paper bags creates 70 percent more air pollution than plastic, but plastic bags create four times the solid waste — enough to fill the Empire State Building two and a half times. And they can last up to a thousand years.

That was back in 2007!  A step deeper in this debate, do you eat cereal?  First you have the plastic bag sealing the product then a useless box surrounding it.  How do you avoid this?  Buy the larger, normally store brand, bags of cereal.  Selection is limited and is typically twice the amount of a normal box.  It is a plastic container though!

The next issue is partly an over-consumption issue but is connected with being green.  Do I buy in bulk or buy as needed to prevent waste?  If you buy in bulk, the belief is you're requiring less packaging materials and potentially fewer trips to the store.  If it's a perishable product, are you going to consumer it before it becomes waste?  If it's waste, the green effort of requiring less packaging has gone to waste.  Now you aren't willing to, or can't, join CostCo or Sam's to truly buy in bulk.  The use of packaging has increased and the required amount of transportation increases due to more trips to the store.

Maybe these concerns have not come up in your thoughts or discussions, but they probably will in the future.  It's even possible these concerns will be considered and resolved for you when the time comes.  In the mean time, be reasonable, be responsible, and consider your options.  As the age old point about driving in general, plan your day so your trips are not back and forth yet in a smooth line to accomplish your needs.  This will save you money in time and gas.

Don't let yourself go crazy over it, we all need to make an effort, just avoid letting confusion and over-the-top effort from preventing you.

What do I think?  Buy from your local farmers' market, in bulk for reasonable items, all while using reusable bags and limit your driving trips.